Appealing a Decision Made by an office holder or operational body within the Wellbeing Services County

Detailed information on how to appeal and who is eligible to do so are provided in the appeal instructions accompanying each decision.

• The decision pertains solely to the preparation or enforcement of the matter. In such instances, the appeal instructions will explicitly state that an appeal is not permissible.
• The appeal period has expired. The duration of the appeal period is calculated from the date you are deemed to have received the decision. This date is defined in the decision notice.

Public decision records from the officials and operational bodies of the Wellbeing Services County can be accessed online. If you are a concerned party, an official excerpt of the decision will have been delivered to you either via email, postal mail, or personal delivery.

Detailed information on the appeal process is provided in the appeal instructions attached to each decision. The specific method of appeal is determined by the legislation applicable to the particular decision. The various means of appeal include:

• Request for administrative review: This applies to certain appealable decisions made by operational bodies and office holders. For more information on fixed-rate fees (e.g., health station appointment fees) and decisions affecting individual clients of social services (e.g., decisions on social assistance), please visit: Requesting Administrative Reviews of Social and Health Services Decisions and Client Charges Concerning an Individual.
•  Request for judicial review by the Administrative Court (Finnish: aluevalitus): This applies to appealable decisions made by the County Council and decisions made by the County Board in matters involving administrative reviews.
• Administrative appeal to the Administrative Court: This applies to, for example, appealable decisions made by the County Board’s Individual Matters Subcommittee concerning requests for administrative reviews.
• Procurement appeal to the procuring entity and complaint to the Market Court:  This applies to procurement decisions.

The specific deadline for lodging an appeal is specified in the appeal instructions. Once this deadline has passed, the appeal period is considered to have expired. Requests for a judicial review of a county authority’s decision and administrative appeals must be submitted within 30 days of receiving notification of the decision. Requests for an administrative review, procurement appeals, and complaints to the Market Court must be submitted within either 14 or 30 days of receiving notification of the decision. The first day of notification is defined as one calendar day after the decision excerpt has been sent to the concerned party or the decision records have been published on a public information network.

The appeal instructions will provide detailed guidelines on the required content of the appeal documents and the appropriate address to send them to.

You can turn to the Regional State Administrative Agency if you encounter or suspect any misconduct or negligence within the health and social services or the rescue services. For more information and instructions on how to file a complaint, please visit the Regional State Administrative Agency’s website(external link).

The Chancellor of Justice serves as the supreme overseer of legality, supervising the legality of the actions of the Government and the President of the Republic. In addition, the Chancellor ensures that authorities adhere to the law and fulfil their duties. 

Citizens can file complaints(external link) with the Chancellor of Justice about an authority’s activities that they suspect to be illegal.

If you believe that a public authority or an official has failed to observe the law, fulfil a duty, or properly implement fundamental and human rights, you can lodge a complaint with the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Complaints(external link) can be lodged concerning a matter that affects you directly, but you can also lodge a complaint on behalf of another person or jointly with others.