Ombudsman for Equality

Scope of application in municipal administration

Under Section 17 of the Finnish Local Government Act, municipal bodies comprise the council, the municipal board and its subcommittees, boards of management and their divisions, and commissions. The quota provision of the Equality Act does not specify what is meant by a municipal body. However, the Supreme Administrative Court has concluded that, in certain cases, the municipal bodies referred to in the quota provision may include bodies other than those listed in Section 17 of the Local Government Act, such as working groups. The quota requirement does not apply to municipal councils that are elected. The provision does not apply to the presiding officers.

The quota provision also applies to bodies established for the purpose of intermunicipal cooperation, such as the councils, meetings and boards of joint municipal authorities, and other joint municipal bodies such as boards, directorates, commissions and advisory boards on regional cooperation. In many cases, individual municipalities choose the members of intermunicipal cooperation bodies, such as the councils of joint municipal authorities and the joint bodies referred to in Section 77 of the Local Government Act. The municipalities concerned must ensure beforehand by negotiation that the final composition of each body isin accordance with the quota provision of the Equality Act.