“In accordance with Section 38 of the Constitution of Finland, the Ombudsman is appointed for a four-year term by the Parliament. The Law is silent on the number of times an Ombudsman can be re-appointed, which leaves open the possibility of unlimited tenure.

In accordance with Section 19 c (1) of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act, the Director of the HRC is appointed for a four-year term by the Ombudsman. The Law is silent on the number of times the Director of the HRC can be re-appointed, which leaves open the possibility of unlimited tenure.

In order to promote institutional independence, the SCA is of the view that it would be preferable for both the term of office of the Ombudsman and the term of the Director of the HRC to be limited to one (1) re-appointment.

The SCA encourages the FNHRI to advocate for amendments to its enabling law to provide for such limits on the terms of office.

The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.3 and to its General Observation 2.2 on ‘Full-time members of an NHRI’.”