MINISTRY OF JUSTICE OF FINLAND

MR JOHANNES KOSKINEN


High-Level Political Conference for the Signature of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, 9 -11 December 2003, Merida, Mexico


1. Introduction


It is a great pleasure and honour for me to have the possibility to present the Finnish experience in preventing corruption. I highly appreciate that we can openly discuss matters of corruption at such an auspicious international conference.


2. Corruption as a Development Problem


It is now widely accepted that corruption jeopardizes development and constitutes a threat to people's well-being in many different ways. Hence, corruption threatens economic growth and social development, the consolidation of democracy and the morality of the people. In essence, corruption has truly far-reaching detrimental effects with regard to the building of a viable state. It is also very important to note that corruption in the public sector, and the bad governance connected with it, harden divisions and inequalities between people, and thus destroys the basis for securing human rights. Corruption is also one of the main reasons for continuous poverty.
To put it bluntly, we could say that corruption is an institutionalised way of stealing from the poor, from men and from women alike.


3. Corruption and the Finnish experience


The Scandinavian countries and especially Finland have been regarded quite highly in many international ratings of anticorruption. What are the reasons for this fine situation? At this stage it is useful to look at some Finnish experiences of combatting corruption.


There have been times in Finnish history, too, when corruption has filled the front pages of the tabloids. Every now and then cases do emerge when an individual, a lower or a high-ranking public official, is caught red-handed committing some criminal offence. In most cases this has led to the resignation or dismissal of the person and, depending on the case also to a criminal prosecution. Yet ordinary Finns do not come across corruption in their daily lives. Recently, there was a survey done on the citizens' perceptions of public institutions. The police scored the top rating for honesty.


As noted, in international ratings of corruption Finland has enjoyed high esteem for a number years. The corruption index by Transparency International has had Finland ranked number 1 as the least corrupted country for many years running. Let me offer a few possible explanations for this phenomenon.


Egalitarian society - no class distinctions


I presume that the model of the present-day Finnish welfare society is widely known. It is, however, useful to point out some background facts as to its origins. In Finland, democracy and the rule of law were consolideted in the beginning of the twentieth century. In those days, good education was seen as one of the most powerful social tools. Being a nation of 4 to 5 million people, mostly speaking a language understood only locally, meant that everybody's skills were needed in building welfare and prosperity. School became compulsory for everyone. Finland was the first country in Europe to give women the right to vote, that happened in 1906.


The welfare services have expanded from the 50's onwards. The main elements of Finland's welfare society are free elementary schooling, higher education and health care for everyone. The state takes care of the unemployed and other afflicted groups.


Corruption and good governance in law


The Finnish legal norms on corruption have been basically the same for the past 100 years. To summarise the principles of good governance effective in Finland, I would like to mention the following four administrative principles, which are 1) the principle of equality, 2) the principle of objectivity, 3) the principle of proportionality and 4) the principle that any action must be
appropriate in view of its purpose. The main idea of the Finnish anti-corruption legislation is that it is never considered as a separate phenomenon, with separate laws or separate supervisory bodies. Instead, corruption is seen as part of criminality and as part of bad governance and/or politics. The prevention of corruption also involves creating and observing ethical norms of behaviour, increasing transparency and preventing procedures.


The civil service: Recruiting, careers and preventive measures


The civil service has always been regarded very highly and held in high esteem, and through education everyone can aspire to a good career. Salaries have not been that high but, nevertheless, generally they have been adequate. According to an old Finnish saying `the bread of a civil servant is narrow but long', meaning that there is good job security for civil servants to counterbalance the not-so-high earnings.


Both in state administration and in local administration, a so-called employment instruction system is being applied to new officeholders. This is a form of introduction training. If there is a great risk of corruption in the field in question, matters related to corruption shall naturally be emphasized during the introductory training. New officeholders are also given examples of some typical situations where the risk of bribery may arise. Management training, as well as other kinds of staff training in public administration are moreover planned so that they include sections on values and ethics.


While holding a post of a minister in the Finnish Government, a Cabinet member is not allowed to hold any public office or other post that may impede his or her duties as minister, or endanger the confidence in his or her work as a Cabinet member.


According to the Finnish Constitution, some of the most important guarantees of good governance for the citizens are the right to be heard, the right to hear the grounds for decisions, and the right of appeal.


Transparency and openness


Transparency is a crucial means in the work against corruption, and anticorruptive activities
administration and in the granting of state aid is decisive in the work against corruption.


In Finland, for instance, the Constitution requires that everyone can have his or her case dealt with appropriately by an authority, and that the publicity of proceedings, the right to be heard, the right to receive a reasoned decision and the other guarantees of a fair trial and good governance shall be secured.


