Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1987
FINLAND
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A constitutional republic, Finland is a democratic state built
upon the principle of the rule of law. Sovereign power rests
with the people as represented by their delegates assembled in
Parliament. Supreme executive power is vested in the
President. A Cabinet, consisting of a Prime Minister and 17
ministers and responsible to Parliament, works with the
President in governing the country. Judicial power is
exercised by an independent judiciary consisting of the
Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. The
Finnish people freely choose by direct election the 200-member
unicameral Parliament every 4 years. They also choose
electors every 6 years who, in turn, elect the President.
The security apparatus is controlled by elected officials and
supervised by courts.
Finland has a mixed economy with state-owned, privately owned,
and publicly owned companies. Citizens are free to pursue
their legitimate private interests, hold private property, and
engage in economic activity without government interference.
During 1987 there were no reported violations in Finland of
fundamental human rights. There is no discrimination against
national minorities. Women enjoy the same economic and
political rights as men.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political Killing
Killing for political motives did not occur.
b. Disappearance
There were no reported cases of disappearance, abduction, or
clandestine detention.
c. Torture or Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment or punishment is guaranteed by law and respected in
practice. By law, prisoners must be treated justly with
respect for their human dignity and without distinction on the
basis of race, sex, language, nationality, religious or
political conviction, social position, wealth, or any other
grounds
.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, Exile or Forced Labor
Freedom from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment or exile is
guaranteed by law and respected in practice. A suspect may be
detained by the police for questioning for 3 days, but for
special reasons not specified in the law this period may be
extended by 14 additional days. A suspect may, in the latter
case, be kept in custody only on order of an authority with
the right to remand a person for trial. That authority must
immediately notify the court of the extension. During the
investigative period, the accused may be denied access to a
lawyer. The State pays legal fees for the indigent. A court
hearing must take place within 8 days of notification of the
arrest, if in a city, or within 30 days, if in rural areas.
The circumstances of the arrest are subject to judicial review
when the accused is brought to trial. Should the arrest be
shown to have been incorrect, or should the accused be found
innocent, he may apply to the same court for civil damages for
loss of freedom.
A reform of the pretrial procedures was confirmed by the
President in 1987 and will take effect on January 1, 1989. It
shortens the detention period to 7 days and gives the accused
access to a lawyer during that time. The purpose was to
achieve uniformity with the practice of other Western
countries. Parliament's Legislative Committee made some
changes in the original bill to ensure that the detention
period would under no circumstances exceed the maximum of
7 days.
The institutions of habeas corpus and bail do not exist as
such in Finland. Those accused of serious crimes must by law
remain in custody. Those accused of minor offenses may be
released on personal recognizance at the court's discretion.
Preventive detention is authorized only during a declared
state of war for narrowly defined offenses, such as treason,
mutiny, and trafficking in arms. Supervisory personnel from
the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior, as
well as the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Chancellor of
Justice, have authority to enter prisons and to order the
release of prisoners held without charges.
New legislation on the status of conscientious objectors to
Finland's obligatory military service was passed in 1985. It
took effect at the beginning of 1987 for a trial period of
5 years. Giving a person the option of serving in the
military or becoming a conscientious objector, the law
abolishes the Investigative Board which previously decided
whether to confer the status of conscientious objector. The
new law also lengthens alternative civilian service for
conscientious objectors to 16 months, twice the minimum length
of military service. Jehovah's Witnesses are exempted from
military service altogether under the new law.' The passage of
the bill stemmed from the Investigative Board's rejection of
an increasing number of applications for civilian service in
recent years. A small number of total objectors, i.e., those
who do not accept even unarmed alternative service on the
grounds that it is part of the military system of national
defense, have been sentenced to prison. They regard the new
law as a punishment because the required service is longer
than military service. Ten objectors are serving a sentence
of 1 year in jail, about 30 have been sentenced to jail, and
another 30 await trial. Amnesty International (AI) has
adopted some of these total objectors as "prisoners of
conscience .
