1.1 Describe the prevalence of commercial arbitrations as a method of settling disputes, both domestic and international.
Finland has a long tradition of resolving commercial disputes through arbitration. Arbitration is therefore well-known both with regard to national and international commercial disputes. The legal environment, including the approach of the national courts, can in general be said to favour and respect arbitration agreements.
2.1 What are the principal sources of law and regulation relating to domestic and international arbitration? (Describe the role of federal or state laws and relevance of court decisions.)
Arbitration in Finland is governed by a specific Act, the Arbitration Act (No 967/1992, as amended), applicable to the entire Finnish territory. The present Arbitration Act entered into force on 1 December 1992 and is divided into two parts. Part one (arts 2–50) applies to all arbitral proceedings having their seat in Finland, ie irrespective of whether related to a national or an international dispute, and Part two (arts 51–55) applies to all foreign awards, ie arbitral awards made outside of Finland.
2.2 List and briefly describe relevant arbitration statutes, international treaties and conventions.
Finnish legislation on arbitration was revised in 1992. The main purpose of the revision was to modernise the then-existing Arbitration Act, which dated back to 1928, and adapt it to international standards. The present Arbitration Act reflects the provisions of the Model International Arbitration Act of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (the Model Law), although the Model Law as such has not been adopted into Finnish law. Finland has ratified and enacted the New York Convention. Finland has also ratified the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention).
3.1 What are/describe the principal institutions and/or government agencies that assist in the administration or oversight of international and domestic arbitrations?
The Arbitration Institute of the Central Chamber of Commerce of Finland (the Arbitration Institute) provides institutional arbitration services domestically as well as internationally. The Arbitration Institute has issued a set of arbitration rules which supplement the Arbitration Act. The rules generally correspond to those of other international arbitration institutes. The rules are published in Finnish, Swedish, English and Russian on the Arbitration Institute’s homepage www.arbitration.fi, together with a table of the Arbitration Institute’s registration fees and a suggested table of arbitrators’ fees for arbitrations conducted in accordance with said rules. In 2004 the Arbitration Institute also introduced rules for expedited arbitration. The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is indirectly represented in Finland through a Finnish National ICC Committee.
4.1 What is the relationship between agreements to arbitrate and access to the courts? Is there a presumption of arbitrability/policy support for arbitration? Will the courts stay court actions in favour of agreements to arbitrate?
Finnish courts do not ex officio refer disputes to arbitration. If a claimant has filed an application for a summons with a Finnish court, but the defendant wishes to invoke an arbitration agreement, the defendant must request that the court refer the parties to arbitration at the latest when submitting its first statement on the merits of the dispute to the court (which corresponds to the system set out in the Model Law). Where a defendant has invoked an arbitration agreement, the national court is obliged to refer the parties to arbitration rather than try the case, if it finds that the matter in dispute is subject to an arbitration agreement that is valid, in force and applicable to the matter in dispute.
4.2 May an arbitral tribunal rule on a party’s challenge to its own jurisdiction (‘competence-competence’)? Need a tribunal suspend its proceedings if a party seeks to test jurisdiction in the courts?
Once arbitral proceedings have been instituted, the arbitral tribunal is both permitted and obliged to rule on its own jurisdiction in order to determine whether to continue the arbitral proceedings.
A respondent can, in principle, argue at any stage of the arbitral proceedings that the arbitral tribunal lacks competence. If a plea to this effect has not been raised by the respondent in its statement of defence, the parties may, however, be deemed to have entered into a tacit arbitration agreement through the exchange of submissions, and the arbitral proceedings may be continued on this basis.
A party who wishes to challenge a tribunal’s competence may, during the course of the arbitral proceedings, and even before the arbitral tribunal has ruled on the matter, institute a declaratory action for such relief before a competent district Court.
If such a parallel proceeding is initiated, the arbitral tribunal is, however, not obliged to suspend its proceedings. The arbitral proceedings will, in practice, be commenced or continued, unless the arbitral tribunal thinks that it is likely that the court will find that the tribunal is not competent.
