Välimäki, Mikko --- "Introducing Class Actions in Finland: An Example of Law-making Without Economic Analysis" [2012] ELECD 315; in Backhaus, G. Jürgen; Cassone, Alberto; Ramello, B. Giovanni (eds), "The Law and Economics of Class Actions in Europe" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: The Law and Economics of Class Actions in Europe

Editor(s): Backhaus, G. Jürgen; Cassone, Alberto; Ramello, B. Giovanni

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847208033

Section: Chapter 16

Section Title: Introducing Class Actions in Finland: An Example of Law-making Without Economic Analysis

Author(s): Välimäki, Mikko

Number of pages: 15

Extract:

16. Introducing class actions in Finland:
an example of law-making without
economic analysis
Mikko Välimäki


1. INTRODUCTION

The Finnish Parliament accepted in February 2007 a new law on class
actions (literally `group actions'), which entered into force on 1 January,
2008.1 The legislative process was particularly slow. Finland has been
preparing a law on class actions since the early 1990s and this was ­
depending on the criteria of counting ­ the fourth try.
Some fifteen years ago the idea of class actions was something new in
Europe. Time passes quickly, however, and the new Finnish law cannot be
described as `radical' by any meaning of the word. Many European coun-
tries, as described in other chapters in this volume, have changed their
existing procedural codes and enacted new laws to make class action
litigation possible.
The new Finnish class action law differs from the mainstream in funda-
mentally limiting its scope of application. Although the law is titled as
being a general law on class actions, it only applies to consumer cases where
the government-funded Consumer Ombudsman is acting as the lead coun-
sel. This was not the case in the beginning. Years ago, the first law proposals
had much broader scope of application but as the lobbying between
potential defendants (the industry) and plaintiffs (consumer agencies etc.)
became polarized, it became evident that there can be either a major
compromise or no law at all. Indeed, the objectives and contents of the law
proposals changed ...