A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
The Concept of Emergency in Finnish Emergency Legislation : An Analysis of Amendments to the Emergency Powers Act
Authors: Brunila, Tuukka
Publisher: Faculty of law Lund University
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Nordic journal of European law
Volume: 8
Issue: 4/2025
First page : 147
Last page: 176
eISSN: 2003-1785
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36969/njel.v8i4.28519
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://journals.lub.lu.se/njel/article/view/28519
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/508722857
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY NC ND
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
In this article, I analyse the expansion of concept of emergency in the Finnish legal system by means of amending the Emergency Powers Act (1552/2011). The Act is the one of the main vehicles for regulating the use of emergency powers. The Act lists six distinct exceptional circumstances that authorise a state of emergency. Amendments to the Act have served to expand the definition of emergencies in the Constitution (Section 23) and the concept of emergency in general. By analysing the travaux préparatoires of relevant amendments, the focus is on the principles in expanding the concept. I argue that one of the main principles in developing the concept through legislation is preciseness. Emergencies should have to be defined by means of legislation as precisely as possible. In analysing the main principles in expanding the concept of emergency, this article seeks to also emphasise the tensions between these principles. As I will point out, sometimes preciseness is outweighed by the need to ensure that the Act accommodates all emergencies exhaustively.
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |
Funding information in the publication:
Research has been funded by the Finnish Government as part of ‘The Lessons of the Pandemic Crisis’ -project (PAKO).