harkinnan

Harkinnan is a Finnish noun form that denotes the act of considering or weighing options, i.e., careful deliberation. It stems from the verb harkita, meaning to consider or weigh, and the noun harkinta, meaning deliberation or consideration. The genitive form harkinnan is used in phrases and legal or formal contexts to indicate the aspect of consideration or the exercise of discretion.

In usage, harkinta refers to the general process of evaluating factors and making a judgement. The term harkinnan is typically found in fixed expressions or legal terminology, such as harkinnan mukaan (according to deliberation), harkinnan varassa (at one's discretion), and in related compounds like harkinnanvaraisuus or harkinnanvarainen ratkaisu, which denote discretionary power or a discretionary decision. The overall concept aligns with closely related ideas such as punninta (weighing) and arviointi (evaluation).

In legal and administrative contexts, harkinnanvaraisuus describes the extent to which a decision is left to an authority’s discretion rather than dictated by statutory rules. A discretionary decision is often referred to as harkinnanvarainen, and such decisions are said to be made within the authority’s harkinnanvaraisuuden rajoissa (within the bounds of discretion). The distinction between strict rule-based decisions and discretionary decisions is a common point of discussion in Finnish law and governance.

See also: harkinta, harkinnanvaraisuus, harkinnanvarainen ratkaisu, punninta, arviointi.