Finland
Implementation of the European Directive on representative actions
Which national regulations transpose the Directive into national law?
The EU Directive on representative actions (“Directive”) has been implemented in Finland with the Act on Representative Actions for Injunctive Measures (1101/2022), the Act on the Designation of Organisations Promoting the Collective Interests of Consumers as Qualified Entities (1102/2022) and with amendments to the Class Action Act (444/2007), all of which came into force on 25 June 2023.
The competent district court for hearing class actions is the Helsinki District Court, the judicial district of which covers the whole of Finland.
Who is entitled to bring a representative action?
Under the Class Action Act the Consumer Ombudsman and an organisation promoting the collective interests of consumers designated by the Ministry of Justice as a qualified entity are qualified for bringing an action. In addition, qualified entity designated in another state belonging to the EEA for the purposes of cross-border representative actions referred to in the Directive that has been entered in the list referred to in the Directive, may bring a class action.
Under the Class Action Act in force previously in Finland only the Consumer Ombudsman had the right to raise a class action. However, so far no class actions have been raised.
What can be the subject matter of a representative action?
The Class Action Act applies to the hearing of a civil case between a consumer and a trader as a class action as well as to the hearing of claims referred to in the Directive as a class action. The Act applies to actions concerning redress measures under the Directive. Article 9(1) of the Directive explains the content of a redress measure: a redress measure shall require a trader to provide consumers concerned with remedies such as compensation, repair, replacement, price reduction, contract termination or reimbursement of the price paid, as appropriate and as available under Union or national law.
The Class Action Act does not apply to the hearing of claims concerning injunctive measures referred to in the Directive. Such claims are governed by the Act on Representative Actions for Injunctive Measures.
Which individual consumers are represented in a representative action?
The Class Action Act provides for an opt-in model under which a person who is a member of the class and has submitted a written and signed notice of their willingness to participate in the class action within the set time limit belongs to the class. If the action was brought by an organisation designated as a qualified entity, the claimant may require those participating in the class action to pay a reasonable registration fee.
What will be the outcome of a representative action?
The outcome of a class action may either be a settlement or a judgement. If the parties reach an agreement in the matter, the court shall confirm the agreement in order for it to be binding on the members of the class.
Are there particular rules for the disclosure of evidence?
The new legislation does not introduce additional rules for the disclosure of evidence. Therefore, the Finnish procedural rules apply to the disclosure of documents.
Is third party funding possible?
Third-party funding is allowed. However, an external provider of funding to a class action must not be a competitor of the respondent in the class action or be dependent on the respondent. The funding provider must not influence the decisions made by the claimant in the context of the hearing of the class action in a manner that is detrimental to the collective interests of consumers.
Conclusion
Under the new legislation also an organisation promoting the collective interests of consumers may file a class action lawsuit. The availability of third-party funding may increase the number of class actions brought against companies.
The scope of application of the Directive is very broad and in addition to general consumer law it covers many other sectors such as data protection, financial services, travel and tourism, energy, and telecommunications sectors. The effects of the Directive depend on the organisations applying for the status of the qualified entity and on the cases they choose to take to the courts.
Contact
Niina Rosenlund
T: + 358 10 684 1626 E: niina.rosenlund@eversheds.fi
Katriina Jussila
T: +358 10 684 1568 E: katriina.jussila@eversheds.fi
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