Finland Court Records

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Finland

Court Records

Resources

Online Resources

• 1782-1830 Finland, Kymenkartano, Kymenkartanon tuomiokunta, tuomiokirjat, 1782-1830(*); Kansallisarkisto (Helsinki) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• 1810-1854 Finland, tuomiokirjat, 1810-1854(*); Kansallisarkisto (Helsinki) at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Offices to Contact

Tuomioistuinlaitos (The Judiciary)
Court contact information

Background

Court records may contain genealogical information. These records are an account of court proceedings in deciding property disputes, guardianships, thefts, drunkenness, assaults, or murders. Court records concerning probate cases were kept separately. See Finland Probate Records for more information.

Types of Court Records

Court Records (Oikeudenpöytäkirjat/Domböcker): These are records of court proceedings, cases, and decisions. Courts appear on various levels: city, district, appellate, and supreme court. They exist from about 1550 to present. Records of paternity suits exist from about 1850 to present.

They provide minutes of criminal and civil actions; also wills, marriage settlements, paternity suits, dowry contracts, contested probates, mortgage records, survey records of property, guardian accounts, applications for court positions, and so forth. These provide names of individuals, ages, occupations, dates of marriage and death, relationships (often names of close relatives of plaintiffs and defendants), residences, and other personal information.

Information Recorded in the Records

Court records supplement information found in other sources. They can be used to determine relationships and residence. Records of paternity suits are of particular value in determining the father of illegitimate children, opening opportunities to research paternal lineage. The main value of other court records is in the time period before church books.

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