Perustuslaista

Perustuslaista is the elative singular form of the Finnish noun perustuslaki, meaning “from the constitution.” In Finnish, perustuslaki denotes the constitution, the supreme legal framework of a state that outlines the structure of government, fundamental rights, and the procedures by which laws are made. The elative case marks origin or basis, so perustuslaista is used in phrases describing something derived from, or originating in, the constitution.

In legal and formal Finnish, perustuslaista poiketen means “deviating from the constitution,” and perustuslaista lähtevä tulkinta refers to an interpretation derived from the constitution. It is important to note that perustuslaista is a grammatical form rather than a distinct concept; it denotes relation to the constitution within a sentence rather than naming a separate law.

Usage in Finnish constitutional discourse typically involves other case forms as well, such as perustuslaissa meaning “in the constitution” or perustuslain mukaan meaning “according to the constitution.” These forms reflect Finnish grammar and are routinely used in legal drafting, jurisprudence, and political discussion to indicate how the constitution relates to rules, rights, and state organization.

Overall, perustuslaista serves as a case-inflected reference to the constitution in Finnish, illustrating how the language encodes source, basis, and relation to the supreme legal framework. See also perustuslaki, lakihierarkia, sekä oikeusvaltio.