FINLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Tuuli Timonen, Annika Lampela and Tony Chokairy, Dottir Attorneys
Conclusions Geopolitical volatility, technological advancement and overall market trends continue to shape the Finnish dispute resolution landscape. The use of arbitration and other ADR mechanisms in dispute resolution has increased over time and, given the chronically lack- ing resources and resulting protracted proceedings in Finnish courts, this development is likely to continue. Looking ahead, commercial actors are likely to place greater emphasis on proactive risk management, con- tractual clarity, and adaptability to regulatory change.
in district courts, intended to cover disputes arising from residential lease agreements up to a claim value of EUR10,000, or cases where the issue at stake is not monetary in nature but relates, for example, to eviction. Extensive or complex cases are not covered by the contemplated procedure. The objective of the proposal is to improve access to justice by capping the amount of legal fees a losing party would have to pay in small claims cases, as well as to provide a simplified, faster method of resolving such disputes. In addition, in 2023 the Ministry of Justice estab- lished a working group to develop the rule of law and the Finnish judicial system. At this stage, the work- ing group has made several preliminary suggestions, intended for example, to streamline court proceed- ings. However, it is too early to assess which, if any, of these proposals may later be adopted and enacted into law. It is also worth noting that despite a lack of resources in the judiciary, resulting in protracted civil proceed- ings, the Finnish government has announced its inten- tion to cut the judiciary’s funding in the future. This may well lead to even further delays in Finnish court proceedings. It remains to be seen whether this devel- opment will result in even wider use of arbitration and other ADR proceedings as a means of resolving dis- putes. Over time, the use of mediation in commercial disputes has gradually increased. Overall, it should be noted that in Finland, the majority of disputes are settled, and this is unlikely to change, though there appears to have been a slight uptick in litigiousness in the past few years.
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