This part presents the enforcement of civil judgments, the relevant legislation and the treaties.

The statutes mentioned are found at the address www.finlex.fi/en.

The core rule is that judgments cannot be enforced without an international agreement or a national provision forming the basis of the enforcement action.

The enforcement of civil judgments may be based on the so-called Brussels (Treaty Series 26/1999) and Lugano Conventions (Treaty Series 44/1993). The Brussels Convention has been converted to a regulation: Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters entered into force on 1 March 2002 (the so-called Brussels I-regulation).

Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 (pdf-fil, 25 s.) of the European Parliament and of the Council creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims is applied to the execution in another EU country of sentences regarding undisputed debts. National provisions supplementing the regulation can be found in Act No 825/2005.

International family matters are regulated by the Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 the so-called Brussels II a –regulation. The Practice guide for the application of the regulation (pdf-file, 49 s.) has been drawn up by the Commission.

Arbitral awards may be enforced on the basis of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (Treaty Series 8/1962; also see the Arbitration Act, 967/1992).

Additionally, there are conventions making it possible to enforce judgments within specific fields. Such are e.g.

• the Luxemburg Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of Custody of Children (Treaty Series 56/1994),
• the Hague Convention concerning the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations towards Children (Treaty Series 35/1983),
• the New York Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance (Treaty Series 37/1962) and the Nordic Convention on Maintenance Obligations (Treaty Series 8/1963).

The national act in this connection is the Act on the Recognition and Enforcement of a Foreign Decision on Maintenance Obligations (370/1983).

In Finland the Ministry for Foreign Affairs sees to matters related to international maintenance obligations (see the Decree on the Duties of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in the Collection of Maintenance Obligations 831/1989).

The texts of the Hague Conventions, memoranda and ratification details are found on the Internet pages of the Conference on Private International Law at the address http://www.hcch.net/.

Between the Nordic Countries the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Civil Judgements also has to be taken into account (Treaty Series 56/1977; also see Act 588/1977 and Decree 938/1977).

National provisions on the recognition of foreign judgments are also found in the Act on Cooperation between Finnish and Foreign Authorities in Trials and in the Enforcement of a Decision of a Foreign Court in Certain Cases (171/1921). However, this Act only makes it possible to enforce decisions on legal costs.

Updated on 7 January 2010