Appeals

Appeals under the Local Government Act

The notice of appeal attached to the minutes and the decision will specify how and where to appeal.

Anyone dissatisfied with the decisions of the City Council and the Board, as well as their subordinate bodies and officials, may submit a written complaint. Appeals against the decisions of the municipal council and the committee shall be submitted to these bodies themselves, and against the decisions of their subordinate bodies, sections and officials to the municipal council or the committee concerned.

Appeals may be lodged by the party concerned, by a member of the municipality and, in the case of decisions of a local authority association, by its members. The parties are those who are affected by the decision or whose rights, interests or obligations are directly affected by the decision.
An appeal may be lodged on grounds of both expediency and legality, i.e. if the applicant considers that the decision is inappropriate or that

1) the decision was taken in an incorrect order;
2) the authority which took the decision exceeded its powers; or
3) the decision is otherwise unlawful.

The application for review must state which decision is being challenged and on what grounds. The appeal must be lodged within 14 days of the date of notification of the decision.
The instructions for lodging an appeal, which shall be annexed to the minutes and to the decision, shall specify the procedure for lodging an appeal.

Municipal complaint

Appeals under the Local Government Act

Appeals against decisions of the City Council and against decisions of the institutions following a complaint are mainly lodged with the Administrative Court. An appeal may be lodged on the grounds that the decision was taken in an incorrect order, that the authority which took the decision exceeded its powers or that the decision is otherwise unlawful. If the decision has been changed following an appeal, the person who was satisfied with the original decision also has the right to appeal.

A municipal appeal, stating which decision is being appealed and on what grounds, must be lodged within 30 days of notification of the decision.

The party concerned is the person against whom the decision has been taken or whose rights, obligations or interests are directly affected by the decision. The party concerned shall be deemed to have been informed of the decision, unless it is proved otherwise, within seven days of the date of dispatch of the letter (the decision and the statement of grounds for appeal).

Where the appeal is lodged in the capacity of a member of the municipality, the time limit for lodging an appeal shall run from the date on which the minutes of the body or the decision of the official were made available to the public. A copy of the minutes may be obtained and further instructions given by the secretary of the body concerned or by the official who took the decision.

Decisions of the City of Kemijärvi’s institutions are subject to municipal appeal:
Administrative Court of Northern Finland
Postal address: P.O. Box 189, 90101 Oulu, Finland, Visiting address: Isokatu 4, Oulu, Finland.

A court fee will be charged to the person initiating the appeal in accordance with the Court Fees Act (1455/2015).

Further appeal:
The administrative court’s decision is subject to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court, to which an appeal must be lodged within 30 days.

Administrative appeal

Appeals under special laws, other than the Municipal Act.
Such special laws exist in areas such as education, social welfare, health and the environment.

Any citizen can lodge an administrative appeal. The notification is made by
to the provincial government supervising the municipality, the Chancellor of Justice of the Council of State or the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

An administrative complaint is a report to a higher authority or an authority responsible for monitoring the legality of the general administration (Chancellor of Justice of the Council of State, Parliamentary Ombudsman) that an incorrect official act has been committed. An administrative complaint may be lodged by any citizen. There are no prescribed forms and no time limit for lodging a complaint.

Administrative appeal

Appeals under special laws, i.e. other than the Municipal Act

Municipal authorities, particularly at the level of committees and officials, take a large number of decisions under various special laws.

Such special laws exist, for example, in the fields of education, social welfare, health and the environment.
The appeal provisions in the special laws, which are very varied, take precedence over the appeal provisions in the Municipal Act.

Instead of a municipal appeal, the special laws often provide for an administrative appeal, which is not limited to grounds of legality but can also be lodged on grounds of expediency, i.e. on the grounds that the appellant considers the decision to be inappropriate.

Unless otherwise provided, the time limit for appeal is 30 days from the date of notification of the decision.

The appeal instructions annexed to the minutes and the decision will explain in more detail how to appeal. Specific laws may contain prohibitions on appeals.
Many specific laws contain provisions for a pre-appeal appeal procedure under that law. Depending on the case, an appeal under the Municipal Act may also be possible.

An administrative appeal may only be lodged by the party concerned, i.e. the person against whom the decision is addressed or whose rights, obligations or interests are directly affected by the decision. The appeal system under the special laws does not recognise the right of a member of a municipality to lodge a citizen’s appeal under the Municipal Act.

Appeals in a procurement case

An appeal against a public procurement decision or any other decision taken in a procurement procedure can be lodged with the Market Court. An appeal is possible if the value of the procurement exceeds the thresholds set out in the Public Procurement Act. The tenderer, the candidate who has applied to participate or any other interested party may appeal to the Market Court. As a rule, the appeal must be lodged within 14 days after the party concerned has been informed of the decision on the procurement and the statement of grounds for appeal.

Anyone dissatisfied with a decision of the contracting entity or any other decision taken in the procurement procedure may also submit a written request to the contracting entity for a review of the contract. A contract may also be subject to a procurement review in the case of so-called small contracts which are not otherwise covered by the Public Procurement Act. The request for a review must be made within 14 days of the date on which the person lodging the request for review was informed of the contracting entity’s decision or of any other decision taken in the procurement procedure.

The complaint will be sent to:
CITY OF KEMIJÄRVI
Name of the institution concerned
Postal address:	P.O. Box 5, 98101 Kemijärvi
Opening hours:	9:00 – 15:00
Email:	kirjaamo@kemijarvi.fi