FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tuuli Timonen, Annika Lampela and Tony Chokairy, Dottir Attorneys
7. Mass Claims and Class Actions 7.1 Procedural Mechanisms Finland has a specific legal framework for class actions, governed by the Finnish Class Actions Act. The mechanism is relatively limited in scope and is primarily designed for consumer protection in matters such as consumer rights, data protection, financial services, transport and electronic communications. Class actions may be brought only by designated enti- ties, not by individual consumers. The claims must be based on the same or similar factual and legal grounds, and the judgment is binding on all partici- pating members. Proceedings are centralised in the Helsinki District Court. Conceptually, class actions differ from ordinary join- der of claims. The representative acts on the basis of statutory authority rather than a mandate from the group members, and the group members are not for- mal parties to the proceedings, even though the judg- ment has binding effect on them. The purpose of the mechanism is to enable effective enforcement of consumer rights, particularly in situa- tions where individual claims would otherwise be too small to pursue separately. 7.2 Standing Requirements Standing to bring a class action is limited to desig- nated entities, such as the Consumer Ombudsman and authorised consumer organisations. Private indi- viduals and businesses cannot bring class actions. Participation requires consumers to opt in to the group within a set time limit. The court examines whether the statutory requirements are met, including whether the claims are sufficiently similar, the group is adequately defined and the class action is an appropriate proce- dural mechanism. The system is therefore confined to consumer-related disputes and does not extend to general commercial litigation between businesses. 7.3 Relief The primary form of relief in class actions is mon- etary compensation for the members of the group. Claims must be individually specified, and damages
are assessed according to the general principles of Finnish civil law, although the court may rely on stand- ardised methods. Depending on the nature of the dispute, courts may also grant declaratory relief or orders relating to con- tractual obligations. 7.4 Class Actions, Mass Claims and Arbitration Formal class actions cannot be brought in arbitration in Finland. Mass claims can, in principle, be brought in arbitra- tion, but this is uncommon in practice. One possible approach is to include multiple claimants in a single arbitration from the outset, provided that all the parties are bound by the same arbitration agreement and the tribunal considers that, under the applicable arbitra- tion rules and the governing arbitration agreement, the case may be heard in one arbitration. In such cases, the arbitration proceeds as a multi-party arbitration, with several claimants acting jointly against one or more respondents. Arbitration rules may also allow for the joinder of addi- tional parties after proceedings have commenced. However, joinder typically requires that the additional party is bound by the arbitration agreement and, in many cases, the consent of the existing parties or a decision by the tribunal under the applicable rules. 7.5 Trends Class actions remain rare in Finland. In fact, the statu- tory mechanism has not been used since its intro- duction in 2007. One reason for this is the restrictive standing regime and the opt-in structure, which limit the practical use of the procedure. Recent EU-level developments, including the imple- mentation of the Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828, have expanded the framework for collec- tive redress. While the practical impact is still develop- ing, these changes may gradually increase the use of collective mechanisms in Finland.
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