Legal Aid in Finland

A couple of weeks ago, a [foreign] student in Finland asked me a question: where do you turn to if you lend someone a hugh amount of money and he is unwilling to repay the debt? I immediately knew the question was about debt recovery, but unfortunately, I did not have an answer to the question. His question reminded me of the bitter truth that in Finland, many do not know where to turn to - for protection under the law. Not surprisingly, I made it my mission to find an answer to this important question. Considering the fact that many people cannot afford an attorney, you would agree that legal aid in Finland is indispensable.

The right to legal aid in Finland is guaranteed under Section 21 of the Constitution - which provides everyone with protection under the law! It therefore follows that in Finland, if you cannot afford a lawyer (in an event where you need legal assistance), you reserve the right to legal aid - a situation where the state partially or fully covers the cost of hiring a lawyer.

As obvious as this may seem, many people in Finland, especially immigrants, are not aware about the availability of legal aid in this Scandinavian country. This explains why many violations of the rights of this vulnerable group of people go unheard by a well-constituted court of law, despite the availability of legal aid in English language - in a land where Finnish and Swedish are the official languages.

In Finland, if you cannot afford an attorney, legal aid is readily available in any sort of legal matter - including assistance to creditors (debt recovery). Legal aid is only unavailable to companies, associations, corporations etc. It is worth mentioning that you are not eligible for legal aid if your insurance covers legal expenses. But there are exceptions to this rule.

Is legal aid in Finland free of charge?

The cost of legal aid in Finland depends on your financial situation: monthly income, assets and monthly expenses. The amount of money you pay is determined by the amount of income you have left, after your monthly expenses are reduced from your monthly income. However, keep in mind that if you have no means of income, legal aid is free of charge.

In Finland, there are numerous Public Legal Aid Offices. Make sure you go through the contact information of legal aid offices and pick the most convenient one. Personally, I like the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Legal Aid Office, locate at Mannerheimintie 4, 6th floor, 00100 Helsinki. I like this office because it is very accessible - located in the heart of the city centre - opposite the Swedish Theatre; next to Clas Ohlson.

My wish for the student - whose question inspired this article - is that he gets legal aid for debt recovery.

Visit the Legal Aid website for details about legal aid in Finland.

*Photo by dweekly

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Impunity for Sex Offenders in Scandinavia

For awhile, I've privately held the view that criminal laws in Scandinavia are for the most part - loose and do not adequately sanction offenders. No doubt this is the case because it's not uncommon for criminals to walk the streets because they have been handed down suspended sentences for the worst crimes. You might dismiss my view, but a credible international human rights organization - Amnesty International - shares the same view and has slammed Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden for allowing impunity for sex offenders. In many jurisdictions around the world, rape is a felony and offenders bear the full weight of the law, but in Scandinavia, the story is different.

In a report, entitled Case Closed: Rape and Human Rights in Nordic Countries, published on 8 March 2010, Amnesty International cited, with regret, the level of impunity for sex offenders in Scandinavia. The report documents a couple of disturbing cases of rape, including: The case of a man in Finland who forced a woman to have sex in a car park toilet by banging her head against the wall and twisting her arm behind her back. The court held that it was not rape because the violence was of a "lesser degree". The man was given a suspended sentence of 7 months in prison for coercion (...not rape).

Justice served?

Cases of rape in the Scandinavian countries are rarely reported and those that are reported rarely make it to court. The few that make it to court are commonly acquitted. In other words, rape victims are not adequately protected by law all across the region; instead the credibility of their complaints are more often than not - questioned.

In Finland, the level of impunity enjoyed by sex offenders is alarming. Victims of rape have little chance of seeing justice served, with only between 2% and 10% of rape cases reported. According to Amnesty International, Finland is at the bottom of the list of Scandinavian countries when it comes to protecting victims of rape and bringing perpetrators to justice.

The report highlights the fact that in Scandinavian countries - Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, the definition of rape in domestic law is not in line with rape, as defined by the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court. According to the courts, the absence of consent is key, in the definition of rape. In sharp contrast, all four Scandinavian countries define rape as "the use of violence or threats of violence". Hence, in Scandinavia, violence and threats are the main ingredients that constitute rape as an offence. It goes without saying therefore that in the region, non-consensual sex without considerable violence does not constitute rape. This is clearly not in accordance with international law.

Amnesty International criticized Finnish legislation, which defines rape as "coercion into sexual intercourse". As if this definition is not flawed enough, the punishment is remarkably lenient - usually a fine or a few months in prison.

In Finland and Denmark, non-consensual sex with a drunk victim is not rape. This explains why a Finnish District Court sentenced a man to 8 month [suspended] imprisonment for non-consensual sex with a drunk woman on board a ferry from Finland to Sweden. The perpetrator was convicted for sexual abuse; not rape.

In my opinion, in a civilized society, non-consensual sex with a drunk victim should be ruled as rape and heavily sanctioned. Do you or do you not agree?

Did you notice that not much has been said about Sweden so far?

