Diet of Finland

“ All the electors shall have equal voting rights. The right to vote shall not be exercised by proxy. Special regulations in respect to electoral districts, and the time at which and the manner in which elections shall be held, shall be established by a separate electoral law. Article 5. The right to participate in the election of members of the Landtag shall belong to every Finnish citizen, man or woman, who has attained the age of twenty-four years prior to the year of the election. The following persons shall not enjoy the right to vote: (1) Those who are in the active military service ”

“ No judge shall be deprived of his office except by a lawful trial and judgment. The transfer of a judge shall take place only upon the reorganization of the judicial establishment or at his own request. The right of other officers to retain their offices shall be regulated by a special law. The law may impose, even for irremovable officers, an obligation to retire at a fixed age or because of infirmity involving incapacity for work. Special regulations shall define the rights and duties of officers whose offices are abolished. ”

“ Those who have been convicted of having bought or sold votes at a Landtag election or of having attempted to do so, or of having voted in place of another voter, or of having interfered with the freedom of the vote by violence or intimidation, until the expiration of the sixth year after that in which the final judgment has been rendered. Article 6. Every elector shall be eligible to a seat in the Landtag without respect to his place of domicile. Article 7. Every functionary who attempts to use his authority in order to influence an election to the Landtag shall lose his office. ”

“ The question of the validity of elections may not be otherwise debated in the Landtag, unless the contest turns upon a manifestly unlawful act which took place at the time of the election or of the electoral procedure, or upon an indisputable error in the proclamation of the result of the vote. ”

“ In the exercise of public functions the law must be strictly followed upon penalty of the officer's being held accountable. If an ordinance regulation is contrary to a fundamental or other law, it shall not be enforced by a judge or other officer. Article 93. Every officer is responsible for the measures that he takes or to which he contributes in his capacity as a member of a collegiate administrative office. A reporter is likewise responsible for a decision taken upon his report unless he has recorded his dissenting opinion in the proceedings. ”

“ The preamble of every law shall indicate that it has been enacted in conformity with the decision of the Chamber, and, if the law has been enacted in accordance with the procedure required for the enactment of fundamental laws, the same shall be indicated. Every law, whether it be approved or whether it be in force without the approval of the President, shall be signed by the President and countersigned by the proper Minister, after which it shall be published in the Bulletin of Laws of Finland. ”

“ Finland is a sovereign Republic, its constitution being established by this law relating to the form of government and by the other fundamental laws. Article 2. Sovereign power in Finland belongs to the people, represented by their delegates assembled in a Chamber of Representatives (in Finnish, Eduskunta, in Swedish, Riksdag) . Supreme executive power is vested in the President of the Republic. ”

“ Constitution Act of 1919 Preamble Whereas Finland has become an independent and sovereign state, it has been deemed necessary to develop and consolidate its constitution by new statutes having the character of fundamental laws which, at the same time that they confirm the necessary authority to the executive power, enlarge also the powers of national representation and guarantee the constitutional rights and liberties of citizens. ”

“ Every Finnish citizen shall be protected by law in his health, his honor, his personal liberty, and his property. The labor power of citizens shall be under the special protection of the state. Expropriation for public utility purposes with full compensation shall be regulated by law. ”

“ Whoever shall by promises or bribery interfere with freedom of voting shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years. In case of violence or intimidation the punishment shall be imprisonment for not less than a month nor more than a year. ”

“ Profession of religion or the fact of belonging to no religion shall have no influence upon the rights and duties of Finnish citizens. In respect to public offices, legal restrictions which are not in conflict herewith shall remain in force until otherwise provided by law. Article 10. Finnish citizens shall enjoy freedom of speech and the right of printing and publishing written or pictorial representations without any previous restraint being imposed. ”

“ Whoever suffers a violation of his right or injury as a result of an illegal measure or of the negligence of an officer has the right to demand that this officer be condemned to pay a penalty and damages or to lay an information against him demanding his arraignment in accordance with the formalities prescribed by law. The responsibility of the state for damages caused by an officer shall be governed by special regulations. ”

“ The state shall promote the study of, and higher instruction in, the technical, agricultural, and commercial sciences and other applied sciences, as well as the practice of, and higher instruction in, the fine arts, by supporting and creating for all of these branches special schools of higher learning in so far as these are not represented at the University, or by giving grants in aid to private institutions created for this purpose. ”

“ If the guilty person is a functionary he shall in addition lose his office. An employer who does not give to his employees, as far as possible, full opportunity to exercise the right of voting shall be punished by fine. ”

“ Members of the Landtag may not be indicted nor deprived of their liberty because of the opinions expressed by them, nor in general because of their conduct during debates, unless the Landtag shall authorize such action by a vote of at least five-sixths of the members present. ”

“ Employments of a technical nature, teaching positions in the University or other schools of higher learning, positions of professor of modern languages in the schools, and of translators in the administrative services, as well as non-remunerative consular posts and the posts of clerical assistants and other special positions in legations and consulates, may be held by other than Finnish citizens. ”