Compulsory student union membership as a challenge to freedom of association in Finland

Riku Neuvonen

Tampere University

Finland has been called “the promised land of associations”. The Nordic country has an exceptionally high number of associations relative to its population, and almost every Finn belongs to one or more. Despite or because of the number of associations, legal research on associations has been focused on technical details and on the activities of associations.

This post discusses the mandatory membership of university student unions, which distinguishes Finland from many other European countries. Compulsory membership has been the subject of extensive discussion in Finland, both in public debate and for a few active researchers.

Background

Finnish freedom of association doctrine in its current form is relatively new (Muukkonen 2007). Freedom of association is guaranteed in the Finnish constitution Article 13. Finland is committed to UN covenants and the European Convention on Human Rights and is a member of the EU. In Finland’s fundamental rights system, freedom of association is not only a freedom but also a political right. Understanding the constitutional status of the freedom of association in Finland requires an illustration of the Finnish constitutional context.

There is no constitutional court in Finland. The supervision of constitutionality of law proposals is the responsibility of the Chancellor of Justice and the Parliament. The Constitutional Law Committee of the Finnish Parliament has a central position in Finnish constitutional law. The members of the Constitutional Law Committee are MEPs but traditionally they see themselves as legal decision-makers, not politicians.  It was very rare for the Committee to vote, and almost all statements are agreed upon unanimously. The secretariat of the Committee is composed of experts in constitutional law and the drafting of legislation. The Committee hears experts in constitutional law and other areas, and the statements of these experts normally had significant influence. The Constitutional Committee gives its opinion on the constitutionality of the proposal, i.e. the order of enactment. The Committee takes only a position on the legislative order.  The Parliament as a whole approves or rejects the bill. If the government's proposal is unconstitutional, it must be enacted in the order of the constitutional amendment. Therefore, constitutional doctrine and freedom of association are determined by the practice of the Constitutional Law Committee.

Freedom of association under the Finnish constitution can be divided into several rights:

A) the right to form an association without a permit;

B) the right to be a member of one or more associations;

C) the right not to join any association;

D) the right to resign from an association which you have joined whenever you wish;

E) internal freedom of activity to associations; and

F) the right to independently draft their rules, within the framework of law, and decide on their internal operations.

The compulsory membership of student unions

The most significant exception to freedom of association in Finland is the compulsory membership of student unions (Muukkonen 2023), which are student-run association. In Finland, all levels of the school system have student unions. Freedom of association includes the negative right not to join an association. The Constitutional Law Committee has stated that basic principles of freedom of association can be deviated from only for an acceptable reason. One such reason is the association’s public task.

A student union is an autonomous body. Traditionally, each university has had one student union. Universities have extensive autonomy based on Article 123 of the Constitution. This autonomy has been extended to apply also to student unions. According to section 46 of the Universities Act (558/2009), membership in the student union is mandatory for all university students at the Bachelor’s or Master’s level. Students cannot resign or be expelled from unions during their studies. Student union membership is voluntary for post-graduate students and other groups if the union allows voluntary membership.

Section 46 stipulates that student unions are involved in university tasks aimed at preparing students for active citizenship. Consequently, these unions have representatives on university administrative bodies. One of the key arguments for compulsory membership was health care. Students’ unions were responsible for participating in activities of the Finnish Student Health Services (in Finnish, Ylioppilaiden terveydenhoitosäätiö, YTHS) until 2021. Students’ health care fees were collected as part of the students’ union membership fees. Consequently, this reasoning no longer corresponds to reality.

Finland has a dual model of education in which universities are responsible for classic academic education, but there are also universities of applied sciences. When the system was established with the University of Applied Sciences Act (932/2014), compulsory membership did not apply to the student unions of universities of applied sciences. Student unions were established in universities of applied sciences to execute the same tasks as the student unions of standard universities.

According to a Constitutional Law Committee statement, compulsory membership in the student unions of universities of applied sciences was contrary to the freedom of association guaranteed by the Constitution. As stated by the committee, the student union of the university of applied sciences does not perform the same public tasks as the student union of the university. Similarly, the student union is not an essential and historical part of the university of applied sciences. The matter has not been mentioned in the programmes of governments formed after the statement (Sipilä I and Marin I). In the programme of the current government (Orpo I), the status of university student unions will be clarified.

The Act on Health Care for Students in Higher Education (695/2019) extended the YTHS system to all higher education students. The responsibility for organising health care services was transferred to the Social Insurance Institution (in Finnish, Kansaneläkelaitos, KELA). As a result of the changes, the duties and status of the student unions of the two types of higher education institutions became almost identical. The Constitutional Law Committee has required the government to find a basis for organising the status of university student unions in a sustainable way in terms of freedom of association. In 2021, the Supreme Administrative Court issued a decision on compulsory membership.  The court referred to the practice of the Constitutional Law Committee, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the prevailing circumstances.  The Court found that compulsory membership of university student unions was not in evident conflict with Article 106 of the Constitution. Accordingly, the Court dismissed the appeal.

Conclusions and future

The current government may introduce measures to clarify the status of university student unions. The previous grounds for compulsory membership of student unions have changed significantly and it is a clear exception to the freedom of association.

At the centre of Finnish constitutional law is the Constitutional Law Committee. Consequently, the assessment of constitutionality is strongly related to the legislative proposals. If the government does not propose a law, the matter will not be assessed constitutionally. The position of the courts and the Chancellor of Justice and the parliamentary ombudsman has been strengthened, but without the government's actions, the issues of freedom of association will not be changed. In addition to the government's own will, change can come through external pressure, such as from human rights supervisors or the decision of the European Court of Human Rights. As of now, it is not known whether appeals have been made to the European Court of Human Rights.

Riku Neuvonen is Senior Lecturer of Public Law at Tampere University, Finland.

Suggested citation: Riku Neuvonen, ‘Compulsory student union membership as a challenge to freedom of association in Finland’ IACL-AIDC Blog (19 September 2024) Compulsory student union membership as a challenge to freedom of association in Finland — IACL-IADC Blog (blog-iacl-aidc.org)