Influencing the preparation of decisions and laws

A new act or legislative amendment may originate from 

• an initiative by a Member of Parliament 
• a citizens’ initiative or
• a government proposal. 

The Government Programme or, for instance, statutes of the European Union affecting Finland’s legislation are behind government proposals.

Legislative proposals are prepared at the Ministry of Justice or the ministry that the theme of the bill concerns. The Government will submit the proposal to the Parliament. The Parliament will hold a referral debate on the proposal and submit it to committee reading. The bill is either passed or rejected at the Parliament’s plenary session. 

Enacting laws is the most important task of the Parliament. The President of the Republic will approve the bill or legislative amendment with his or her signature.

The Parliament will process any citizens’ initiatives that at least 50,000 Finnish citizens have supported with their signatures. The Parliament will consider the timetable for processing citizens’ initiatives. If an initiative is rejected by the Parliament or the matter is lapsed due to the change of the parliamentary term, a new citizens’ initiative may be submitted on the matter.

Democracy is based on the right of citizens to be heard and provide their views to the bill drafting process. Citizens must have the opportunity to protect their rights and interests and to influence decision-making.

Under legislation, the authorities have the duty to act openly and in interaction with citizens and stakeholders, such as non-governmental organisations. Listening to citizens and carrying out constant interaction with them improves the quality of the proposals prepared in the administration as this allows taking into account as many perspectives as possible.

Interaction, listening and being heard are the conditions for citizens to feel able to trust the Government. This is also known as the legitimacy of the administration.

The bill drafting process takes place in the ministries. The drafting process includes versatile consultation of stakeholders and citizens using various methods. As a citizen, you may participate in discussion events, surveys and online discussions as well as providing opinions.

For example, a ministry may ask for citizens to express their opinions in the open citizen discussions of the otakantaa.fi website or a request for a statement at the lausuntopalvelu.fi website.

Citizens also have the right to present their views on a legislative proposal when this has not been separately requested by a ministry.

You can also submit your opinions on legislative proposals to the ministry’s registry.

At the point that a legislative proposal is being processed by the Parliament, you may influence it by contacting Members of Parliament and telling them about your opinion.

The Parliament obtains information for the processing of a legislative proposal by organising consultations. Committees consisting of Members of Parliament invite experts for consultation at the point when they are preparing reports for the Parliament plenary session. The plenary session makes decisions on legislation.

Consultation refers to obtaining the views, knowledge and experience of the stakeholders considered most important for the matter under consideration. The stakeholders include public authorities, university researchers, other experts, organisations and businesses. A committee may also organise public meetings of consultations, which can be streamed online, for instance.

The members of the committees may personally actively influence who they would like to consult. The aim of the consultation is to ensure that different perspectives are presented during the process and that the committee can use these as the basis for its proposal.