The Supreme Court of Finland (Finnish: korkein oikeus [ˈkorkei̯n ˈoi̯keus], abbreviated as KKO; Swedish: högsta domstolen, abbreviated as HD), located in Helsinki, is the court of last resort for cases within the private law of Finland (that is, civil and criminal cases).

[3][4][5] The Supreme Court consists of a President and at minimum 15, currently 18, other Justices, usually working in five-judge panels.

The Court may, however, hold oral hearings in which the parties, witnesses and experts are heard in person.

The precedents are usually created in cases for which the applicable Acts of Parliament and decrees do not provide a clear solution for a question of law, or in which there is room for interpretation.

The title of a judgment briefly sets forth the point of law to which the precedent applied and which constitutes the reason for its publication.

The objective is that courts throughout the country interpret the law in a uniform manner and apply legal principles by means of consistent assessment and deliberation.

The admissibility of the case, the granting of leave to appeal, must be decided on by two members of the court upon presentation by a referendary.

This means that the two members make the decision on the basis of the preliminary work and opinion of the referendary.

If a question of law to be resolved involves significant principles or if the Supreme Court wishes to depart from an earlier precedent, the case shall be decided on by a grand chamber (11 members) or by a full court (all the members).

The Court may, however, hold oral hearings in which the parties, witnesses and experts are heard in person.

In the first-mentioned case, the precedent provides guidance for resolving similar questions of law in the future.

The granting of leave to appeal on the grounds that the case creates a precedent always suggests that the decision of the Supreme Court has general legal relevance.

They are mainly applied when there is need to rectify a clearly erroneous, unreasonable or unfair court decision.

The application must indicate the grounds on which leave to appeal should be granted: whether the case creates precedent, involves an error in procedure or there are other weighty reasons.