FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Marja Norrena, Maija Ahtiainen and Valmari Keskimäki, Lieke Attorneys Ltd
7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public Unless there are specific statutory grounds to the contrary, hearings are open to public, meaning that everyone has the right to attend a hearing. As with court documents and proceedings in general, the court may decide to hold hearings partially or entirely behind closed doors if confidential matters are to be discussed. The reasons for such confidentiality are similar to those that apply to court documents and proceedings in general (see 1.3. Court Filings and Proceedings ). 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge Typically, judges are not very interventionist in civil cases, particularly not in commercial cases where the parties are represented by experienced legal counsel. However, some level of proactivity is commonplace, and in some respects even obligatory. For example, if a party’s written or oral statement is unclear or incom- plete, the court must request that they clarify their position. Judges are also allowed to question wit- nesses and experts during their examination. In civil cases, courts do not usually issue the judgment immediately after the hearing but rather reserve it for a later date. In extensive and complex disputes, the Code of Judicial Procedure allows the court to issue the judgment within 14 days of the conclusion of the main hearing or at a later date if there is a special rea- son. This exception is widely applied in commercial cases. See also 7.1 Trial Proceedings and 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence . 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings The timeframe for civil court proceedings can vary significantly. From initiation to judgment, the duration of proceedings can range from a few months to sev- eral years, depending on the type of the dispute and the District Court involved. For commercial disputes involving significant value and complexity, the dura- tion is typically longer. For example, the average dura- tion for civil cases involving damages in the Helsinki District Court was 34.4 months in 2024.
The preparatory phase before the main hearing is usually the longest part of the proceedings. Once the main hearing has been conducted, the judgment is typically rendered within a reasonable timeframe. However, if the District Court’s judgment is appealed, the proceedings will continue for a considerably long- er period.
8. Settlement 8.1 Court Approval
Apart from certain civil cases in which settlement is not allowed (for example, cases relating to child cus- tody), the parties are permitted to settle their dispute at any stage of court proceedings. In principle, the settlement agreement between the parties is a private contract that does not require court approval. However, the parties may ask the court to confirm their settlement to render it directly enforce- able, in which case court approval is required. The court may not confirm a settlement that is contrary to the law, is clearly unreasonable, or violates the rights of a third party. 8.2 Settlement of Lawsuits and Confidentiality If the parties reach a settlement agreement and do not ask the court to confirm it, the agreement does not become public, and the parties may also agree on confidentiality undertakings. However, if the court is requested to confirm the set- tlement, the settlement agreement will become an offi- cial court document that is public by default. Aside from the parts necessary for enforcing the agreement, it may be kept confidential in certain cases (see 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings and 5.6 Rules Disal- lowing Disclosure of a Document on the grounds for confidentiality). 8.3 Enforcement of Settlement Agreements Private settlement agreements which have not been confirmed by the court are ordinary agreements that are enforced in the same way as any other private con- tract. In practice, such agreements are not enforce- able without further legal action.
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