Foreign Influences on Administrative Research in Finland - a Historical Survey

136 HALLINNON TUTKIMUS 2 • 1993 Foreign influences on administrative research in Finland - A historical survey Tore Modeen THE 19th CENTURY umes of Johan Gabriel von Bonsdorffs "Stor Furstendömet Finlands kameral-lagfarenhet" Administrative research in the field of legal (1833, 1112 pages). The author had a doctorate science began rather late. Political or social sci in philosophy as well as in law. He worked as an ence become even later a subject of study and accountant at the Senate, i.e. the central gov research. The social scientists, however, focused ernment of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The book their attention at first on constitutional rather than contains a systematic survey of all existing tax governmental matters. Even the historians did not es and other fees to the State. But there is no usually pay much attention to administrative attempt to analyse the subject. matters; the king and the central government The most brilliant scholar of this period, Pro were considered to be much more interesting fessor J.J. Nordström, published an academic subjects. The only exception are studies on the dissertation on the subject of local government: history of cities, usually commissioned and paid "Skildring af municipal-författningen i Finland" for by the city councils. These histories based (1832). The small book contains mostly histori on documents may give useful information on the cal materia!. functioning of local government in former times. Professor Hermanson's published lectures on But as they usually concern only one municipal Finnish administrative law (1898) lack an ana ity and thus lack comparative elements, they are lytical approach; they give only an account of the of only limited value for the knowledge of gov present and earlier statutory situation. As there ernment in general. was no science in the true meaning of the word, lf we look at the research activities in the field there is no point in looking for foreign scientific of public administration in the beginning or the influences. middle of the 19th century, we will find very little of interest. One important reason for this lack is THE LAST VEARS OF THE 19th AND THE that there were no chairs at the university for BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURY administrative law or history of government. Only in the middle of the 19th century was a The first real scholars in the field of Finnish chair for "cameral and administrative justice" administrative law published their doctoral the founded in the law faculty. The holder of this chair ses in the last years of the 19th or at the begin rather than the professor of international and ning of the 20th century. However, the themes constitutional law was supposed to give courses chosen by the authors, - finance and tax law in administrative law. But very few academic dis (Willgren, 1899, Paasikivi 1901) or social admin sertations were published in this field. istration (Ståhlberg, 1893, Talas, 1905, see also The books and papers published in adminis Rosenborg, 1858), - remain however outside the trative law tend to focus mainly on the historical central part of administrative law. A.W. Boisman aspects of government (J.J. Nordström, J.W. is the only example of a Finnish scholar's pub Rosenborg, Leo Mechelin). Thus they give very lishing a study on a central theme: the dividing little background information as to the actual func line between public and pricate law (1915). This tioning of government. The authors failed to an study, however, shows no originality and refers alyse legal features typical of government, nor mainly to German sources. Boisman's doctoral was jurisprudence dealt with. thesis on the legal control of government ( 1908) There is only one example from this period of is more original, but was not accepted by the a manual concerning public law: the three voi- faculty in spite of certain merits. HALLINNON TUTKIMUKSEN PÄIVÄT• TORE MODEEN 137 The scholarly books of this period all contain a administrative law ("Förvaltningsrättens allmän lot of historical notes (accounts of old Swedish na läror") is clearly inspired by the great German laws). ln looking for scholarly sources, the au professors of this period: F. Fleiner, Otto Mayer, thors were mainly Germany oriented. J. Hatschek and R.H: Herrnritt. But he aisa men The Finnish administrative system being very tions the Swedes H. Blomberg and C.A. Reuter close to that of Sweden (from which Finland was skiöld. Reuterskiöld had published several vol separated only in 1809), it would have been nat umes on administrative law; his systematical ural that the foreign influences should come from approach was quite original and he had only a this country. But in Sweden administrative law few followers in Sweden. No Finnish scholar can remained underdeveloped during most of the 19th be regarded as having