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Finland CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
The Swedish penal code was retained in Finland until
1889,
when the Grand Duchy of Finland adopted a new code that
was
derived from the familiar Swedish practice but allowed for
more
precise definition of crimes. Judges were given
considerable
latitude in interpreting the law, but the new code limited
the
punishments that could be exacted for particular
categories of
offenses. Although frequently amended over the ensuing
decades,
the Penal Code of 1889 remained in force in the 1980s. In
1977
the government authorized establishment of the Penal Law
Committee to study the system of corrections and to
reconsider
the principles on which criminal policy was based in order
to
make recommendations for revisions in the penal code. No
action
had been taken on penal code reform as of 1988, however.
Data as of December 1988
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