lainmukaiseen

Lainmukainen is a Finnish adjective meaning “in accordance with the law” or “lawful.” The form lainmukaiseen is its illative case singular form, used when the noun it modifies is in the illative case (for example, into or for use in a lawful context). As with other -inen adjectives, lainmukainen agrees with the noun in number and case, so you will encounter variations such as lainmukaisen (genitive), lainmukaista (partitive), and lainmukaiseen (illative).

Usage of the term is common in legal, administrative, and policy language. It conveys that something conforms to statutes, regulations, or official guidelines, rather than making a judgment about morality. For instance, phrases like lainmukaiseen käyttöön (for lawful use) or lainmukaiseen menettelyyn (into a lawful procedure) illustrate how the illative form operates in practice. It is typically applied to actions, practices, instruments, or standards that are deemed compliant with the law.

Etymologically, lainmukainen is formed from laki (law) and the suffix -mukainen, which indicates resemblance or conformity. The illative ending -iseen/-iseen corresponds to the illative case, yielding forms such as lainmukaiseen. In parallel, related forms follow standard Finnish adjective declension: nominative lainmukainen, genitive lainmukaisen, partitive lainmukaista, and so on. A related noun is lainmukaisuus, referring to the state or quality of being lawful.

See also: lain-säädäntö, laillisuus, lainmukaisuus.