The arbitral tribunal’s decision regarding its competence is not binding upon Finnish courts. Consequently, even if an arbitral tribunal has found that it is competent and has rendered a final award regarding the merits of the dispute, the jurisdiction issue may be raised again during subsequent court proceedings for setting aside the final award (see section 17.2 below).
5.1 Provide a selected bibliography of the most influential publications in or relied upon in the jurisdiction – books, journals, newsletters and pamphlets.
Books
Finnish Arbitration Association Law and Practice of Arbitration in Finland (Helsinki: Finnish Arbitration Association, 2004) G Möller ICCA International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration (New York: Kluwer, Supplement 20, October 1995) p 32, ‘Finland’ G Möller Välimiesmenettelyn perusteet (Helsinki: Lakimiesliiton Kustannus, 1997)
P Taivalkoski and H Lindegaard International Comparative Legal Guide to International Arbitration 2005 (London: Global Legal Group Ltd, 2005) pp 147–152, ‘Finland’
P Taivalkoski and G Mecarelli Recherche sur l’arbitrage en droit international et comparé (Paris: LGDJ, 1997) p 269, ‘Le nouveau droit finlandais de l’arbitrage international’
Journals
M Savola ‘Muut ratkaisut kuin lopulliset välitystuomiot
välimiesmenettelyssä’ (2003) 3/2003 Defensor Legis at 385–416
6.1 Are there form and/or content requirements for an enforceable agreement to arbitrate? How may they be satisfied?
Under Finnish law, an arbitration agreement must be made in writing. This requirement can, however, also be fulfilled using modern means of communication, as long as they provide a written record of the agreement to arbitrate. An arbitral clause contained in a will, a bill of lading or similar type of document, or eg in the bylaws of a corporate entity, which is considered binding on the party or person against whom a claim is made, has the same effect as an arbitration agreement. Under certain circumstances, the parties may also be considered bound by a tacit arbitration agreement (cf section 4.2 above).
In addition to the Arbitration Act, the Finnish Companies Act provides for so-called ‘statutory arbitration’ for disputes related to the redemption of minority shareholdings (squeeze-outs). Conceptually, arbitration under the Companies Act does not constitute a true arbitration since it is not based on an agreement, but on mandatory provisions in the Companies Act obliging parties to resolve particular kinds of disputes through arbitration.
7.2 Is arbitration prohibited for certain types of dispute (restraints of fundamental public policy)?
Under the Arbitration Act, any dispute in a civil or commercial matter that is capable of being settled between the parties in dispute can be finally resolved through arbitration on the basis of an agreement between such parties. It is considered that the decisive criterion is whether the recourse sought by the parties can be obtained without the intervention of public authorities. This has been confirmed by the Finnish Supreme Court (judgment No 2003:45 of 14 May 2003).
The judgment represents the first precedent of major importance regarding arbitrability under the present Arbitration Act. By its decision, the Supreme Court confirms – in accordance with views previously expressed by Finnish legal doctrine and certain court decisions made under the preceding Arbitration Act – that arbitrability in Finland is approached in a fairly liberal fashion.
The decision further illustrates that the decisive test for determining whether a matter in dispute can or cannot be arbitrated under Finnish law, revolves around whether the outcome sought can be obtained without the mandatory involvement of a court or another public authority.
8.1 May an arbitral clause be considered valid even if the rest of the contract in which it is embedded is invalid?
The doctrine of separability is accepted under Finnish law. Even if the validity of the main contract is disputed, this therefore does not invalidate the agreement to arbitrate.
9. QUALIFICATION/APPOINTMENT/LIABILITY OF ARBITRATORS
9.1 Are there specific provisions regulating the qualifications of arbitrators? Are there requirements (including disclosure) for ‘impartiality’ and ‘independence’, and do such requirements differ as between domestic and international arbitrations?
