Originally from Enforcement of Money Judgments

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I. PRESENT ATTITUDE TOWARD ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN MONEY JUDGMENTS 

A. Describe the receptiveness of your government (including courts) toward enforcement of foreign money judgments. 

The receptiveness of Finnish courts toward enforcing foreign money judgments depends very much on the country of origin of the judgment. Enforcement requires support in national law or in an international treaty. In October 2015, an act on international judicial assistance and enforcement of judgments in the field of civil and commercial law entered into force, codifying a general rule on enforcement of foreign judgments. This rule reflects the current practice, according to which enforcement is not possible without support in national legislation or a ratified international convention. According to the preparatory works, the purpose of the act is to revise old acts and consolidate the national rules related to, inter alia, enforcement of foreign judgments.

At the moment, the ratified conventions and EU regulations in force regarding the enforcement of judgments concern only other EU member states, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.

In the EU, all judgments are recognized between the member states. Through the new amendments to the Brussels I Regulation (recast Brussels I Regulation), which regulates enforcement of foreign judgments within the EU, there are no longer any formal requirements to be complied with prior to enforcement. All EU judgments can now be enforced in the same manner as national judgments in all EU member states. The new Regulation applies to legal proceedings instituted, to authentic instruments formally drawn up or registered, and to court settlements approved or concluded on or after 10 January 2015.

Enforcement under the new Brussels I Regulation requires that the judgment be enforceable in the state where it was rendered.