FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Jussi Laasonen and Saara Järvinen, Ruoholahti Law
2.13 The Impact of Regulatory Compliance on Product Liability Claims A manufacturer (or other liable party) may be exoner - ated from liability if they can prove that a defect is due to the fact that the product had to comply with man - datory requirements issued by the authorities. Howev - er, the fact that a product complies with all applicable regulations and official requirements does not in itself preclude liability if the product has a defect. 2.14 Rules for Payment of Costs in Product Liability Claims In product liability cases, the general rules on legal costs apply in Finland. The claimant is required to pay a general fee for court proceedings, which is relatively modest (currently EUR610). As a main rule, the party that loses the matter is liable for all reasonable legal costs incurred by the neces - sary measures of the opposing party. Recoverable costs include fees of the attorney, costs of evidence (including expert evidence), and the party’s own work- related expenses. In exceptional circumstances, such as where the legal situation is unclear or where multiple claims have been made and some are decided in favour of the other party, the court may order each party to bear their own legal costs. The court may also reduce the amount of legal costs to be paid if, having regard to the circumstances that led to the proceedings, the parties’ positions and the importance of the case, it would be unreasonable to require a party to bear the full costs of the opposing party. This may be relevant, for example, in a prod - uct liability case where an individual consumer seeks compensation from a large company. 2.15 Available Funding in Product Liability Claims In Finland, there is no general regulation specifically governing third-party litigation funding, and it is, in principle, permitted. However, in the context of class actions, it is subject to certain restrictions. An exter - nal provider of funding to a class action must not be a competitor of the defendant in the class action or be dependent on the defendant. Nor may the funding
provider influence the decisions made by the plaintiff in the context of the hearing of the class action in a manner that is detrimental to the collective interests of consumers. Such third-party funding is rare. In Finland, various forms of conditional fee arrange - ments, such as a “success fee” or “no win, no fee” agreements, are permissible between an attorney and a client, as long as the remuneration remains reason - able as required by law and the arrangement does not breach the professional rules of conduct applicable to attorneys. In addition, Finland has a state legal aid system under which individuals who cannot afford to cover legal costs themselves may receive legal aid based on their income. Various forms of legal expenses insur - ance are also available to cover litigation costs, and these insurances are very common in Finland, being included in most home insurance policies available on the market. 2.16 Existence of Class Actions, Representative Proceedings or Co-Ordinated Proceedings in Product Liability Claims Class Actions In Finland, class actions are possible under the Act on Class Actions (444/2007). The Act allows for con - sumer class actions against traders. A case may be heard as a class action, if several per - sons have claims against the same defendant, based on the same or similar circumstances, the hearing of the case as a class action is expedient in view of the size of the class, and the subject matter of the claims presented and the evidence presented and the class has been defined with adequate precision. A class action is brought by a qualified entity desig - nated by law. Such qualified entities include: • the Consumer Ombudsman in matters within its supervisory competence; • organisations promoting the collective interests of consumers; and • qualified entities designated in another mem - ber state of the European Economic Area for the purposes of cross-border representative actions
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