Under the Arbitration Act, anyone who has full legal capacity may act as an arbitrator in Finland, including persons who are not Finnish citizens and who have no legal training or experience, unless the parties in dispute have agreed otherwise. This applies both to domestic and international arbitrations.
As for impartiality and independence, it follows from explicit provisions in the Arbitration Act (applicable to all arbitrations having their seat in Finland) that an arbitrator must be both independent and impartial. A person who is approached for the purposes of being appointed arbitrator is under a duty immediately to disclose all circumstances likely to give rise to justifiable doubts as to his or her independence or impartiality, unless he or she refuses the appointment.
Further an arbitrator shall, from the time of his or her appointment and throughout the arbitral proceedings without delay, disclose all circumstances of which he or she may become aware that are likely to give rise to justifiable doubts as to his or her independence or impartiality, but of which the parties have not previously been informed.
9.2 Are there provisions governing the challenge or removal of arbitrators? Do the courts or other jurisdictions play/have a role in any such challenge?
The parties are free to agree on a procedure for challenging an arbitrator. Failing specific party agreement, a party who wants to challenge an arbitrator shall, under the Arbitration Act, present its objections, together with a statement of the reasons for the challenge, to the arbitral tribunal in writing within 15 days from becoming aware of the constitution of the arbitral tribunal or the circumstances on the basis of which the challenge is made.
An arbitrator may be challenged by a party if he or she would have been disqualified to handle the matter as a judge, or if circumstances exist that give rise to justifiable doubts as to his or her impartiality or independence. Whether doubts are justifiable depends on the factual circumstances of each case.
Unless the challenged arbitrator withdraws or the other party agrees to the challenge, the arbitral tribunal (including the arbitrator against whom the challenge is made) shall decide on the challenge.
A challenging party can only pursue its objection regarding the impartiality and/or independence of an arbitrator before a court in connection with an action for setting aside the final award, ie after the arbitral proceedings have ended, and:
An arbitrator may be removed by agreement between the parties. If requested by a party, according to the Arbitration Act the relevant district Court shall remove an arbitrator if it finds that the arbitrator is unable to perform his or her functions adequately or he or she delays the arbitration without just cause. Before removing an arbitrator, the arbitrator shall, whenever possible, be given the opportunity to be heard. The court’s decision regarding the removal of an arbitrator cannot be appealed.
If an arbitrator is removed, a substitute arbitrator shall be appointed.
9.3 Does legislation govern, or have the courts developed rules regarding the liability of arbitrators for acts related to their decision-making function?
Under Finnish law, the relationship between the arbitrator, once he or she has been appointed, and the parties is considered a contractual undertaking to render certain services. Accordingly, an arbitrator may be held liable for possible damages if he or she eg does not fulfil his or her mandate properly, obstructs the proceedings or resigns without reason. An error in law or in fact would, on the other hand, probably not lead to liability. The Finnish Supreme Court has recently rendered a judgment (No 2005:14 of 31 January 2005) holding an arbitrator liable to compensate the arbitral costs incurred by a party in a case where the arbitral award, on the basis of said arbitrator’s conflict of interest, had been set aside. The Supreme Court confirmed that the relationship between an arbitrator and a party is generally comparable to a contractual relationship. Consequently, the Finnish Damages Act (regulating liability in tort, ie non-contractual situations) and its limitations of liability for financial losses did not apply. In its decision, the Supreme Court found that the chair arbitrator, Professor X (‘X’), who was also a Doctor of Law, had acted negligently, as he ought to have understood that consulting work he provided to certain interveners on the respondent’s side (during the course of the arbitral proceedings and for which he received a substantial fee) in fact constituted a circumstance that would cause the claimants to reasonably question his independence and impartiality and which he, therefore, ought to have disclosed. As the court further found that a causal link existed between X’s negligence and the claimed damages (the arbitral costs incurred unnecessarily by the claimants) and that the claimed damage was foreseeable to X, the Supreme Court concluded that X was liable to compensate such damages.
