södés

Säädös is a Finnish term for a normative legal act issued by a public authority to regulate a matter within the framework of the law. In everyday language it is close in meaning to asetus, but säädös is a broader formulation that can be used to describe binding rules created by national or local authorities, and it may appear in legal texts as a general term for regulatory acts.

In the Finnish legal order, the Constitution provides the framework, followed by Acts (laki) adopted by Parliament. Regulations (including asetus or säädös) are subordinate normative acts issued by the Government, a ministry, or a municipality to implement or detail the provisions of a law. A municipal säädös, or local regulation, must comply with higher law and typically concerns matters of local concern.

A säädös normally prescribes concrete obligations, prohibitions, procedures, administrative forms, or penalties. It is adopted through formal procedures, published for public notice, and comes into force on a specified date. Enforcement is carried out by the relevant authorities, and noncompliance may lead to administrative sanctions.

Examples include government regulations (valtioneuvoston asetus) and ministerial regulations, as well as municipal regulations on topics such as urban planning, waste management, or public order. While the term säädös appears in legal literature and some statutes, official administrative use in Finland more commonly employs the word asetus for central government rules and kunnallinen säädös for local rules.

See also: Laki, Asetus, Kunnallinen päätös, Hallinto.