Сборник текстов для перевода. Борисова Л.А. - 81 стр.

Theme II – Transparency of party funding: Articles 11, 12, 13b, 14 and 16 of
Recommendation Rec(2003)4 on Common Rules against Corruption in the
Funding of Political Parties and Electoral Campaigns, and – more generally –
Guiding Principle 15 (financing of political parties and election campaigns).

II.   TRANSPARENCY OF PARTY FUNDING - GENERAL PART

       Definitions
       In Finland, political parties have existed for over a century; they were le-
gally recognized in the 1969 Act on Political Parties, which gave them a privi-
leged status in elections and in the allocation of public funds.
       A political party is defined as a registered association recorded in the
Party Register; it has a non-profitable character and its main purpose is to influ-
ence state matters (Sections 1 and 2, Act on Political Parties).
       Political parties acquire legal personality following their registration as an
association in the Register of Associations. They may obtain rights, make
commitments and appear as a party before courts and in relation to other
authorities. In principle, the members of a registered association are not
personally liable for the association‘s obligations (Section 6, Association Act).
However, pursuant to Section 39 of the Association Act, a member of the
executive board, as well as the agent of the association is liable for any
intentional or negligent damage that s/he may have caused to the association, a
member of the association or a third-party when such damage was caused by an
act against the Association Act or the internal rules of the association.

       Registration of political parties
       The registration of political parties in the Party Register is the responsibil-
ity of the Ministry of Justice. A political party seeking registration has to fulfil
several conditions: (1) demonstrate that its main objective is to influence state
matters; (2) show signed support cards from at least 5,000 eligible voters; (3) its
internal rules are to guarantee that democratic principles are abided by in its
decision-making and activities; and (4) it must have a draft party programme,
including goals and principles for future action (Section 2, Act on Political
Parties).
       The Party Register contains the following information: an extract from the
Register of Associations (including inter alia: name, registration number and
domicile of the association; full name, address, residence of the chairperson and
any person authorized to sign for the association), a certified copy of the internal
rules and regulations of the association, the party programme and a list of citi-
zens supporting the party (Section 3, Act on Political Parties). The information
contained in the Party Register is publicly accessible in accordance with the Act
on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999).

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