10. PARTY REPRESENTATION
10.1 Are there particular qualification requirements for representatives (‘counsel’) appearing in the jurisdictions?
The Arbitration Act does not impose any particular qualification requirements upon party representatives acting as counsel in arbitral proceedings, nor is it, in general, compulsory to be represented by an advocate during legal proceedings in the jurisdiction.
11. PLACE OF ARBITRATION/PROCEDURES
11.1 Are there provisions governing the place (seat) of arbitration, or any requirement for arbitral proceedings to be held at the seat?
The parties are free to agree on the place (seat) of the arbitration. In the absence of such agreement, the place of the arbitration (in the legal sense) is determined by the arbitral tribunal both under the Arbitration Act and the rules of the Arbitration Institute. Irrespective of the determination of the seat of the arbitration, the arbitral tribunal may, however, in appropriate circumstances, hear parties, witnesses and experts, and may also make inspections at other locations than that of the place of arbitration, including outside of Finland.
11.2 Are specific procedures mandated in particular cases, or in general?
The Arbitration Act contains a fairly small number of procedural rules and only one mandatory provision, reflecting the principle of audiatur et altera pars (the parties’ right to be given sufficient opportunity to present their case) which, if not observed, upon request of one of the parties, may constitute grounds for setting aside the final arbitral award. In general, emphasis in the Arbitration Act is on the parties’ wishes, impartiality and speed.
If the parties cannot agree on how they want the arbitral proceedings to be conducted, the arbitral tribunal is entitled to organise the arbitration in the manner it considers appropriate, subject to the above specific mandatory requirement under the Arbitration Act and taking into account the general requirements of impartiality and speed.
12. EVIDENCE GATHERING
12.1 What is the general approach to the gathering and tendering of evidence at the pleading stage and at the hearing stage (production, discovery, privilege, use of witness statements etc)? Are there differences between domestic and international arbitrations?
No specific rules exist on how to produce or present evidence in arbitral proceedings conducted under Finnish law, as the Finnish Procedural Code does not apply to arbitral proceedings and the Arbitration Act only contains very limited guidance in this respect. In domestic arbitrations, the rules of evidence contained in the Finnish Procedural Code will, however, often serve as a source of reference in practice.
It should be noted that Finnish procedural law does not provide for any mechanism comparable to discovery under common law and that the parties consequently, as a rule will each be expected to provide for and present all of the relevant facts and evidence that they deem necessary in support of their respective claims during arbitral proceedings (provided that the parties have not agreed otherwise or the composition of the arbitral tribunal and/or the nationality of the parties in dispute require differently).
Written witness statements are seldom used in domestic arbitrations, but more frequently in international arbitration. If used, the witnesses in question would usually be required to also appear in person before the arbitral tribunal.
Witnesses will most often be heard by way of, first, examination in chief, then cross-examination and finally re-examination by the parties’ counsels. However, the arbitrator(s) will often also put questions to the witnesses.
12.2 What powers of compulsion or court assistance are there for arbitrators to require attendance of witnesses or production of documents, either prior to or at the substantive hearing? Is there a difference between domestic and international tribunals or as between parties and non-parties? Do special provisions exist for arbitrators appointed pursuant to international treaties (ie bilateral or multilateral investment treaties)?
The arbitral tribunal is entitled to require that a party, a witness or another person appear before it for examination and to request that a party or any other person in possession of a document or other object, produce such document or object if deemed relevant by the tribunal for its assessment of the case. The arbitral tribunal has, however, no authority to impose penalties or to issue enforceable procedural orders in such matters, nor does the tribunal have authority to take testimony under oath or under any other similar solemn affirmation. On the other hand, a party who fails to comply with the tribunal’s request assumes the risk that the tribunal may draw negative inferences.
If the arbitral tribunal deems it necessary that a witness or an expert be examined in court, that a party be examined under oath or that a party or any other person be ordered to produce a written document or other object which may be of relevance as evidence, one of the parties may request court assistance in such respect.
The above applies irrespective of the fact that members of the arbitral tribunal have been appointed pursuant to international treaties.
