Roundup: Finnish government accused of sacrificing constitution for reforms

Committed to carrying out its reform programs, the Finnish coalition government has ended up combating negative publicity on its legal competence and its respect for the constitution and established norms.

Only two weeks after Prime Minister Juha Sipila denied having pressured the national broadcaster Yle to treat the government better, the Chancellor of Justice Jaakko Jonkka revealed in an interview with the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat over the weekend that his legal advices had not been respected by the cabinet.

As a result, several bills were either stopped by the parliamentary constitutional committee or pulled back by the government as it realized the constitutional committee would kill them, he said.

Jonkka gave as an example a bill that would have reduced the unemployment benefits of those residents who had originally come to Finland as refugees. Jonkka had tried to get it altered but it went to the parliament and the constitutional committee determined it is was unconstitutional and the government pulled back its bill. But hundreds of working hours of civil servants had been used for nothing, Jonkka said to Helsingin Sanomat.

Jonkka also quoted a case whereby a government official preparing a bill had told him there was "no time to consult the constitutional committee as the case was politically vital."

Chancellor of Justice is an independent supreme observer of legality and civic rights in Finland. The Chancellor has no right to block a government bill from going to the parliament, but he can give advice.

Reacting to the public criticism by Jonkka, Sipila said on Monday that he was surprised to hear the comment. Sipila said the Chancellor had not taken up the matter in the formal meetings of the government.

Last week, the chairpersons of all the opposition groups in the parliament joined in demanding a statement on "law preparation" from the prime minister. Sipila said on Monday that he would be willing to give the information.

Several leading law professors joined the outcry. Juha Lavapuro, professor of law at Turku University said that the government seemed to view "the constitution as an obstacle to its policy".

Tuomas Ojanen, professor of constitutional law at the Helsinki University, told local media the government thinks "its programme is above the constitution".

Goran Djupsund, professor of politology at Abo Academy said that the interview with Jonkka was a turning point and the government should resign. Endit