Two centuries ago, when Finland became part of Russia as an autonomous grand duchy it obtained its own central administration and law drafting. During the first decades of the 19th century, several committees were nominated to revise the administration and legislation. This work preceded the idea of establishing a permanent law drafting authority.

"Suomenmaan Lainvalmistelukunta" - the predecessor of today's Law Drafting Department - was established by a decree in 1884. Following several twists and turns, it evolved into the modern Law Drafting Department of the Finnish Ministry of Justice, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year.

In honour of the occasion, the Ministry of Justice organises the 125th Anniversary Seminar to discuss the role of the Law Drafting Department in governmental legislative drafting, in light of the Department's history and experience gained, and to review the Government's regulatory policy in general.

In partnership with the EU, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has carried out a Member State review project assessing Finland's capacity to produce high quality legislation. The review results and recommendations will be issued this autumn, providing an excellent foundation for further discussions on how high-quality law drafting and legislation improves our competitive edge, promotes public participation and involvement, and benefits society as a whole.

Law Drafting 125th Anniversary Seminar -programme (pdf-file, 1 page, 84 kb)

The opening speech of the Minister of Justice: Regulatory policy of the Government (PDF-file, 3 pages, 20kb)

Director General Pekka Nurmi: From the Law Drafting Committee to Better Regulation (PDF-file, 2 pages, 12kb)

Caroline Varley: Better Regulation in Europe: Regulatory Capacity in 15 member states of the EU (PowerPoint, 376kb)

Timo Mäkelä: The Impact Assessment Board (Power Point, 342 kb)

Updated 5.1.2011