The transparency of public decision-making promotes anti-corruption work. Open access to public records makes it possible to apply transparency and good information practices in public activities. It also makes it possible for individuals and associations to control the exercise of official authority and the use of public finances, freely to form their opinion, to influence the exercise of official authority, and to assert their rights and safeguard their interests.


The bread openness of public administration has always been a main principle in Finland. Decisions are public, open for criticism by other civil servants, by the public and the media.
The openness of administration makes it only exceptionally possible for corruption to gain a foothold in the preparation of matters and in decision-making.


Transparency in public administration is enhanced by the obligation of the highest officials to declare their commitments, and by restrictions on secondary occupations. Training, leadership and publications increase the consciousness among civil servants of values and ethically sound proceedings in public administration. Informing partners in the private sector of the requirements of civil service ethics is a factor for promoting transparency. In local administration, a clear definition of the eligibility for office for members of a municipal executive board and other institutions promotes transparency and reduces corruption.


Finland was one of the first countries to allocate state funds for political parties. The elimination of conflicting interests and liabilities and thus corruption is also pursued through the publicity of election financing.


The media play an important role in the prevention of corruption. They can raise questions and start discussions on transparency and justness, dealing with different solutions. In this connection I would like to mention that the International Public Relations Association has monitored 6E
those countries.


Chancellor ofJustice and Parliamentary Ombudsman


The roots of the institution of Chancellor of Justice stem from the 18th Century, when Finland was a part of Sweden. Later, during the period of Russian rule, the legal system continued working without interruption or change of any kind. The post of Parliamentary Ombudsman has existed since the 1920s.


Their competences are prescribed by the Constitution. Both the Chancellor of Justice and the Parliamentary Ombudsman shall ensure that the courts of law, other authorities, civil servants, public employees, and other persons performing public tasks observe the law and fulfil their obligations. In performing their duties they shall supervise the implementation of basic rights and human rights. In Finland, there are, moreover, institutions of Ombudsman in different fields of activity, separately prescribed by the law. The Ombudsman for Bankruptcy Cases and the Consumer Ombudsman may be mentioned as such examples. The former shall monitor how bankruptcy legislation is observed, particularly in terms of the administration of estates in bankruptcy and equitable sales of estate property. The Consumer Ombudsman shall monitor how consumers' interests are observed in the market. Supervision here refers both to product safety and to clear and fair pricing of products. All the above-mentioned authorities can also observe potential situations of corruption.


Collective and collegiate decision-making structure


Corruption occurs most easily when the decision-making unit comprises one person only, as the briber can focus all efforts on this single person. Corruption becomes more difficult when more individuals are involved, as all parties must then be convinced of the advisability of deciding in favour of the interest group, and there is always the possibility of someone blowing the whistle on any shady transaction.


The refendary system is an old pillar of Finnish administration. A refendary is a civil servant who examines a matter under advisement, presents alternative proposals and suggests a final proposal. In this system, a refendary, who at a lower rank than the decision-maker, can retain his or her opinion against the superior. A minister can make a political decision that differs from the
proposal of the refendary, but it is not legally binding if the refendary does not sign it. From the viewpoint of corruption, the refendary system demands double work from the potential briber as he or she must win over both the decision maker and the refendary.


Low hierarchical structures and autonomy with self-responsibility in administration


Most civil servants work quite independently, without intervention from their superiors. They are also responsible for their actions both vertically and horizontally.


Finns are used to handling most legal problems very pragmatically. The logic goes like this: rules are old, short, clear, strict and is to be taken seriously. Circumstances in practical life are also taken into consideration. The following typical ethical rule tells a young civil servant without prior experience where the threshold of a bribe goes:


A warm beer and cold sandwich are suitable for a civil servant, but a cold beer and a warm sandwich are very risky'.


4. Lessons learned from the Finnish experience


The key concepts that can be distilled from the Finnish experience are access to education for all, well functioning democracy both at national and local level, civil service based on meritocracy, openness in public administration, low hierarchical structures, devolution of decision-making powers to civil servants in their respective fields of responsibility, non-politicisation of key civil service posts, and above all, the effort to defend the values of an open society.


As competition becomes more and more aggressive and efficiency increases in the Western industrial societies, people have turned out to become ever more sensitive to moral values. Discussions on values become more common. International recommendations dealing with the social responsibility of companies are being drawn up, and ethical norms for different professional groups are being confirmed. The positive attitude to human rights and to popular movements advocating responsibility for the developing countries and environmental questions can be seen as a sign of a sense of global responsibility.


In conclusion, I would like to thank you all for your attention and interest. I hope we can continue with a fruitful discussion on this subject.


Thank you.