The country’s Ministry of Justice has published a study examining the legal conditions for renting prison places from another country, following Sweden’s agreement with Estonia. Justice minister Leena Meri said the proposal raised constitutional questions about Finland’s responsibility for enforcing sentences.

“I consider it important that, because of overcrowding in our prisons, we examine what such a model would require in practice from the perspective of our legislation,” Meri said.

Finland has about 3,900 prisoners, including around 950 foreign nationals. The number of foreign prisoners has risen by 76 per cent over the past decade.

The government plans to add about 500 domestic prison places, while also seeking to transfer more foreign prisoners to their home countries.