Helsinki District Court Chief Judge criticises long duration of criminal cases

Takkunen sees situation as threat to rule of law

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Eero Takkunen, Chief Judge at the Helsinki District Court, says that the long duration of the handling of legal matters could place the rule of law in Finland in an awkward light.
      “Finland sees itself as a country with the rule of law, but these decisions by the Human Rights Court suggest something very different. There is no justice in having to wait for seven or eight years”, Takkunen points out.
      Takkunen was speaking on Monday when Helsinki District Court gave its decision in the longest and most extensive criminal case in Finnish history.
      In addition to taking a couple of years, the handling of the case, involving tax evasion in the construction industry, cost more than EUR 1.7 million in taxpayers’ money.
     
“The whole concept of protection under the law has been eroded. It is a stigma”, Takkunen says.
      The Chief Judge of Finland’s largest district court was making reference to the cases in which the European Court of Human Rights voted against it. Under rules set by the European Union, a person must not be kept under suspicion of a crime for more than seven years.
      Finland has received more than 100 reprimands from the court this decade, most of which have involved excessive duration of a legal case. Most of the cases were originally argued in the Helsinki region.*
     
The receipt fraud trial that was wound up at Helsinki District Court on Monday began in the fall of 2007, after long preparation, and the actual trial proceedings lasted around six months, with nearly 100 court sessions.
      District Prosecutor Heikki Poukka says that there are a few cases each year in Finland that require more than three months to handle. These are usually in the Helsinki region.
      Chief Judge Takkunen says that in the bigger cases it is usually impossible to reach a final verdict in less than seven years from the very beginning of the investigation.
     
In the most difficult cases, the matter is likely to go to the Court of Appeals, and possibly even the Supreme Court for handling.
      “If the preliminary investigation takes 4 to 5 years, the matter simply cannot go through the legal process in time.”
      Takkunen feels that cooperation between the police and prosecutors should improve, so that those who are indicted could get a decision in an appropriate amount of time.
      He says that the time of the court is often spent on going over matters that should have been cleared up during preliminary police investigations.
     
The number of trials at Helsinki District Court taking more than one day have tripled over the past three years.
      The time that judges put on large cases has doubled. Takkunen sees this as a permanent change.
      “Crooks network as well”, he notes.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Monday: More than 80 convicted in giant construction site receipts fraud case (4.5.2009)

See also:
  *Correction: European court rules 88 times against Finland (6.5.2009)

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