The Chancellor of Justice ( fi, oikeuskansleri, sv, justitiekanslern) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

government official who supervises authorities', such as cabinet ministers', compliance with the law and advances legal protection of Finnish citizens. The Chancellor investigates complaints against authorities' activities and may also start an investigation of his or her own initiative. The Chancellor attends cabinet meetings to ensure that legal procedures and regulations are followed. The Chancellor has wide-ranging oversight, investigative and prosecutorial powers. The Chancellor and his deputy are appointed by the President of Finland. The Chancellor is appointed for life. The incumbent Chancellor of Justice is

Tuomas Pöysti Tuomas is a male given name common in Finland. It is the Finnish version of the name Thomas. Common variations of Tuomas in Finland include Tuomo, Toomas, Tomas and Thoma. The nameday is the 21st of December. As of 2013 there are more than 32,000 pe ...

History

The Office of the Chancellor of Justice dates back to the 18th century, when Finland was part of the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. When Finland was annexed by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1809 as an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was often used in the o ...

, the legal system largely remained the same. The duties of the Chancellor of Justice were given to the Procurator, who assisted the Governor-General in supervising obedience of the law. A year after Finland had declared its independence in 1917, the title was reverted to Chancellor of Justice. The first Chancellor of Justice was

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad (; 15 December 1861 – 29 February 1944) was the third president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, he played a major role in the ...

, who had served as the Speaker of the Parliament and who was later to become the third President of Finland. In 1919, the post of

Parliamentary Ombudsman Parliamentary Ombudsman ( fi, Eduskunnan oikeusasiamies, sv, Riksdagens ombudsman, is, Umboðsmaður Alþingis, da, Folketingets Ombudsmand, no, Sivilombudet) is the name of the principal ombudsman institutions in Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Nor ...

was created. The Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice share many duties.

Duties

* supervising the lawfulness of the official acts of the Government and the President of the Republic * providing the President, the Government and the Ministries with information and opinions on legal issues * supervising that the courts of law, other authorities and civil servants, public employees and other persons obey the law and fulfill their obligations when performing public tasks * monitoring the implementation of basic rights and liberties and human rights * supervising the conduct of advocates with the Finnish Bar Association

List of Chancellor of Justice

References

External links

* {{authority control Law of Finland . Government agencies of Finland Region-specific legal occupations