Reindeer Herding Right and Mining in Finland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36368/jns.v17i1.1235Keywords:
reindeer herding rights, green transition, indigenous peoples, Sami, Lapland border, Lapp villages, Sami land rights, property law, legal history, FinlandAbstract
The article examines reindeer herding as a land use right and its status, particularly in relation to mining activities, which, due to the so-called green transition, have become a significant competing form of land use in Finland. The article begins by exploring the historical development of reindeer herding legislation and the formation of the current reindeer herding area. Additionally, it briefly compares the
reindeer herding legislation of Finland and Sweden, including who is entitled to practice reindeer herding. Finland’s reindeer herding area is divided into three distinct regions, within which the status of reindeer herding varies. The article investigates the origins of these regions and the differences between them. A central focus of the article, however, is the relationship between reindeer herding and mining activities. This involves both legislation and legal practice. Regarding legal practice, the discussion focuses particularly on decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court in cases where environmental and mining permits granted by administrative authorities have been deemed to cause harm to the practice of reindeer herding.
References
Literature
Allard, C. (2006). Two Sides of the Coin. Rights and Duties. The Interface between Law and Saami Law Based on a Comparison with Aoteoaroa/New Zealand and Canada, Luleå: Luleå University of Technology.
Allard, C. (2015a). Renskötselrätt i nordisk belysning [‘Reindeer herding rights in a Nordic perspective’], Halmstad: Makadam förlag.
Allard, C. (2015b). “Some characteristic features of Scandinavian laws and their influence on Sami matters,” in Indigenous Rights in Scandinavia: Autonomous Sami Law, eds. C. Allard & S.F. Skogvang, Fanham: Ashgate Publishing , 2015, p. 49–64.
Bengtsson, B. (2004). Samerätt. En översikt [‘Sami law. An overview’], Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik.
Committee report (1929). Komiteanmietintö 1929:8. Erinäisiä poronhoitoa koskevia kysymyksiä selvittämään asetetun komitean mietintö I [‘Report I of the committee established to investigate various issues concerning reindeer herding’], Helsinki.
Committee report (1942). Komiteanmietintö 1942:8. Poronhoitolakikomitean mietintö. [‘Report of the Reindeer Husbandry Act Committee’], Helsinki.
Cramér, T. & Prawitz, G. (1979). Studier i renbeteslagstiftning [‘Studies in Reindeer Grazing Legislation’], Stockholm: Norstedt.
Government proposal 244/1989. Hallituksen esitys poronhoitolaiksi [‘Government proposal for the Reindeer Husbandry Act’].
Government proposal 126/2022. Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle laiksi kaivoslain muuttamisesta [‘Government proposal to the Parliament for an Act Amending the Mining Act’].
Heinämäki, L. (2017). “Saamelaisten oikeudet Suomessa” [‘The rights of the Sami in Finland’], in Saamelaisten oikeuksien toteutuminen. Kansainvälinen oikeusvertaileva tutkimus [‘The realization of sami rights. An international comparative study’] (Valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimusosaston julkaisuja 4), Helsinki: Valtioneuvoston kanslia, pp. 22–85.
Hyvärinen, H. (1981). “Kenellä on poronhoito-oikeus saamelaisten kotiseutualueella. Maa- ja vesioikeudellinen tutkielma [‘Who has the reindeer herding right in the Sami homeland. A study in land and water rights’], MA thesis, University of Helsinki.
Joona, J. (1989). Poronhoidon hallinto ja hallintolainkäyttö [‘Administration and adjudication of reindeer herding’], Helsinki. Valtion painatuskeskus.
Joona, J. (1993). Poronhoito-oikeus maankäyttöoikeutena [‘Reindeer herding rights as a land use right’], Helsinki: Lakimiesliiton kustannus.
Joona, J. (1995). “Maa- ja vesialueiden yleiskäyttöoikeudet erityisesti Pohjois-Suomen alueella” [‘General usage rights of land and water areas, particularly in northern Finland’], in Oikeuskirja, ed. P. Martikainen, Kitee: Kiteen paino.
Joona, J. (2005). “Lapland border,” in The Saami. A Cultural Encyclopaedia, eds. U. Kulonen, I. Seurujärvi & R. Pulkkinen, Helsinki: Suomen Kirjallisuuden Seura, pp. 182–184.
Joona, J. (2021). Poronhoitolaki oikeuskäytännössä. Tutkimus poronhoitolain soveltamisesta hallintotuomioistuinten oikeuskäytännössä [‘The Reindeer Husbandry Act in jurisprudence. A study on the application of the Reindeer Husbandry Act in administrative court practice’] (Juridica Lapponica 49), Rovaniemi.
Korpijaakko-Labba, K. (1994). Om samernas rättsliga ställning i Sverige-Finland. en rättshistorisk utredning av markanvändningsförhållanden och -rättigheter i Västerbottens lappmark före mitten av 1700-talet [‘The legal status of the Sami in Sweden-Finland. A legal-historical examination of land use relationships and rights in Västerbotten’s Lapmark before the mid-eighteenth century’], Helsinki: Juristförbundets förlag.
Magga, A.-M. (2024). Siidan lait. Saamelaisen poronhoidon oikeusperiaatteet ja -teoria [‘The laws of the Siida. Legal principles and theory of Sami reindeer herding’], Tampere: Vastapaino.
Nickul, E. (1968). “Suomen saamelaiset vuonna 1962. Selostus Pohjoismaiden saamelaisneuvoston suorittamasta väestötutkimuksesta. Tilastotieteen pro gradu-tutkielma” [‘The Sami of Finland in 1962. A report on the population study conducted by the Nordic Sami Council. Master’s thesis in statistics’], MA thesis, University of Helsinki.
Pölönen, I, Allard C. & Raitio K. (2020). “Finnish and Swedish law on mining in light of collaborative governance,” Nordic Environmental Law Journal, 2, pp. 99–134.
Ravna, Ø. (2019). Same- og reindriftsrett [‘Sami and reindeer herding law’], Oslo: Gyldendal.
Savolainen, R. (1984). “Suomen poronhoito-organisaatio ja -omistus autonomian ajan lopulla” [‘Reindeer herding organization and ownership in Finland at the end of the autonomy period’], MA thesis, University of Jyväskylä.
Similä, J. & Jokinen, M. (2018), “Governing conflicts between mining and tourism in the Arctic,” Arctic Review on Law and Politics, 9, pp. 148–173.
Skogvang, S. (2023). Samerett [‘Sami Law’], Oslo. Universitetsforlaget.
Torp, E., (2023). “The interplay of politics and jurisprudence in the Girjas case,” in The Significance of Sámi Rights. Law, Justice, and Sustainability for the Indigenous Sámi in the Nordic Countries, eds. D. Cambou & Ø. Ravna, Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 72–83.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Juha Joona
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
