Supreme Administrative Court of Finland in the context of "Politics of Finland"

The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an autonomous state within the Russian Empire.

Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the King of Sweden, the country became autonomous after its annexation by Russia in the Finnish War of 1808–1809. The Grand Duke of Finland was the Romanov Emperor of Russia, represented by the Governor-General. Due to the governmental structure of the Russian Empire and Finnish initiative, the Grand Duchy's autonomy expanded until the end of the 19th century. The Senate of Finland, founded in 1809, became the most important governmental organ and the precursor to the modern Government of Finland, the Supreme Court of Finland, and the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland.

The Finnish order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the government of Finland. It has no legal standing, it does not reflect the Finnish presidential line of succession or the co-equal status of the branches of government under the constitution, and is only used to indicate ceremonial protocol.

1. President of the Republic Alexander Stubb
2. Retired Presidents of the Republic in order of term:
   1. President Tarja Halonen
   2. President Sauli Niinistö
3. Speaker of the Parliament Jussi Halla-Aho
4. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo
5. Other ministers of the Finnish Government
6. President of the Supreme Court Tatu Leppänen
7. President of the Supreme Administrative Court Kari Kuusiniemi
8. Chief of Defence Janne Jaakkola
9. Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Pöysti
10. Archbishop of Turku Tapio Luoma
11. Chancellor of the Order of the Cross of Liberty Ari Puheloinen
12. Chancellor of the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland Jussi Nuorteva
13. Chancellor of the University of Helsinki Kaarle Hämeri

The Supreme Court of Finland (Finnish: korkein oikeus [ˈkorkei̯n ˈoi̯keus], abbreviated as KKO; Swedish: högsta domstolen, abbreviated as HD), located in Helsinki, is the court of last resort for cases within the private law of Finland (that is, civil and criminal cases). The Court's counterpart is the Supreme Administrative Court, which is the court of last resort for cases within the administrative law.

The Supreme Court consists of a President and at minimum 15, currently 18, other Justices, usually working in five-judge panels. The most important function of the Supreme Court is to rule on important points of law in cases which are significant for the entire legal order, guiding the administering of justice in future cases. Decisions of the Courts of Appeal (Finnish: hovioikeudet, Swedish: hovrätter), as well as certain decisions of the Insurance Court may be appealed against to the Supreme Court, provided that it grants leave to appeal. In the rare criminal cases where a Court of Appeal acts as the court of first instance, the leave to appeal is not needed.

The war-responsibility trials in Finland (Finnish: Sotasyyllisyysoikeudenkäynti, Swedish: Krigsansvarighetsprocessen) were trials of the Finnish wartime leaders held responsible for "definitely influencing Finland in getting into a war with the Soviet Union and United Kingdom in 1941 or preventing peace" during the Continuation War, the Finnish term for their participation in the Second World War from 1941–1944. Unlike other World War II war-responsibility trials, the Finnish trials were not international. The trials were conducted from November 1945 through February 1946 by a special court consisting of the presidents of the Supreme Court of Finland, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland, a professor from the University of Helsinki and twelve MPs appointed by the Parliament of Finland. The accused were convicted and imprisoned, but later paroled and pardoned.