THE FINNISH BAR 

ASSOCIATION

The Finnish Bar Association is an organization pertaining to public law, which is regulated by The Act on Advocates of 1958. The organization was preceded by a registered association with the same name. All members of both organizations are and always have been lawyers.

ONLY MEMBERS OF THE BAR ASSOCIATION ARE ENTITLED TO USE THE PROFESSIONAL TITLES "ASIANAJAJA" OR "ADVOKAT"

AN ADVOCATE IS INDEPENDENT AND AUTONOMOUS IN RELATION TO ALL OTHER PARTIES EXCEPT HIS CLIENT

The Bar Association has about 1,200 members, who are thus designated "advocates" in Finnish: asianajaja; in Swedish: advokat. Law firms additionally employ 300 associates. Of the advocates, about 50 are municipal public legal advisers. Legal aid offices also employ about 150 legal advisers who are not members of the Bar Association.

In Finland practically anybody can advise on and assist in legal matters, also professionally. However, there are very few such advisers who have not taken a Master of Laws degree.

Practising lawyers who are not members of the Bar Association may perhaps not meet the requirements for an advocate, or may prefer not to submit to the obligations of an advocate. Lawyers who have recently graduated from university, for instance, or lawyers who have just started practising or transferred from other fields of law, do not fulfil the requirements, neither do part-time lawyers. A lawyer who has been dismissed from the Bar Association owing to disciplinary measures can still pursue his profession under other professional title; in this case, however, such a lawyer practises without the obligations of an advocate and outside the supervision of the Bar Association.

Anyone applying for membership in the Bar Association must have completed a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.), entitling him to hold a judicial office, and he must be known to be a person of integrity. Furthermore, he must have several years experience in the legal profession and other judicial duties. He must also pass a special examination covering the basic elements of the legal profession and professional ethics. An advocate must be independent and autonomous in relation to the government and all other quarters with the exception of his client. There are also other qualifications.

In terms of penal or indemnity liability, the responsibility of an advocate does not differ in principal from the responsibility of other citizens. Every advocate must, however, take out a liability insurance covering damages emanating from anything but premeditation or gross negligence. The Bar

Association has established a compensation fund, which can cover damages emanating from an advocate's criminal conduct.

An advocate has, furthermore, a professional responsibility, in that the Board of the Bar Association must control that advocates fulfil their duties according to professional ethics. This supervision and responsibility materialize through disciplinary actions. Such procedure starts most often with a written complaint. The Chancellor of Justice is informed of the decisions taken by the Bar Association, and he can file appeals regarding these decisions with the Appellate Court of Helsinki.

Professional legal ethics consist of several ordinances, specific combinations of instructions and legal practice. Disciplinary proceedings relating to the professional supervision of advocates are of importance in this respect also. The basic requirements established for an advocate by the rules of professional ethics are honesty, professional secrecy regarding confidential information of the client, and the preservation of his confidence more generally. An advocate must try to achieve a solution which is most favourable for his client. Regarding these requirements, such a solution is often a reconciliation. The rules governing good professional conduct support efforts to achieve an amicable settlement in various ways.

An advocate's fee for each mandate is determined by the amount and quality of the work required. The degree of difficulty of the mandate and the interest involved are also relevant. Disadvantaged citizens may be granted legal aid, whereby the expenses are covered from public funds. Several insurances include a legal expenses insurance, which may cover the expenses of a legal dispute exceeding the excess of the insured.

A binding decision in a dispute regarding an advocate's fee can be issued by a court of law or, should the client so desire, an arbitrational tribune. The institution of arbitrational proceedings will take place before the Board of the Bar Association. The arbitrational tribune consists of members or substitutes of the Board of the Bar Association, or of members of the Boards of local Chapters of the Bar. Disputes can also be taken up by a consumer complaint board, which, however, issues only recommendations.

Lately there has emerged a new field in jurisprudence: advocate law. This is indicated e.g. by the works mentioned in the advocate's examination (Ylöstalo: The Advocate's Handbook;

Ylöstalo (ed.): Advocate law; and

Ylänkö: On the Obligations of an Advocate), and by research on the Bar Association itself (Halila: The Finnish Bar Association as a society). The periodical Defensor Legis has contained several articles within this new field. The periodical is published by the Association, and is the oldest of its kind in the Nordic countries.

The aims of the Bar Association are

- to maintain and enhance the responsibility and professional skills of advocates and to develop the activities of the legal profession,

- to promote solidarity among advocates and their mutual professional interests, and

- to supervise the professional activities of advocates.

These aims are stipulated in the articles of the Bar Association, which the Ministry of Justice has confirmed by a separate decision. The highest decision-making body of the Bar Association is the delegation, the representatives of which are elected by the local Chapters of the Association in relation to the number of their members. A board consists of a chairman, deputy chairman and seven other members from different parts of the country and representing both linguistic groups. The Disciplinary Board, which deals with the more important matters concerning the supervision of advocates, consists of a chairman and eight members. Two of these members are elected from outside the advocate profession; before their election, the Ministry of Justice will issue an opinion on their suitability. The Board appoints a number of committees to assist it.

The Bar Association has an autonomous position in relation to the government. Decisions in issues regarding membership, matters concerning professional supervision

of advocates, and arbitration awards regarding disputes on fees, are taken as judges decide in litigations.

The international relations of advocates are primarily contacts between law firms and single advocates. An advocate will only in very exceptional cases advise on issues concerning foreign law. Several Finnish law firms, however, are members of corres-ponding international groups. A few firms have subsidiaries abroad.

The international contacts of the Bar Association started in the 1930's with the Scandinavian Bar Associations, and this co-operation continues to be strong and lively. The Bar Association is a member of the IBA (International Bar Association), UIA (Union Internationale des Avocats) and AIJA (Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats). As Finland is a member of the Euro-pean Union the Bar Association is also a member of the CCBE (Conseil des Barreaux de la Communauté Européenne). During the last few years contacts have been established with the Baltic countries, especially with the Estonian Bar Association (Eesti Advokatuur).

Phone +358-0-694 2744

Facsimile +358-0-694 8237

Olli Tarkka, General Secretary,

Pirkko Kivikari, Deputy Secretary

Martti Ojala, Deputy Secretary

LEGAL INFORMATION SERVICE FOR ADVOCATES

Phone: +358-0-694 2515

Facsimile +358-0-694 4891

Lawyer:

Leila Lindström