The Government nominated Finland’s candidates for judge at the European Court of Human Rights and for ad hoc judges
Press Release 278/2014
11 December 2014
At its plenary session held today, 11 December, the Government nominated three candidates for a judge to be elected to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Finland for the term beginning on 1 January 2016.
The candidates are President of the Supreme Court Pauline Koskelo, LL.M. (trained on the bench); Justice of the Court of Appeal Jukka Lindstedt, LL.D., LL.M. (trained on the bench); and Justice of the Supreme Administrative Court Anne E. Niemi, LL.Lic., LL.M. (trained on the bench).
The number of judges in the European Court of Human Rights equals the number of parties to the European Convention on Human Rights, which is 47. Judges are elected for a nine-year term and may not be re-elected.
The list of candidates approved by the Government is submitted to the Advisory Panel of Council of Europe Experts, which provides a confidential opinion on the candidates’ qualifications. Finally, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe selects one judge from the list submitted by Finland.
The European Convention on Human Rights also provides for the appointment of so-called ad hoc judges. Parties to the Convention may submit a list of three to five people to the European Court of Human Rights, from which the President of the Court selects a person to sit in place of the national judge, if necessary.
The Government has today named the following five individuals to serve as ad hoc judges for the two-year period beginning 1 January 2015: Pekka Aalto, LL.D., LL.M. (trained on the bench); Anna-Liisa Autio, LL.D., LL.M. (trained on the bench); Jari Pirjola, LL.D.; Mikko Puumalainen, LL.M. (trained on the bench); and Pasi Pölönen, LL.D., LL.M. (trained on the bench).
A public registration procedure was held to prepare the nomination of candidates. Nine persons expressed their interest to be nominated in the task of the permanent judge and that of an ad hoc judge.
An Expert Advisory Board appointed by the Government assessed the people who expressed interest in both tasks. This Board has representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court and the Office of the Prosecutor General. In addition, the Board has representative of university units conducting research and teaching in jurisprudence as well as a representative of the Finnish Bar Association. Its purpose is to promote the transparency and coherence of Finland’s internal decision-making system and to ensure the naming of the candidates as well as possible.
The European Court of Human Rights is based in Strasbourg, France. Its task is to monitor compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights in the Contracting States. A Contracting State or any may appeal to the Court alleging that the rights set forth in the European Convention on Human Rights have been infringed.
Additional information: Päivi Kaukoranta, Director General, Legal Service, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 295 351 144
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