13. INTERIM MEASURES/ROLE OF THE TRIBUNAL
13.1 Are there special provisions relating to the granting of interim and preliminary relief? Have the courts recognised and/or limited any such authority? Do the courts themselves play a role in interim relief in arbitration proceedings?
Under Finnish law, an arbitral tribunal does not have the power to grant enforceable interim or conservatory relief, and such measures cannot be submitted to arbitration by party agreement. Interim relief must therefore be sought with the courts also in relation to matters which are finally to be resolved through arbitration. An arbitration agreement does not preclude a party from requesting a court to grant interim measures of protection which fall within the competence of Finnish courts.
14. TAXATION OF ARBITRATORS’ FEES
14.1 Does the state, or any of its sub-divisions, purport to tax domestically the fees of foreign arbitrators conducting hearings in the state? Is there a difference if the arbitration is ‘seated’ in the state or elsewhere?
As a starting-point, all income earned through business activities conducted in Finland is subject to a tax of 26 per cent. Due to obligations undertaken by Finland in tax treaties with other states, the right to tax business income is, however, in practice and almost without exception, limited to situations where the income is earned through a business entity that has permanent establishment in Finland. Therefore, to the extent that an arbitrator invoices his or her fee to eg a law firm that has no permanent establishment in Finland, Finnish tax would not be levied on the arbitrator’s income.
Several of the tax treaties referenced to above include separate provisions regarding occasionally provided cross-border, ‘independent personal services’, including lawyers’ services. Such services are, in general, also exempt from taxation in the country where they are performed, and in practice Finland would therefore most often not levy tax on the fees of ‘foreign’ arbitrators even though such fees were paid directly by the parties to an arbitrator working as an independent service provider.
If the relevant tax treaty does not include an ‘independent personal services’ clause, any salary paid to a non-resident arbitrator working in Finland as an independent service provider who is not considered an entrepreneur, would, as a rule, be subject to a withholding tax of 35 per cent. This would apply irrespective of whether the arbitration is seated in Finland or elsewhere, as the relevant criteria from a tax perspective would be where the actual service, or the principal part of it, is performed and the parties’ connection to Finland (ie whether the party actually paying the fee in question is registered as an employer or has a permanent establishment in Finland).
Finally, a party to an arbitration who is resident in Finland and subject to VAT is, as a rule, obliged to pay Finnish VAT with respect also to arbitrators’ fees.
15. DEFAULT PROCEEDINGS
15.1 Are there provisions governing a tribunal’s ability to determine the controversy in the absence of a party who, on appropriate notice, fails to appear at or seek adjournment of the arbitral proceedings?
The arbitral tribunal is under a mandatory obligation to give the parties sufficient opportunity to present their cases (cf section 11.2 above). If, however, a party has been duly notified by the arbitral tribunal, but without good cause fails to take part in the arbitral proceedings, the arbitral tribunal may proceed ex parte.
16. THE ARBITRAL AWARD
16.1 Must an award take any particular form, eg in writing, signed, dated, place, the need for reasons, delivery etc?
It follows from the Arbitration Act that an arbitral tribunal shall decide the dispute in accordance with the law applicable to the substance of the dispute, unless the parties have expressly authorised the tribunal to decide the matter ex aequo et bono, and that the arbitral award shall be made in writing, signed by each of the arbitrators and state the date and the place of arbitration, as agreed or determined.
If the parties manage to settle their dispute during the arbitral proceedings, the arbitral tribunal may record the settlement in the form of an arbitral award (by consent). The arbitral tribunal may also, in a case where several claims have been made, render a separate award on an independent claim or part of a claim. However, a claim for monetary relief and a set-off claim made against it shall be decided together. If the parties so agree, the arbitral tribunal may further separately render an arbitral award regarding a preliminary issue, ie an issue on which the resolution of other parts of the dispute depends.
