An anti-personnel landmine during a military exercise held by the Karelia Brigade. Over 50,000 Finns have backed a citizens’ initiative for effectively re-introducing anti-personnel mines to the defence arsenal of Finland. Experts, though, have reminded that the initiative is not the correct instrument to pursue changes to foreign policy or international commitments, reports Helsingin Sanomat. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)
- Next Article Film and TV workers face mental health crisis in Finland
THE CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE for pulling out of an international treaty banning the use of anti-personnel landmines cannot be presented to parliament, estimates Veli-Pekka Viljanen, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Turku.
Finland joined the treaty, the Ottawa Convention, in 2012.
Viljanen on Monday told Helsingin Sanomat that the citizens’ initiative for opting out of the convention should fail because the constitutional provisions define approval and rejection of international obligations as issues that fall outside the purview of citizens’ initiatives.
“Our citizens’ initiative deals with legislative issues, and terminating international treaties isn’t a legislative issue,” he remarked.
A citizens’ initiative therefore cannot serve as the impetus for opting out of the Ottawa Convention. The mechanism was also not intended as an instrument to shape foreign policy.
“In my view this is factually clear,” he commented. “My understanding is that parliament can’t start weighing up the issue on this basis. I assume that it’ll be rejected on grounds that this is the incorrect procedure.”
The citizens’ initiative was drafted by a group of lawmakers and foreign policy experts, including Member of European Parliament Mika Aaltola (NCP), ex-Minister of Defence Jussi Niinistö, and ex-Ambassadors Hannu Himanen and Pasi Patokallio. It received the 50,000 signatures required to present a citizens’ initiative to parliament a few days after its launch on Independence Day, 6 December.
Viljanen pointed out that the mechanism was devised as an instrument to primarily encourage public debate rather than to pursue legislative amendments.
The Speaker of Parliament, he added, should draw the conclusion that the initiative cannot be the basis of parliamentary discussion because he has an obligation to ensure the parliament does not weigh up “anything unconstitutional”.
“If there’s a desire to move forward with this, the government has to propose pulling out of the Ottawa Convention,” he stated to Helsingin Sanomat.
Timo Tuovinen, the deputy secretary general of the Finnish Parliament, similarly argued that constitutional provisions on the citizens’ initiative are an obstacle for discussing the initiative to pull out of the anti-personnel landmine ban.
“The speaker will decide whether or not to submit an issue to the plenary session. In that context, he’ll have to evaluate whether a citizens’ initiative like this can be submitted for consideration. I don’t think it can be considered [by parliament],” he commented to Helsingin Sanomat on Tuesday.
Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho (PS) said to the newspaper he has yet to familiarise himself with the content of the initiative.
“My understanding is that a citizens’ initiative can be a legislative proposal and contain legal provisions. And it can urge the government to take action in support of some kind of an initiative,” he stated. “Joining international treaties and withdrawing from them is in the hands of parliament, meaning it’s parliament that’ll ultimately make the decision.”
Helsingin Sanomat on Tuesday reminded that a citizens’ initiative to leave the anti-personnel landmine ban was submitted to parliament also in 2023. The Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee ruled at the time that parliament cannot weigh up the issue.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
- Next Article Film and TV workers face mental health crisis in Finland
Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
