National legislation
At the national level, provisions on fundamental rights in the Constitution of Finland form the basis for the rights of older persons, as well as the rights of all others.
- Fundamental rights includes the right to life, right to equality and right to the protection of privacy as well as the right to adequate social and health services.
- In addition to specific rights, the Constitution requires generally that public authorities must within the scope of their activities safeguard the realisation of every person’s fundamental and human rights.
The public sector must take fundamental and human rights actively into account in legislative work, in the implementation of laws by various authorities and in their interpretation by the courts.
With regard to many elderly people the right to adequate social and health services is a particularly important fundamental right. National legislation related to these include: