|
Finland Aland Islands
The province of the Aland Islands enjoys considerable
autonomy by virtue of the Autonomy Act of 1951 that
guarantees
the way of life and the preservation of Swedish traditions
on the
islands. The 1951 law was supplemented by a 1975 law that
restricts the acquisition of real estate on the islands.
Both
laws have constitutional status, and they may be altered
only in
accordance with the strict parliamentary provisions that
protect
the Constitution.
In addition to this protection against legislation
prejudicial to its interests, the archipelago's provincial
assembly, the Landsting, has the right to ratify laws
affecting
it. The Landsting consists of thirty members elected on
the basis
of proportional representation for four-year terms. Voters
must
be eighteen years of age by the year of the election and
must
have the right of domicile on the islands, a right
acquired by
living for at least five years in the province. Those with
this
right may also exercise certain professions and may
acquire real
estate, and they may not be conscripted if they have been
residents of the islands since before their twelfth year.
This
last provision resulted from the demilitarized and neutral
status
of the islands established by a decision of the League of
Nations
in 1921
(see Finnish Security Policy Between the Wars
, ch.
1).
The Landsting has the right to pass laws that touch on
administration, provincial taxation, police matters,
transportation, health care, and cultural matters. Issues
relating to the Constitution, national defense, foreign
affairs,
the judiciary, family law, and civil law are outside its
competence. All laws passed by the Landsting must be
approved by
the president of the republic, who may veto those laws
judged to
exceed the Landsting's competence or to damage the
country's
internal or external security.
The highest executive authority in the province is the
Provincial Executive Council, consisting of seven members
elected
by, and from within, the Landsting. The council must enjoy
the
confidence of the Landsting to carry out its duties, and
the
president of the council can be forced to resign if this
is not
the case.
The governor of the province represents the national
government. He is appointed by the president of the
republic, but
only after the approval of the Landsting, and is
responsible for
those administrative functions beyond the competence of
provincial authorities. Another link between the islands
and the
national government is the Aland Delegation, usually
headed by
the provincial governor; its other four members are chosen
by the
Council of State and the Landsting. The delegation's chief
duties
are supervising transfers of funds from the national
government
to the provincial government, to pay for the costs of
selfgovernment , and examining laws passed by the Landsting,
before
sending them to the president. In addition to these ties
between
the archipelago and the mainland, the province has one
representative in the Eduskunta who usually has a seat on
the
Constitutional Committee in order to protect the islands'
rights.
Since 1970 the province has had one delegate at the annual
meeting of the Nordic Council.
During the late 1980s, changes of a constitutional
nature in
the relations between the Aland Islands and the national
government were under review in the Eduskunta. The
projected
legislation touched on increased provincial control of the
taxes
the archipelago pays or generates and on greater control
over
radio and television reception, with the aim of increasing
access
to programming from Sweden and to the Swedish-language
programs
of the Finnish broadcasting system. Having secured the
right to
issue their own stamps in 1984, the archipelago's
inhabitants
also wanted to have their own postal system, a right still
reserved to the national government. Under discussion,
too, were
international guarantees for the islands' security.
Data as of December 1988
|
