FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Julia Pekkala, Mikko Leppä, Risto Sandvik and Nuutti Kortelainen, HPP Attorneys Ltd
(see 11.1 Grounds for Appeal ). Another example is that the Arbitration Act, unlike the Model Law, does not include provisions on arbitrators’ powers to order interim measures. Note that these areas of law are subject to pending legislative reform; see 2.2 Chang- es to National Law . Conversely, the Arbitration Act includes certain provi - sions that are absent from the Model Law – eg, con - Finland is currently in the process of reforming its Arbitration Act. The government proposal was sub - mitted to parliament on 25 June 2026.The legislative amendment is due to come into force in spring 2027. The purpose of the reform is to enhance the com - petitiveness of Finnish arbitration by modernising the legislation where necessary. As a result, the Arbitration Act will likely become even more closely aligned with the Model Law. The amendments proposed by the Government con - cern the following topics: • Structure and terminology of the Act. • Formal requirements for arbitration agreements. • Choice of law applicable to the arbitration agree - ment and to the merits of the dispute. • Disqualification of an arbitrator. • The “ kompetenz - kompetenz ” doctrine and jurisdic - tional objections. • Interim measures. • Conduct of the proceedings (remote participation and passivity of a party). • Form and interpretation of an arbitral award. • Nullity of an arbitral award and grounds for setting aside an arbitral award. • Recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award. • Centralisation of court proceedings. cerning the arbitrability of a dispute. 2.2 Changes to National Law
in a document signed by the parties or in correspond - ence between the parties. It is also considered to be in writing if the parties exchange letters or use electronic communications in which they have agreed to have disputes settled in arbitration. The requirement of writ - ten form is also considered to be fulfilled if the arbitra - tion agreement is incorporated by reference into an agreement that meets the above-mentioned require - ments. Note that this area of law is subject to pending legislative reform; see 2.2 Changes to National Law . In addition, an arbitration agreement must refer either to a specific legal relationship (eg, a specific contract or set of contracts) or to an existing dispute. An agree - ment to arbitrate all future disputes without specifying the substance or the basis of the dispute in any way would not be considered binding in Finland. 3.2 Arbitrability In accordance with the Arbitration Act, any dispute in a civil or commercial matter that can be settled by agree - ment can be referred to arbitration. Consequently, an arbitral tribunal cannot rule on, for example, criminal matters, divorce or child custody matters. However, the fact that the matter under arbitration may contain acts that constitute a criminal offence does not limit the arbitrability of the related civil claims. The arbitrability of a dispute is decided by the arbi - tral tribunal on its own initiative or at the request of a party. However, the tribunal’s ruling does not bind a court tasked with determining whether the dispute is non-arbitrable. Any arbitral award relating to a non- arbitrable matter is deemed null and void. 3.3 National Courts’ Approach The Arbitration Act does not contain provisions on how to determine the law governing the arbitration agreement. If the parties have not agreed on the gov - erning law, it is to be decided by the arbitral tribunal or court reviewing the arbitration agreement. In practice, tribunals and courts will usually apply the law govern - ing the main agreement in which the arbitration clause is contained, or the law of the seat of arbitration. Note that this area of law is subject to pending legislative reform; see 2.2 Changes to National Law .
3. The Arbitration Agreement 3.1 Enforceability
According to the Arbitration Act, an arbitration agree - ment must be in writing to be valid. An arbitration agreement is deemed to be in writing if it is contained
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