Projects and legislation

The legal framework for military defence, in other words the laws and presidential decrees, government decrees and Ministry of Defence decrees are prepared in the Ministry. The Legal Unit is for the main part responsible for statute drafting and preparation of statutory policy.

The Ministry of Defence is responsible, in the first place, for the laws and regulations governing conscript service, the organisation and tasks of the Defence Forces, preparedness in emergency situations (state of defence), international military crisis management, export of defence materiel, voluntary national defence, health care in the Defence Forces and the National Defence University. In addition, the transposition of international treaties and other internationally binding obligations play an important role in the responsibilities of the Ministry.

The administrative branch of the Ministry of Defence is influenced by statute drafting carried out in other ministries and therefore the Ministry takes actively part in statute drafting in other administrative branches if it has relevance to or has an effect on the activities of defence administration.

Apart from its main tasks, the Legal Unit supports statute drafting in other units and assists them in general legal questions. The Legal Unit supervises conformity to law of the Ministry of Defence and the entire administrative branch.

Reports and working group suggestions from the Ministry of Defence undergo a round of comments from different parties. Feedback can be submitted by parties other than those to whom the request for statements is distributed.

The Government Project Register (in Finnish) gives information on the Government's ongoing legislative and development projects.

Further information

Director of Legal Affairs Hanna Nyholm

Phone: +358 295 140 600

Email: firstname.lastname(at)gov.fi