FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Marja Norrena, Maija Ahtiainen and Valmari Keskimäki, Lieke Attorneys Ltd
tunity to be heard. In such cases, the opposing party is only heard after the precautionary measure has been enforced. After the hearing, the court makes a final decision on whether to uphold or dismiss the application. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant Before a precautionary measure granted by the court can be enforced, the applicant must, with a few exceptions, lodge security for potential losses that the opposing party may incur as a result of the precautionary measure. If a precautionary measure granted by the court later proves to have been unnec- essary, the applicant has strict liability to compen- sate the opposing party for any damages caused by the precautionary measure and its enforcement, as well as any expenses incurred. The opposing party must bring an action claiming such damages or costs within one year of the date on which the precautionary measure was cancelled, or if an appeal against the precautionary measure is still pending at that time, within one year of the date on which the final decision on the matter is rendered. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief In principle, Finnish courts may grant precautionary measures that apply to the assets belonging to the opposing party located outside of Finland. However, in practice, the enforcement of such measures against a party’s foreign assets depends on the country in which enforcement is sought. The enforcement might not be possible in the absence of an international agreement between Finland and the relevant country. Enforce- ment in the EU member states is governed by the Recast Brussels I Regulation (see 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country ). The European Account Preservation Order procedure (Regulation EU No 655/2014) is also applicable in Finland, pursuant to which a precautionary measure concerning funds held in bank accounts located in other EU member states can be obtained. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Precautionary measures cannot be obtained against third parties. However, in cases where a third party is in possession of an object or assets belonging to the defendant, the enforcement of a precautionary meas-
ure could have practical implications for third parties as well. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance If the respondent fails to comply with an order on a precautionary measure voluntarily, the measure can be enforced by the enforcement authority. The enforcement authority has a variety of methods at its disposal to enforce a decision, and ultimately it can request assistance from the police (see 9.4 Enforce- ment Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment ). Civil proceedings are initiated by filing an application for a summons to the competent District Court (see 3.4 Initial Complaint ), after which the defendant is requested to provide a written response to the claim (see 3.5 Rules of Service ). Once the defendant has responded, the court may, depending on the case, request additional written statements from the parties. The court will then usually organise a case manage- ment or preparatory hearing (see 7.2 Case Manage- ment Hearings ) before proceeding to the main hear- ing. During the preparatory phase, the court prepares a summary of the parties’ claims and the grounds for them. If necessary, the court also summarises the evi- dence and what each piece of evidence is intended to prove. This allows the parties to understand how the court has interpreted their submissions. The parties are then given an opportunity to express their opinions on the summary. Main Hearing Following the preparatory phase, the case will pro- ceed to the main hearing. During the main hearing, the matter will be heard in the following order unless the court decides otherwise: 7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings Preparatory Phase • the court briefly explains what has been concluded in the preparatory phase and inquires whether the
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