The constitutional position of the Finnish Parliament Eduskunta

Abstract

The hereby paper takes up the analysis of the constitutional position of the Finnish parliament Eduskunta from the moment of its establishment and as a result of its development during the centuries, with a special attention paid to the present normative state and on the basis of the hitherto constitutional practice. It aims at deriving the origin and presenting the evolution of this authority at the Finnish lands, which in consequence leads to reliable conclusions in the scope of determining its current constitutional position in the system of the supreme state authorities of Finland. The subject of the paper focuses on the analysis of the beginnings of Eduskunta’s formation and Finnish parliamentarianism, its further evolution, current composition, internal structure, functions and competences presented on the basis of the exegesis of the provisions of the binding basic law of 1999 and the parliament’s rules of procedure. The constitutional principles referring to the parliament and the analysis of Eduskunta’s relations with the other supreme state authorities, which determine the state’s form of government, seem to be of particular significance in this context, as they contribute to a more precise definition of Eduskunta’s constitutional position, as well as to pointing out its originality and dissimilarity regarding other contemporary democratic states.

Keywords

• Eduskunta
• Finland’s parliament
• basic law
• constitutional position
• relations with the supreme state authorities