Transformations within the institution of judicial review and the growing role of the judiciary in general have been one of the most significant constitutional developments in recent years in Finland. The power of courts to review the compatibility of parliamentary legislation with EU law, international human rights treaties and the Constitution is linked to the issue of the appropriate division of powers between the legislature and the judiciary, as well as the increasing “politicization of adjudication” and “adjudication of politics”. As a consequence, the proper scope and legitimacy of judicial review have become one of the central issues in Finnish constitutional debate. The article provides an overview of the major transformations within the institution of judicial review in Finland, arguing that the reciprocal influence of certain domestic sources of dynamics, EU membership and international human rights treaties have had a fundamental impact on judicial review and role of courts in general. This shift of competence to the judiciary has also brought it from the periphery toward the center of the Finnish constitutional and political system.

Key words: judicial review, constitutional rights, human rights, EU law, the scope and legitimacy of judicial review, democracy.