📋 Tender Overview
The Ministry of Justice has published a report on the right of language groups to maintain and develop their own language and culture from the perspective of the Constitution. Language groups have a wide margin of manoeuvre to develop and maintain their own language and culture. The public authorities can support language groups through, for example, the obligation to safeguard fundamental and human rights and the interpretation of the law that is favourable to fundamental and human rights.
The report focuses especially on Finland's native languages, which include the Sami languages, the Romani language, the Karelian language, Finnish Sign Language and Finland-Swedish Sign Language.
It is a legal study that examines what the constitutionally guaranteed right to maintain and develop one's own language and culture means. In addition, the report explored ways in which the status of indigenous languages could be strengthened in legislation. In addition to the Constitution, the report examines national legislation as a whole and its possible need for amendments. According to the report, the position of indigenous languages could be strengthened in legislation, for example, with regard to early childhood education and care, teaching and the media. The Constitution's general obligation to safeguard also supports the promotion of linguistic rights in the activities of public authorities.
Responsibility for maintaining and developing language and culture for minority groups
Minority groups have a wide margin of manoeuvre to maintain and develop their language and culture. There is no general obligation for public authorities to contribute to supporting the linguistic and cultural rights of all linguistic minorities. The key to safeguarding the rights of a minority language group is whether the Constitution expressly requires that the linguistic rights of the language group be regulated in more detail by law. The Constitution requires regulation of the Sámi and sign language people. International agreements make it possible to safeguard minority languages in different ways, for example on the basis of the extent to which a minority language is spoken.
The study was commissioned by Maija Dahlberg, Assistant Professor of Public Law at the University of Eastern Finland, commissioned by the Ministry of Justice. According to Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government Programme, linguistic rights will be promoted by continuing to implement the measures defined in the National Language Strategy and the Language Policy Programme. The report now published is part of the measures of the Language Policy Programme.
