Supervision of advocates, public legal aid attorneys and licensed legal counsels

The Chancellor of Justice does not investigate the activities of individual advocates, public legal aid attorneys and licensed legal counsels and cannot impose disciplinary sanctions on them. The supervision of their activities is primarily the responsibility of the Disciplinary Board operating in connection with the Finnish Bar Association and the Legal Counsel Board. The Chancellor of Justice mainly supervises that the operations of the Disciplinary Board and the Legal Counsel Board are appropriate. A complaint on the activities of advocates, public legal aid attorneys and licensed legal counsels may be directly submitted to the Disciplinary Board.

See the Disciplinary Board website for more information about its activities.

If a complaint is made directly to the Chancellor of Justice regarding the work of an advocate, public legal aid attorney or licensed legal counsel, the Chancellor of Justice may refer such a complaint to the Disciplinary Board. However, the Chancellor of Justice will not forward complaints that are unspecified or clearly unfounded. The Chancellor of Justice may initiate a case in the Disciplinary Board if he finds that an advocate, public legal aid attorney or licensed legal counsel has neglected their duty.

The Disciplinary Board and the Legal Counsel Board submit all their decisions to the Chancellor of Justice. The Chancellor of Justice reviews the decisions and may appeal them to the Helsinki Court of Appeal. The appeal period is 30 days from the arrival of the decision at the Office of the Chancellor of Justice. 

The Chancellor of Justice investigates complaints concerning the proceedings of the Disciplinary Board and the Legal Counsel Board.