The Genesis and Evolution of the Finland’s Parliament Eduskunta

Abstract

The hereby paper undertakes the analysis of the genesis and evolution of the Finland’s Parliament Eduskunta from the moment of its establishment till nowadays, including the characteristics of its present constitutional position, being a result of its development during the centuries, with paying special attention to the current normative state and made on the basis of the hitherto constitutional practice. The article aims at deriving the origin and presenting the development of this organ in Finland, which in consequence leads to reliable conclusions in the field of determining its current constitutional position in the system of the supreme state authorities of Finland. The subject of the paper particularly focuses mostly on the analysis of the beginnings of Eduskunta’s formation and Finnish parliamentarianism, as well as its further evolution during different periods of its history, i.e. the time when Finland was included into the Kingdom of Sweden, the period when it was incorporated into the Russian Imperium and after it gained independence in 1917. The work also concentrates on the analysis of Eduskunta’s current constitutional position, its 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 also seem to be of particular significance in this context, for they contribute to a more precise definition of Eduskunta’s constitutional position, as well as to pointing out its originality and dissimilarity regarding parliaments of other contemporary democratic states.