Case Note on the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland’s Judgment on the Deportation of a Girl to Somalia

Abstract This case note accounts for and comments on the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland’s recent judgment in a case concerning deportation of a girl to Somalia where she would face a risk of being forcefully subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). The Court held that a constitutional protection of women and girls from FGM together with opposition to the procedure by mother was not sufficient to protect the girl from FGM. The Court’s assessment is sound on human rights terms but offers little support for administrative decision-making in the future, making it a precedent only in name at best or a tool for further marginalisation of Somali refugees at worst.