Well, let's say I was saving the worst for last: Sweden tops the European Rape League - recording the highest number of reported cases of rape in Europe (46 cases per 100,000 residents). This makes Sweden - the "rape capital" of Europe. The record high rate of rapes in Sweden is accompanied by a record low rate of convictions. Amnesty International noted that Sweden's rapists enjoy impunity and criticized Sweden's record low rate of rape convictions. It is worth mentioning that the United Nations is also alarmed by Sweden's over-the-top rape record.

Although Scandinavian countries pride themselves with the attainment of gender equality in many aspects of daily life, they have failed so far to protect women from rape and other forms of violence.

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A Mockery of Education in Scandinavia!

Scandinavia is a region in northern Europe, which includes the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Island are also often considered parts of Scandinavia. Having lived in Scandinavia, precisely in Sweden and Finland, I can tell you that it's one of the most desireable places in the world to live. Scandinavian countries are for the most part wonderful! If you doubt it, check the UN Human Development Report. In 2009, BBC reported that Norway, was the best country to live in. Also in the top 10 best countries to live in 2009, were two other Scandinavian countries - Iceland and Sweden. It's worthy to note that Helsinki, Finland is among the world's top 10 most liveable cities in 2010. In academia, Scandinavia is home to one of the World's top 100 universities and education is tuition-free, in some of the countries - Sweden and Finland, precisely. Tuition-free education in the region attracts thousands of students from all over the world - Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, and graduates from Scandinavian universities are equipped to compete for top career positions worldwide. Many international students flock to the region and receive the best education, free of charge. After graduation, some find jobs in their field of studies - mostly out of Scandinavia, while a good number of those who hope to find jobs in the region, hit a brick wall and soon realise that there's a mockery of education in Scandinavia.

Like I said, I've been on the ground in Scandinavia - from Rovaniemi (northern Finland); to Gothenburg (west coast of Sweden); to Lund, Malmö and Linköping (southern Sweden) and Stockholm (south-central east coast of Sweden) and back to Helsinki (southern Finland); not forgetting Copenhagen, Denmark. You'd therefore agree that I have a grasp of the region and hence - "locus standi" to address the plight of university graduates - I mean Masters and PhD holders in Scandinavia.

Everywhere I go in Scandinavia, it's the same story - university graduates can't find the jobs for which they spent many years in school, preparing themselves. As a result, highly educated folks (mostly foreigners) are reduced to menial jobs like cleaning, dish washing, newspaper delivery, you name it. Those who choose the cleaning job have to clean hotels, schools, restaurants or homes; those who choose to be dish washers have to wash dishes in hotels and restuarants; those who choose to deliver newspaper have to wake up at 1AM everyday (irrespective of snow, rain, sun or whatever is outside) to go make deliveries - they have to wake up this early because there's a reading culture in Scandinavia and newspaper subscribers expect their newspapers delivered before 6AM, daily. This is the story of university graduates in Scandinavia! It's a story of well educated folks, caught at the bottom rung of a society - far from home.

The truth is, some of these jobs are fairly paid - up to 9 euros (approximately $12.25) per hour and there're graduates who subscribe to be full-time workers - 8 hours a day. Is this what they really want to do? I have spoken to many Masters degree holders and a few PhDs and they have one thing in common - they don't like what they do! They apply for menial jobs because they have to put food on the table. This is well understood. But, the problem is - most graduates become complacent and stop looking for other options. They get caught up in the routine of their menial jobs and think they can somehow keep doing what they're doing, until another option shows up from nowhere. This, in my mind, is hallucination at it's best! Gone are the days when manna came from heaven! There's no way you'd live the life of your dreams if you don't make an effort to break free from a system that insults your intelligence! No doubt, you have to put food on the table, but don't stop searching for what you deserve.

So, why would a society that provides tuition-free education not provide it's university graduates with the jobs they deserve?

Some blame it on the economy. This is a lame excuse because underemployment has been the plight of numerous university graduates in Scandinavia - long before the economic meltdown. Others blame it on language barriers. This is a valid argument! Scandinavian countries have their local languages and most of the international students who graduate don't bother to learn a local language. You'd agree that it's impossible to function in a society if you can't communicate with the people. However, a good number of graduates speak Swedish, Finnish, Dannish or Norwagian, but what they get is a "better" menial job. Yes! A "better" menial job!

There're international organizations (with English as a working language) in these countries - why don't they employ international graduates? Unfortunately, most jobs where foreigners can compete are expressly reserved for nationals of a Member State of the European Union or nationals of the European Economic Area. What about qualified and talented nationals of non-European countries? Should they go clean, wash dishes and deliver newspapers - to make a living? This might or might not surprise you, but there's a kind of "legalized discrimination" in the labor market in Scandinavia.

Well, call it whatever you want, but you can't deny the fact that there's a mockery of education in the region! Where else in the "developed" world is it normal for Masters and PhDs to work in the field of cleaning, dish washing and newspapers delivery?

For the thousands of underemployed university graduates in Scandinavia, life is a constant battle of survival - sink or swim! Find a good job and create the lifestyle you deserve or be complacent and spend the rest of your life, working menial jobs. The system in place, although largely responsible, can't take all the blame. You have to improvise! Why not start a business? After all, there're lots of opportunities out there.

It's true that Scandinavia is a desireable place to live; but it's also true that there's a mockery of education in Scandinavia!

In case you missed it: Odd Jobs for the Highly Educated in Europe!

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