been influenced by his century. ideas. We can take as an example the doctoral the sis of K.J. Ståhlberg on vagrancy (»lrtolaisuus»). published in 1893. lts high quality inspired the THE INTER-WAR PERIOD. authorities to create for him a chair of adminis ADMINISTRATIVE LAW trative law in 1908, the first of its kind in Scandi navia. Administrative law was interpreted largely Very few successors to the old generation of s as including financial and tax law. cholars appeared in the years after World War 1. Ståhlberg's thesis is a volume of 207 pages The next holder of the chair of administrative law written in Finnish. The first 20 pages concern the was T. Tarjanne, appointed in 1935. He had be (Swedish) history of vagrancy law. The following gun to study the law of procedure, but switched pages contain an analysis of the Finnish vagran later to administrative and tax law. The subject cy decree of 1852. The analysis is based mainly of his main monography in administrative law was on works preparatory to the decree. The foreign the discontinuance of public service relationships. references concern mainly recent treaties on Tarjanne was killed in the war and his successor Swedish constitutional law. The third, more the was to be V. Merikoski, who during his long term oretically oriented chapter on the use of public (1941-70) as professor of administrative law force refers to a great number of German schol published a great number of books and articles arly books on administrative law. The author was in this field. well versed in the German literature, as ali the Professor Merikoski spent some years in his important names figure in the footnotes. Several youth in France and Germany. He was the first references to French treaties appear in the third more internationally oriented Finnish scholar in chapter on the nation of vagrancy; even Dutch, this field. He founded the Finnish national sec Spanish and Italian books are mentioned in this tion of the International Institute of Administra context. tive Sciences and even published books and The reason for the author's not including more papers in foreign languages, such as a French references to Swedish (or other Scandinavian) version (in 1958) of his treaty on the discretion literature was without any doubt the fact that there ary powers of government. was so little of it. Such names as Ryding, Linde, Merikoski"s doctoral thesis on the freedom of Hammarskjöld, Blomberg, and Aschehoug still association (1935) is based on an extensive in appear in the footnotes. ternational bibliography. lt is obvious that he was Russian law is treated only briefly, as it had no well informed on administrative law in Scandina relevance to Finland. Remarkably enough, the via as well as on the European continent. Kel only source mentioned is Engelmann's "Das sen (Austria), Hauriou and Duguit (France), and Staatsrecht des Kaiserthums RuBland", i.e. a Hatschek and Fleiner (Germany), are often men book published in German in Germany. tioned. ln this book as well as in his other schol Another scholar of the period, Onni Talas, was arly works, he shows a good command of inter very German oriented. This appears not only in national legal theory and scholarship. his scholarly works but aisa in his comparative ln Sweden Nils Herlitz and Halvar Sundberg surveys on foreign law in the fields of local gov were active publishing books on administrative ernment and poor relief published in governmen law. ln Denmark Poul Andersen was the best tal papers. known scholar in this field. These authors ali fig Karl Willgren taught administrative and finan ure among the sources of Merikoski as do the cial law at the university for a long period. His Americans Ernst Freund and Roscoe Pound, the book published in 1925 in Swedish on general Germans Forsthoff and Jellinek, the French de 5 138 HALLINNON TUTKIMUS 2 • 1993 Laubadere and the Belgians Puget and Maleville. A new category, senior assistant, was created to But it is hard to find some kind of special rela attract young scholars to the university. Only very tionship to any school of administrative law sci few such posts are reserved for administrative ence. lawyers. The Danish scholar Poul Andersen and the The general situation has thus changed radi Norwegian Ragnar Knoph introduced in Denmark cally. Administrative law is being studied and and Norway French legal thinking with so much taught today in several places and by a consid success that certain French theories became a erable number of professors. Did this spread re part of the national law. The same can be said sult in different schools of administrative law? ls about the Norwegian Torstain Eckhoff regarding the foreign influence more noticeable with some American law. ln Finland there are no compara scholars than with others? ble examples. There are definitely no clear-cut different schools of administrative law in Finland.

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