The Antecedents of Finnish Family Laws: Legal Tradition, Political Culture and Social Institutions

Abstract

This article examines aspects of the development of legal policy relating to the family in Finland during the period from 1809, when the country was incorporated within the Russian Empire, to the cessation of the Winter War with the Soviet Union. Its objective is to set the antecedents of contemporary Finnish family laws in the context of political culture and social policy and institutions. A dominant theme considered here is the extent of the commitment in Finland to traditions shared with Sweden.