History of the Supreme Administrative Court

Throughout the history of the Supreme Administrative Court, important societal issues and social changes have been reflected in the Court’s work. In the 1920s, the Court’s cases concerned municipal taxation and poor relief. One hundred years later, the Court’s cases were largely related to asylum applications and social welfare appeals. Throughout its existence, the Supreme Administrative Court has served as a mirror of Finnish society.

Finland became independent in 1917 and the Economic Division of the Imperial Finnish Senate became the Supreme Administrative Court. The Judicial Division of the Senate became the Supreme Court. The Supreme Administrative Court Act was adopted on 22 July 1918. The Supreme Administrative Court’s status as the court of last instance in administrative cases was solidified in Finland’s 1919 Instrument of Government.

Activities start

The president of the Supreme Administrative Court K.J. Ståhlberg and the first justices of the Supreme Administrative Court were appointed on 26 July 1918. The Court started its activities on 2 September 1918, which is now celebrated as the anniversary of the Court. As a newly independent state, Finland established the Supreme Administrative Court as a symbol of its commitment to the rule of law.

In its final years, the Economic Division of the Senate had processed around 1,200 cases each year. In its first years of activity, the Supreme Administrative Court already processed more than 2,500 cases annually. In particular, the Court handled cases concerning municipal taxation and appeals related to poor relief. More than half of the cases were appeals on taxes.

The wars and recovery

The Supreme Administrative Court continued its regular activities during the Winter War and the following Continuation War. The number of cases concerning financial assistance for the families of active-duty soldiers and soldiers’ pay increased in the autumn of 1939 and continued to rise throughout the war years. In 1942, these cases constituted the largest group and accounted for nearly a third of all cases. The number of pending cases increased during the wars and after them.

The Supreme Administrative Court Act was amended in 1949 to alleviate the overburdening. In 1950, the appeal process was overhauled and it became possible to also appeal decisions issued by ministries and the Government.

Changing society

In 1956, Lemmikki Kekomäki was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Administrative Court. She was the first woman to become a member of a court of last instance in all of the Nordics. The Supreme Administrative Court celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1958. At that time, there were nearly 6,000 pending cases and more personnel was needed. The largest group of pending cases was appeals on taxes. Conversely, the number of social welfare cases decreased because the social security system was improved.

At the end of the 1960s, nearly half of all cases at the Supreme Administrative Court were related to taxes. Other large case groups were child welfare, securing child support, and vagrancy care. According to surveys, only a third of Finns trusted the judicial system at that time, so the Supreme Administrative Court started to give more detailed grounds in its decisions.

Clearing backlog

New provisions on appeals made appealing to a court partly subject to leave. The leave system covered two large case groups, tax cases and social welfare cases. In particular, the aim was to remove simple tax cases from Supreme Administrative Court’s docket, as the Court was already overburdened.

In 1970, the Court’s average processing time for appeals was six months, and it resolved more than 5,600 cases. In 1974, the case backlog was cleared for a while.

In the early 1980s, the Court had achieved a balance between resolved cases and new appeals brought to the Court. However, this was only temporary because the number of appeals increased again. Conditions for the Court’s work improved as 1984 turned into 1985, when it moved to Helsinki city centre into the former premises of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, which had been renovated for its use. Before this, the Supreme Administrative Court had premises in several locations in Helsinki, some of which it shared with the Supreme Court.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the Court resolved around 5,500 cases per year. The largest case groups were taxes, pensions, construction and land use planning. The number of appeals increased while the Government cut the Court’s resources. The average processing time was now around nine to ten months.

The new millennium arrives

At the start of the 2000s, the number of cases brought to the Supreme Administrative Court remained steady at around 4,000 cases annually. The Court also resolved around 4,000 cases annually.

However, the Court’s situation changed drastically in 2016. In 2015, more than 30,000 asylum seekers arrived in Finland. In order to expedite resolving their applications for leave to appeal, fixed-term justices, referendaries and office personnel were appointed to the Supreme Administrative Court. The Court’s workload increased to the extent that the Court resolved more than 6,000 cases in a year.

Administrative Judicial Procedure Act of 2020

The Administrative Judicial Procedure Act that entered into force in 2020 extended the leave system. Now, leave to appeal a decision of a regional administrative court or the Marker Court must be applied from the Supreme Administrative Court. The Supreme Administrative Court resolves the case if it grants the applicant leave to appeal. Most of the cases resolved by the Court are subject to leave to appeal.

The largest case groups at the Court concern immigration and social welfare, but the Court also plays a vital role in cases involving land use and environmental issues, taxation, and public procurement and competitive tendering. Most of the Court’s cases come from regional administrative courts.