The Arbitration Act does not explicitly require that the award contain the arbitrators’ reasons therefor, nor do the rules of the Arbitration Institute. Arbitral awards will, however, as a rule, contain a presentation of the evidential background and the legal reasons on which the tribunal has decided the case. Under the Arbitration Institutes rules for expedited arbitration, however, the award shall not contain reasons, unless otherwise requested. It should be noted that an arbitral award under the Arbitration Act is to be considered null and void if it is so obscure or incomplete that it does not follow from the award how the dispute has been decided.
If not all of the arbitrators are in agreement about the outcome, the award shall be rendered in accordance with the opinion of the majority. If no majority vote can be attained for any opinion, the opinion of the chair shall prevail, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
Unless otherwise provided in a manner that is binding on the arbitrators, the arbitral tribunal may fix the compensation due to each arbitrator for their work and expenses in its award. If the compensation to be paid to the arbitrators is determined in the award, the parties shall be informed in the award of what to do, if they wish to appeal against the decision of the arbitral tribunal with regard to the amount of compensation due to the arbitrators.
When the arbitral award has been made, a copy of the signed award shall be given to each party at a special session of the arbitral tribunal or delivered to the parties in a verifiable way.
16.2 Are there limits on arbitrators’ powers to fashion appropriate remedies, eg punitive or exemplary damages, rectification, injunctions, interest and costs?
Punitive or exemplary damages as such cannot be awarded under Finnish law except where the parties have agreed to apply a law which does recognise punitive damages, and such dispute is resolved in an arbitration having its seat in Finland. In that case, it is conceivable that punitive damages could be awarded, provided that the arbitral tribunal does not find that such damages would violate the public policy of Finland as the award might otherwise subsequently be set aside by Finnish courts or be unenforceable in Finland.
Where the parties have claimed interest, the arbitral tribunal may award interest provided that it finds sufficient grounds to do so on the basis of the relevant applicable law.
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or decided by the arbitral tribunal, under the Arbitration Act the parties are jointly and severally obliged to pay a reasonable fee to the arbitrators and compensate their expenses. The arbitral tribunal may, however, order the losing party to partly or fully compensate the expenses incurred by the prevailing party in connection with an arbitration (including reasonable fees and expenses due to such party’s own legal counsel), unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
17. RECOURSE FROM AN AWARD
17.1 Are there provisions governing modification, clarification or correction of an award?
Under the Arbitration Act a party may request that the arbitral tribunal correct computational, clerical, typographical and similar errors. The request shall be presented within 30 days of the party’s receipt of a copy of the award (unless otherwise agreed) and after having notified the other party.
Further, the arbitral tribunal may on its own initiative, correct similar kinds of errors within 30 days of the date of the award, after (when necessary) having given the parties an opportunity to their comment.
Finally, either party may, unless otherwise agreed, by notice to the other party, within 30 days of its receipt of the copy of the award, request that the arbitral tribunal make an additional award as to claims presented during the arbitral proceedings but omitted from the original arbitral award. In such case, the arbitral tribunal shall, if it considers the request to be justified, render the additional award as soon as possible.
17.2 May an award be appealed to or set aside by the courts? If so, on what grounds and by what procedures?
Under Finnish law, an arbitral award is not (except in the case of mandatory squeeze-out proceedings) subject to appeal on its merits. Also, during an action for setting aside the final award, the court may therefore not try the merits of the dispute, and accordingly an arbitral award cannot be set aside on the basis of the arbitral tribunal having made an error in fact or in law.
Where the compensation due to the arbitrator(s) has been fixed in the award (which is common), the parties can appeal such decision with regard to the amount of such compensation (to be submitted in writing within 60 days of the party’s receipt of the copy of the award and addressed to the district Court at the place where the award was made).
In the Arbitration Act, a distinction is made between arbitral awards that ex officio shall be considered null and void, and arbitral awards that may be set aside at the request of an aggrieved party.
Under the Arbitration Act an arbitral award is to be considered null and void:
In the event that the award is declared null and void, no action is required from the parties, as the court handling a possible application for the enforcement of such award shall observe the nullity ex officio. If an aggrieved party wishes to obtain a court decision confirming the nullity of the arbitral award (something which is very rare in practice), it may, however, institute an action for such purposes before the district Court of the place where the award was made.
