FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tuuli Timonen, Annika Lampela and Tony Chokairy, Dottir Attorneys
Finally, the increase in defence spending has led to disputes in the defence sector.
disputes between private parties are handled by the general courts. The general courts operate on three levels. District courts act as courts of first instance and examine both facts and law. A party dissatisfied with a judgment or decision of a district court may generally appeal to the Court of Appeal. However, the Court of Appeal will usually only examine the case if it grants leave to appeal, which is required in most civil cases. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial instance. An appeal to the Supreme Court requires leave to appeal, which is granted only on limited grounds. These typi- cally include situations where the case is important for establishing legal precedent or ensuring consist- ent interpretation of the law, where there has been a serious procedural error that could justify reopening the case, or where another significant reason supports review. In addition, Finland has a separate system of admin- istrative courts. These courts review decisions made by public authorities. Administrative courts act as first-instance courts in most administrative matters, and appeals are heard by the Supreme Administrative Court. Leave to appeal is generally required for cases to be heard by the Supreme Administrative Court, and the criteria for granting leave largely correspond to those applied by the Supreme Court in civil matters. Administrative courts do not resolve contractual dis- putes between private parties but play an important role in regulatory, tax, public procurement and other public law-related disputes affecting businesses. There are also specialised courts with jurisdiction over specific subject matters. Most notably, the market court handles competition law, public procurement and certain intellectual property matters, while certain maritime, insurance and labour disputes are heard by designated courts with specialised competence. 2.3 Pre-Action Conduct Finnish law does not impose extensive formal pre- action conduct requirements comparable to those found in some common law jurisdictions. There is no
2. Litigation 2.1 Limitation Periods
Limitation periods in Finland depend on the type of claim and its legal basis. There is no single universal limitation period – instead, the applicable limitation period is determined by the specific legal relationship underlying the claim. The general limitation period for contractual and non- contractual monetary claims under the Finnish Act on the Limitations of Debts is three years. In addition, most compensation claims are subject to a ten-year long-stop period, which runs from the breach of con- tract or the event that caused the damage or unjust enrichment. The starting point of the limitation period depends on the nature of the claim. Where a due date has been agreed in advance, the limitation period generally begins to run from that due date. If no due date has been agreed, such as in certain sales transactions, the limitation period typically begins when the creditor has performed its contractual obligation, for example, when the goods or services have been delivered. For damages and other compensation claims, the lim- itation period generally begins when the injured party becomes aware, or should reasonably have become aware, of the defect, loss or other basis for the claim and the party responsible for it. Similar principles apply to claims based on unjust enrichment. Limitation periods may be interrupted by certain actions, such as presenting a written demand or ini- tiating legal proceedings. Once the limitation period is interrupted, a new limitation period begins to run. Continuous monitoring of deadlines is therefore essential in commercial disputes. 2.2 Court Structure Finland has a dual court system consisting of gen- eral courts and administrative courts. Commercial
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