Public defence in real estate law, Professor, LL.D., M.Sc. (Econ.) Martti Häkkänen

Finland´s Expropriation Institution in the Light of the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights  

The dissertation opens up a new pan-European and international perspective on traditional national expropriation law.

Expropriation refers to the possibility of a public authority acquiring private property by force in order to carry out a project in the public interest. In recent decades, the scope of expropriation has broadened from the implementation of roads or railway areas to the acquisition of areas necessary for urban development. Expropriation can also be used to implement various energy projects, such as electricity and gas distribution networks, nature conservation, and mining areas.

Expropriation is the most robust and profound way of interfering with private property. The use of expropriation, therefore, entails legal and political tensions, as well as economic, social, and moral dimensions. Its use must at the same time, meet the requirements of section 15 of the Constitution of Finland and the First Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights concerning the protection of property. 

The Court of Human Rights, in its extensive case law on the protection of property, has developed a kind of general European principles of expropriation law. The dissertation examines the possible requirements arising from this case law for Finland's national legislation and practices in expropriation matters. No similar study has been conducted before, so the research results produce interesting new knowledge.

According to key research results, there are many similarities between the principles of expropriation developed by the Court of Human Rights and Finland's national regulations and practices, but also certain legally problematic differences. The results can be utilized in the development and application of Finland's national expropriation legislation in courts and other authorities.
 

Opponent: Professor, LL.D. Matti Niemi, University of Eastern Finland

Custos: Professor Ari Ekroos, Aalto University School of Engineering, Department of Built Environment

Contact information of the doctorand: Professor Martti Häkkänen, [email protected], mob. +358 50 404 8411

The public defence will be organised on campus (lecture hall C, Otakaari 1). 

The thesis is publicly displayed 10 days before the defence in the publication archive Aaltodoc of Aalto University.