On the other hand, for an arbitral award to be set aside, the aggrieved party must, within three months of the date on which it received a copy of the final arbitral award, bring an action to this effect before the district Court at the place where the award was made.
Under the Arbitration Act, a court may set an arbitral award aside if:
present its case. It should, however, be noted that if a party has taken part in the arbitral proceedings without presenting objections in relation to the issues mentioned under the first three points above, under the Arbitration Act considered to have waived its right to rely on said grounds. The purpose of this system is to prevent the parties from speculating on whether or not to present an objection during the arbitral proceedings depending on the arbitral tribunal’s resolution of the merits of the dispute.
The action for setting an arbitral award aside is an ordinary civil action for which no special form is prescribed. Under the Arbitration Act, a Finnish court that is requested by a party to declare an arbitral award null and void or set it aside, may (but also may not) stay the court proceedings for a period of time and give the arbitral tribunal opportunity to resume its proceedings or take such other actions which will eliminate the grounds for declaring the award null and void or for setting it aside.
18. ENFORCEMENT OF AWARD
18.1 What are the procedures and standards for enforcing an award? Is there a difference between ‘domestic’ and ‘non-domestic’ awards?
Finland has ratified the New York Convention and has not made any reservations regarding reciprocity nor restricted the Convention’s application to awards rendered only in commercial disputes.
All arbitral awards (irrespective of whether related to a national or an international dispute and/or rendered in or outside of Finland) are subject to the same enforcement procedure.
The party who wishes to enforce an arbitral award shall file an application for enforcement with the competent district Court, which most often is the court of the place where the losing party is domiciled or has assets. This can be done whenever the party wishes, as no time limit exists.
The application for enforcement shall be accompanied by the original arbitration agreement and an original, or duly certified copy, of the arbitral award. If said documents are not made in one of the official languages of Finland (Finnish or Swedish), certified translations into either of these languages shall also be submitted, unless the court grants an exception. It is normally sufficient merely to translate those parts of the arbitral award that are necessary for correct enforcement. The court handling the application is not entitled to require any other documents or evidence. However, before the court decides on the application for enforcement, the party against whom enforcement is sought shall, whenever possible, be given an opportunity to be heard.
The court may refuse an application for enforcement only if:
Finnish courts are obliged to recognise arbitral awards rendered in a foreign state, unless one of the following exceptions applies. According to the Arbitration Act, Finnish courts shall ex officio refuse recognition to the extent that they find that a foreign arbitral award is contrary to the public policy of Finland.
Finnish courts shall further refuse recognition against a party who furnishes proof that:
19. CONFIDENTIALITY OF PROCEEDINGS
19.1 What are the confidentiality requirements of the arbitral process, ie existence of the arbitration, pleadings, documents produced, hearing, award?
As opposed to proceedings before a Finnish court, arbitral proceedings conducted in Finland are not considered public. No statutory provisions exist ensuring the confidentiality of arbitral proceedings, but it is generally accepted in Finland that arbitrators are not allowed to disclose what has come to their knowledge during arbitral proceedings. In the event that an arbitrator is a member of the Finnish Bar Association, it is conceivable that he or she would be considered bound by the specific confidentiality obligations applicable to bar members when acting as an arbitrator.
With respect to the parties in dispute, the legal position is less clear. In order to ensure that a counter-party would be subject to a confidentiality obligation, it is recommended that the issue be addressed and determined in the arbitration agreement or at the latest when the arbitral proceedings are instituted.
20.1 Is there any particular aspect of the approach to arbitration in the jurisdiction which bears special mention?
Arbitral proceedings, including international arbitral proceedings, conducted in Finland as well as in other Nordic countries, are, in general, characterised by pragmatism and informality and focused on accommodating the needs and wishes of the specific parties in dispute in a flexible and case-by-case oriented manner.
