This part presents the service of documents in civil matters. The legislation and treaties on service are also taken up.

The statutes mentioned are found at the address www.finlex.fi/en/. EU provisions are found at the address europa.eu/eur-lex/en/.

The submission of a request for legal assistance to a foreign authority is regulated by Chapter 11, Sections 3 and 8 of the Code of Judicial Procedure, and in particular by Section 8 (1056/1991). Normally the relevant documents are sent to the foreign authority by the court concerned.

The service is regulated by different conventions depending on whether the addressee resides in a Nordic Country, in a Member State of the European Union, in a country that is a party to the Hague Convention of 1965 or in another country.

The documents may in most cases be posted directly to a recipient residing abroad. More detailed information on the procedures to be observed in international postal service can be gained from the post office. However, some states have declared that they oppose postal service of legal documents within their territory. These declarations have to be checked in each case. Finland allows postal service within its territory.

The Nordic Countries apply the Agreement between Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden on Mutual Legal Assistance in Service and Taking of Evidence (Treaty Series 26/1975). This Agreement is based on direct contact – a request for legal assistance is submitted directly to the relevant authority.

The Member States of the European Union apply regulation (EC) No 1393/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters (service of documents), and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1348/2000. The main principle of the Regulation is that a request for service is to be sent directly to the local authorities.

The Regulation and communications of the Member States to the Commission are found at the European Judicial Atlas in Civil Matters.

The transmitting agencies in Finland are the district courts, the appeal courts and the Supreme Court. The receiving agencies are the district courts. The central body is the Ministry of Justice.

An important international agreement is the Hague Convention of 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (Treaty Series 51/1969). According to this Convention the requests are submitted through the central authorities. The Ministry of Justice is the Central Authority in Finland. Requests for service of extrajudicial documents from Finland to another state party to the Hague Convention is submitted through the Regional State Administrative Agencies. (See also the Decree on Mutual Assistance in the Service of Documents in Civil Matters (211/1982).

Also the Hague Convention of 1954 Relating to Civil Procedure concerns service (Treaty Series 2/1957). The Convention of 1965 has, however, amended and complemented this earlier Convention.

The convention texts, memoranda and ratification details of the Hague Conventions are found on the Internet pages of the Conference on Private International Law.

Requests for services to countries outside the conventions can be submitted through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs i.e. through the diplomatic channel.

Updated on 7 January 2010