Commercial Disputes - Now and in the Future

by Jan Waselius and Tanja Jussila

1. Introduction

The current Finnish Companies Act (osakeyhtiölaki 734/1978) regulating limited liability companies was enacted in 1978, entered into force as of 1980 and has consequently been in force more than 23 years. There is no doubt that the commercial world surrounding Finnish limited liability companies has undergone enormous changes in the last quarter of a century (inter alia the deregulation of the Finnish financial market and Finland’s entry into the European Union), wherefore a reform of the Companies Act has been considered necessary for a while, and is momentarily under consideration. A working group has been appointed by the Ministry of Justice to prepare a proposition to a new Companies Act, and it submitted its consultation paper on May 6, 2003. The paper comprised over 350 pages and a proposal to an entirely new Companies Act. During the autumn of 2003, several commercial organisations, among others the Finnish Bar Association,