Finland: A Dispute Resolution Overview
Finland: Dispute Resolution in Uncertain Times
The nature of legal advisory work has been evolving fast over the last few years. In Finland, geopolitical instability in Europe and the United States has shaped businesses’ legal needs. The Finnish legal system and environment continue to be a beacon of stability and predictability, but the issues faced by businesses in Finland are increasingly outside of the domestic agenda or purely national laws. The need to factor in international exposure and regulatory changes coming from the European Union continues, while novel issues such as tariffs and barriers to trade have also had an impact on businesses, in addition to increased attention to trade compliance. It is against this background that the landscape of Finnish dispute resolution has also changed.
Since 2022, Finland has seen a surge in energy-related disputes, with multiple high-profile cases reaching Finnish courts and arbitral tribunals. More are to be expected due to the large-scale energy investments undertaken in recent years and currently ongoing. Additionally, economic sanctions, in particular, EU and OFAC sanctions against Russia, have emerged as a constant feature across multiple dispute resolution proceedings.
Regulatory waves
Litigation in administrative courts has increased sharply. The EU regulatory framework governing energy, environmental issues, financial markets, and competition has generated high-profile cases in these courts, which have witnessed a notable rise in challenges to regulatory decisions and compliance enforcement actions. The administrative court system has become a critical battleground for companies seeking to challenge regulatory interpretations, particularly in the financial sector and in sectors heavily impacted by trade compliance and evolving energy policy.
The regulatory impact is also evident in Finland’s first investment arbitration cases. The Republic of Finland is currently a respondent in two ICSID investor-state arbitration proceedings initiated by international investors in the Finnish electric power distribution sector under the Energy Charter Treaty. These proceedings follow an earlier unrelated case that was settled between Finland and a Chinese investor.
The continuous updates to EU sanctions regimes and the broadening of their scope have had a significant impact on dispute resolution. In May 2025, the Finnish Criminal Code was amended to specifically include sanctions-related offences carrying substantial financial and criminal penalties for both companies and individuals. The effect of sanctions on trade is also reflected in enforcement activity. For example, Finnish Customs has launched more than 900 investigations since 2022. The wave of sanctions-related disputes has brought new issues to lawyers’ tables: from exits from Russia to the unwinding of contractual relationships, practitioners have encountered a broad range of matters in both legal advisory work and dispute resolution.
Construction and renewable energy
Finland continues to see major investments in renewable energy and the green transition more broadly. Partly related to this, there is also significant activity in data centre investments. These large-scale construction projects provide needed activity to support a domestic construction industry that is otherwise still suffering from a protracted slump in residential and commercial construction.
These large industrial and energy investments involve complex legal structures, financing agreements, and international players, leading to a marked influence of international contract forms and templates on construction in Finland and increasing the need for legal support compared to traditional Finnish contracting. Due to the volume of projects, it is a realistic possibility that this investment activity will generate notable construction disputes in the foreseeable future.
Civil courts under pressure
Finland’s civil court system is experiencing significant strain due to an elevated caseload and a pressure to slash public spending. While Finnish courts are still relatively efficient by international standards, civil and criminal proceedings could see increasing delays, particularly in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Partly for this reason, arbitration remains popular in Finland and is the mainstream dispute resolution mechanism for businesses that are at least mid-sized. However, in our experience, Finnish courts continue to react expeditiously in cases of urgent interim relief, where parties can typically obtain interim injunctions within 24–48 hours of filing.
The Finland Arbitration Institute maintained a steady caseload of 70–100 cases per year between 2020 and 2024, with a median time to final award of nine months for regular arbitration and 3.4 months for expedited arbitration. Of these cases, between 20–30% were international. (Source: The Finland Arbitration Institute)
Mediation is also increasingly popular and much discussed, as is alternative dispute resolution in general. To illustrate, the Finland Arbitration Institute is currently (early 2026) working on rules for so-called dispute resolution boards for resolving disputes mid-project, and this has garnered significant interest from the community of dispute resolution professionals specialised in construction and project delivery.
Arbitration Act under reform
The current Finnish Arbitration Act dates back to 1992 and is widely seen to be in need of modernisation. Over recent years, there has been a concerted push from the business community and the legal sector to update the act. In 2024, the Ministry of Justice established a working group to assess the need for reform and to prepare a proposal. The working group concluded its work in October 2025 and presented a report proposing to replace the current act with new legislation. The reform is based on aligning the act with the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, with minor adjustments to reflect digitalisation and international developments in the field of arbitration. The next step in the legislative process is a public consultation, which concludes in February 2026. Thereafter, the bill will proceed to Parliament for deliberation and approval. The new arbitration act is expected to enter into force approximately six months after parliamentary approval.