Judicial Appointments Board

Under the Act on Judicial Appointments Finnish judges are appointed by the President of the Republic on recommendation from the Minister of Justice, as advised by a Judicial Appointments Board. An independent Judicial Appointments Board shall make preparations for the filling of positions in the judiciary and a reasoned proposal on an appointment to a position in the judiciary.

The Board has no jurisdiction regarding the appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. These courts of final instance make their own appointment proposals to the President of the Republic, who is the final decision-maker also in these matters.

The Board is expected to promote the recruitment of judges from all walks of legal life, that is, from among court referendaries, the civil service, academia and the legal profession. The Judicial Appointments Board is composed mainly of members of the judiciary, but three members come from outside the judiciary. One is a practising lawyer appointed by the Bar Association, another is a prosecutor appointed by the Prosecutor General, and the third is an academic appointed by the Ministry of Justice.

Judicial qualifications

Under the Act on Judicial Appointments a judicial appointee must be a "righteous Finnish citizen who has earned a Master's degree in law and who by his or her previous activity in a court of law or elsewhere has demonstrated the professional competence and the personal characteristics necessary for successful performance of the duties inherent in the position." In addition, appointees to court chiefships must have leadership skills.

No exemptions can be granted as to the qualifications required for appointment to a position in the judiciary.

Contact information

Judicial Appointments Board
Pohjoisesplanadi 3
P.O. Box 234, 00171 Helsinki

Tel. 029 56 43400
029 56 43386, Virva Nyman, Secretary

Fax 029 56 66021
E-mail: tuomarinvalintalautakunta.om(at)oikeus.fi

Act on Judicial Appointments

Updated on 6 February 2012