The Ministry of Justice has initiated the modernization of the Finnish Arbitration Act

Insights|June 12, 2024

On 3 June 2024, the Finnish Ministry of Justice (MoJ) released a memorandum on the revision of the Finnish Arbitration Act (FAA). The proposed revision is a long-awaited opportunity to modernize the current FAA, in force since 1992, and to align it further with the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. The MoJ has invited comments on the project to be provided by 15 July 2024.

The MoJ memorandum (In Finnish) highlights the need to amend and modernize the current FAA and prepare the necessary legislative amendments to promote the competitiveness of Finnish arbitration internationally. While the current FAA largely mirrors the provisions of the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law, Finland is not recognized as a model law country. Therefore, the memorandum identifies differences between the current FAA and the Model Law and outlines possibilities for alignment.

The memorandum also discusses welcome additions to the current FAA, such as provisions concerning interim measures, and the streamlining of procedures for setting aside arbitral awards. A particular Finnish peculiarity is that there is currently no time limit for actions to annul arbitral awards on grounds of public policy. The memorandum proposes express provisions on arbitrators’ powers to order interim measures and considers the possibility of granting enforceable status to interim measures ordered by arbitrators. The memorandum further discusses the possibility of limiting set-aside proceedings to a single instance in line with many leading arbitration venues.

The MoJ invites written comments on the memorandum to be provided by 15 July 2024. A working group is expected to be established in the fall of 2024 to commence work on drafting the revisions to the FAA.