Legality control supervises that the activities of authorities comply with the law. This legality control also includes supervising that official duties, regulations and instructions, appropriate procedures, as well as the compliance with legal protection and good administration as safeguarded by the Constitution of Finland, are followed.
The Finnish Border Guard's legality control is guided by the Ministry of the Interior's instructions on the oversight of legality and the Finnish Border Guard's internal legality control regulation.
Legality control at all levels of the organisation
The Chief of the Finnish Border Guard determines the general principles of legality control and issues key orders related to it. The Deputy Chief of the Finnish Border Guard and the Border Guard Headquarters guide and oversee the activities of other administrative units (border and coast guard districts, Air Patrol Squadron and Border and Coast Guard Academy) and are responsible for organising legality control within their respective domains.
In administrative units, legality control is led by the commander of these units, who are also responsible for organising legality oversight within their own administrative units. Additionally, every superior is responsible for supervising and promoting the lawfulness of their subordinates' activities in their daily work and addressing any observed issues.
Different forms of legality control
Legality control is conducted based on reports and observations. It is also generally targeted at activities that affect fundamental and human rights or are less likely to be evaluated by external parties.
Daily supervisory work is the most common form of internal oversight. Other key forms of internal legality control include handling administrative complaints and own initiatives, conducting legality inspections, and supervising the processing of personal data.
The Finnish Border Guard's legality control also includes following public discussions concerning the Finnish Border Guard, handling letters from the public, managing claims for compensation and overseeing the military disciplinary procedures used within the Finnish Border Guard. You can read about whistleblower protection here.
Control has a preventive effect
The aim of internal legality control is to identify and address any potential issues early on.
However, legality control also has a preventive effect against inappropriate actions. Information obtained through legality oversight is used, for instance, in decision-making, operational planning and development, as well as in training and education provided by the Finnish Border Guard.