"
Exile has not been used as punishment in Finland. By law,
Finnish citizens cannot be exiled. There is no forced labor
in Finland.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The right to fair public trial is guaranteed by law and
respected in practice. Finnish citizens and aliens legally
present in Finland have the right to effective counsel.
Charges must be clearly stated. Civilians may not be tried by
military courts except in time of war. There are no separate
"security" courts, although local courts may decide to conduct
a trial behind closed doors in juvenile, matrimonial, and
guardianship cases, or when publicity would offend morality or
endanger the security of the State. In "national security"
cases, the judge may withhold from the public any or all
information pertaining to charges against individuals,
verdicts, or sentencing. Sanctions may be imposed if such
information is made public. Provisional tribunals are
constitutionally prohibited.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home or Correspondence
The right to privacy and the sanctity of the home, including
prohibition of eavesdropping and mail tampering, are
guaranteed by law and respected in practice. The security
police are subject by law to judicial scrutiny.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Presso
Law and practice, an effective judiciary, an independent
press, and a functioning democratic political system assure
freedom of speech and press. There have been no instances of
abuse or legal decisions restricting freedom of the press.
The press occasionally exercises restraint in treating issues
deemed to be potentially harmful to the national interest but
is under no compulsion from the Government to do so.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Freedom of peaceful assembly and association is guaranteed by
the Constitution. However, if the purpose of association is
to influence political issues, only Finnish citizens may
belong. Public demonstrations require notification to the
police.
Trade unions are constitutionally guaranteed the right to
organize, assemble peacefully, and strike. They enjoy a
protected status and play an important role in political and
economic life. The average rate of organization in the labor
force is above 8C percent. A 1-mil lion-member blue-collar
confederation, the Central Organization of Finnish Trade
Unions, the SAK, dominates the trade union movement. Three
other central organizations cover white-collar, professional,
and technical employees. All trade unions are democratically
organized and managed and are independent of the Government.
Most unions maintain relations with their Nordic counterparts.
The four confederations also have bilateral contacts with the
Soviet All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions. The SAK and
one white-collar confederation are members of the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions. Two affiliates of the SAK
have ties to Communist-dominated trade union internationals.
Finnish trade unions participate in the International Labor
Organization.
The Government encourages voluntary organizations and
subsidizes private groups formed to achieve a public purpose.
They are permitted to maintain relations with other
international groups in both Communist and Western countries.
If the membership of an organization is more than one-third
foreign, the group requires the Government's permission to
operate
.
c. Freedom of Religion
Finland has two state religions: the Lutheran and the
Orthodox. Taxes are collected by the Government from members
to support these churches. Other Christians, Moslems, and
Jews enjoy unrestricted freedom of worship. Approximately
89.5 percent of the population belongs to the Lutheran Church.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Finns are free to travel within the area of the Nordic
countries--Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland--
without passports, and need not apply for exit visas for
travel to other countries. Over 200,000 Finns have emigrated
to Sweden in the past 2 decades to seek employment, and over
one-half of them have returned. Net emigration is constantly
decreasing. No restrictions have been placed on emigration or
repatriation.
There has been debate on the criteria which the Finnish
Government applies when deciding to grant political asylum.
The Government maintains that, "in accordance with the Geneva
Agreement, Finland gives asylum to individuals arriving (in
Finland) who have the characteristics of refugees determined
by the agreement." The Ministry of the Interior denies that
any agreement exists with the Soviet Union regarding
repatriation of Soviet would-be refugees.
This issue recently reemerged in connection with an Amnesty
International (AI) memorandum submitted to Finnish authorities
at the end of September 1987. Based on thorough research and
a visit of a team in June 1986, AI referred to the cases of
12 Soviet citizens said to have been repatriated by Finland in
1959-1982. The number of people applying for political asylum
in Finland is very low: about 20 per year. According to the
memorandum, all the Soviets repatriated were arrested after
their return to the U.S.S.R., and two of them are still in
prison. AI was concerned over the fact that Finland does not
appear to have uniform rules of procedure. The Ministry of
the Interior replied that it would look into the matter
seriously. At the same time, the Government issued written
instructions translated into several languages for the use of
aliens potentially applying for political asylum.
