معرفی
Toomas Kaarel Kotkas is a Professor of Public Law at the University of Helsinki's Faculty of Law, where he has been employed since January 2021. He also holds docent titles in Social Law from the University of Eastern Finland (2022) and in Legal History from the University of Helsinki (2009). His academic journey includes previous positions as Professor of Jurisprudence and Social Law at the University of Eastern Finland (2013-2017), Justice at the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (2018, 2019-2020), and various research positions at the University of Helsinki.
His educational background includes a Doctor of Laws (2004), Licentiate of Laws (1999), and Master of Laws (1997), all in Legal History from the University of Helsinki. He has served as a legal expert for several standing Committees of the Finnish Parliament since 2014, primarily on bills concerning social security legislation.
- Professor of Public Law, University of Helsinki (2021-present)
- Title of Docent in Social Law, University of Eastern Finland (2022)
- Title of Docent in Legal History, University of Helsinki (2009)
- Justice, Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (2018, 2019-2020)
- Professor of Jurisprudence and Social Law, University of Eastern Finland (2013-2017)
Kotkas's research centers on social law, administrative law, and constitutional law, with particular focus on social security systems, intergenerational justice, and the constitutional boundaries of welfare state legislation. His work examines how legal frameworks can promote sustainability in social security systems while protecting constitutional social rights. He has published extensively on Nordic welfare states, trust, and rights discourse, with recent work analyzing Finland's legal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding the use of 'Covid-19 passes' and related constitutional issues.
His publication trends show consistent engagement with social law and constitutional review, with increasing focus on intergenerational justice and sustainability in social security systems. Recent articles (2023-2025) demonstrate his active role in Finland's constitutional review process through expert statements to parliamentary committees on numerous legislative proposals. His research bridges theoretical legal scholarship with practical constitutional oversight, particularly in the social policy domain.
- Best article in the Lakimies -journal in 2009 awarded by the Board of the Finnish Lawyers' Society
Kotkas serves as supervisor for doctoral programmes in Law and has supervised numerous doctoral theses, including those of Iina Järvinen, Johanna Vanto, and Laura Perttola. He has been involved in significant research projects including COMPAC (Approches comparées des politiques de l'autonomie, 2022-2027), Lex-Atlas: Covid-19 (2021-present), and SOPU (The Constitutional Boundaries of the Social Security Reform in Finland, 2021-2023). He has served as principal investigator and project manager for multiple research initiatives funded by the Academy of Finland and other sources.
His academic service includes extensive peer review activities for journals such as Nordic Journal of Human Rights, Lakimies, Oikeus, and Res Publica, along with numerous academic visits to institutions including UCL Faculty of Laws, University of Sussex, and International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Oñati, Spain.