Finnish authorities believe that the current legislation
related to aliens needs to be amended. For example, the law
leaves it up to the police to decide how long to detain an
applicant. They may detain the person for a period of 7 days
and may repeat the decision as many times as they wish.
Periods of detention have varied from 5 days to 10 weeks. A
detainee may not contact a lawyer but only the Curator of
Alien Affairs. The law does not define the grounds on which
the applicant for political asylum may be repatriated, so
instructions have to be sought in the U.N. Refugee Treaty,
which Finland has signed. The authorities believe that such
instructions should be unambiguously stated in Finnish
legislation.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Gonvernment
Finland is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy in which all
citizens over the age of 18 freely elect their representatives
from among multiple lists of candidates representing a wide
spectrum of political ideologies. At present, there are seven
political parties and a group of the Greens represented in
Parliament. The country has the longest tradition of women's
suffrage in Europe, and there are at present 63 women
representatives in Parliament and 4 female Cabinet ministers.
New legislation providing a more direct popular election of
the President will be implemented for the first time in 1988.
According to the legislation, two ballots are cast, one for
the preferred presidential candidate, the other for the
electoral candidate. In case none of the presidential
candidates receives a simple majority of the votes, the
electoral college conducts the final election.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
Within Finland, several organizations monitor human rights
performance, including the Finnish Red Cross, the
government-sponsored Equality Council, the Women's Rights
Union, and Amnesty International. A Finnish Helsinki Watch
group was established in July 1985 but has not been very
active. In connection with the Swedish-language University in
Turku, a Human Rights Institute was founded in the spring of
1985. Its purpose is to conduct human rights research and
studies as well as distribute information.
Finland participates actively in international human rights
organizations
.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status
Food, shelter, health care and education are available to all
inhabitants regardless of race, religion, sex, ethnic
background, or political opinion.
To redress existing inequities between the sexes, the
government-established Council for Equality coordinates and
sponsors legislation to meet the needs of women as workers,
mothers, widows, and retirees. The new equality legislation,
a comprehensive Equal Rights Bill, which ensures equal
treatment for women in the workplace, took effect at the
beginning of 1987. An Equal Rights Ombudsman entered office
at the same time. Government statistics indicate that women's
wages and salaries as a percentage of those of men remained at
approximately the level of the previous year, 78 percent.
A new surname law, permitting women to retain their maiden
names after marriage as their only surname, took effect in
January 1986. It also makes it possible for the man to take
his wife's name. A partly reformed marriage legislation will
take effect at the beginning of 1988, changing some of the
principles according to which property is to be divided in
case of divorce and death.
CONDITIONS OF LABOR
Finland rigorously upholds international standards on working
conditions, child labor, and occupational safety and health.
The minimum age for full time employment is 16 years.
However, the law permits youths of 14 and 15 years of age to
spend up to two-thirds of their school holidays at work up to
a maximum of 7 hours per day and 36 hours per week. Workers
under 18 years of age also work less than a standard workweek,
and night work is prohibited.
The minimum wage varies according to the industry but averages
more than $3.50 per hour. A 40-hour workweek is standard,
although persons in straight-shift work have a 36-hour
workweek and those in certain occupations can work longer in a
week, subject to an 80-hour or 120-hour maximum in 2 or 3
weeks respectively. Finnish female labor participation in the
last guarter of 1986 was 63.6 percent, while that of men was
71.9 percent.
Several laws protect workers while on the job and in transit
to and from their work. Enforcement machinery includes the
National Board of Labor Protection and labor protection
delegates elected by the workers themselves. Cooperation
between labor and management has been mandatory by statute
since 1974
