1.    A written request and payment of the registration fee

The claimant shall submit a written request on the initiation of arbitration to the Institute in two copies with appendices as well as one copy for the Arbitral Tribunal. If there are more respondents than one, it is recommended that the request and appendices also be submitted in as many copies as there are respondents with one copy for the Arbitral Tribunal.

The request shall contain: 

1. the names, professions, postal addresses, telephone numbers, facsimile numbers and email addresses of the parties and their counsel;
2. an account of the dispute;
3. a preliminary statement of the claimant’s claim (the monetary interest of the dispute has to be given in euros);
4. the arbitrator appointed by the claimant;
5. a copy of any documents on which the claim is based and, unless incorporated in the former, a copy of the arbitration agreement; and
6. an appropriate power of attorney (also required of Attorneys-at-Law).
   

The Arbitration Institute charges a registration fee for the request, the amount of which is determined by the monetary interest of the case (further information on the determination on the registration fee is under Fees). The registration fee shall be paid into the following account of the Finland Chamber of Commerce before the request is filed:

Bank: Nordea Bank Finland Plc
Bank account: 120030-53991

Please instruct your bank to forward payments orders through:
Bank: Nordea Bank Finland Plc
SWIFT-code: NDEAFIHH
In favour of : Finland Chamber of Commerce,
Aleksanterinkatu 17. P.O. Box 1000, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
IBAN: FI23 1200 3000 0539 91

In connection with the payment the party must state that it is the registration fee of the Arbitration Institute as well as indicate the parties to the case and the date of   the request.

Example: Registration fee of the Arbitration Institute in case X Oy /
Y Oy, 25 April 2003.

A receipt for the payment of the registration fee has to be appended to the request.

After payment of the registration fee, the request is filed with the Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce. The contact information of the Institute is:

The Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 1000 (Aleksanterinkatu 17, World Trade Center Helsinki)
FI-00101 Helsinki
Finland
Tel. +358 9 4242 6200
Fax +358 9 4242 6257
www.arbitration.fi

2.    Checking the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Institute and the request

After arrival of the request, the Arbitration Institute preliminarily checks whether it has jurisdiction in the matter. Unless it is obvious that the Institute lacks jurisdiction over the dispute, the Institute also checks that the request contains the information stated in Point 1 and that the claimant has paid the registration fee. The amount of the registration fee is checked on the basis of the monetary interest of the dispute stated in the request. The Institute may require the party making the request to supplement the request. If the supplementation of the request is not done within the period set by the Institute, the case may be wholly or partly dismissed.

3.    Hearing the respondent

When the registration fee paid by the claimant has arrived in the account of the Finland Chamber of Commerce, the Arbitration Institute sends the request or its copy to the respondent for notice. The Institute requests the respondent to submit a written reply to the request within a period set by the Institute. The arbitral proceedings shall be deemed to be commenced when the request or a copy of thereof has been served on the respondent in the matter.

4.    The respondent’s answer

The respondent’s answer with regard to the request shall include:

1. a response to the statements included in the request for arbitration as well as on the number of arbitrators;
2. the arbitrator appointed by the respondent; and
3. an appropriate power of attorney.
   

If the respondent desires to raise any objection concerning the validity of the arbitration agreement or its applicability to the disputes specified in the request, such objection and the grounds therefor shall be included in the answer.

If the respondent wishes to make a counterclaim or demand a set-off, he shall present the grounds therefor and a preliminary notice of his claims in the answer.
A counterclaim can be made and a set-off demanded only in the event that the arbitration agreement covers also them. The respondent is also liable to pay the registration fee with regard to the counterclaim. The registration fee shall be paid to the account of the Finland Chamber of Commerce (for more details see Point 1) and the receipt of the payment shall be submitted to the Arbitration Institute together with the counterclaim.

The failure of the respondent to submit his answer within the period set by the Institute does not prevent the further handling of the matter if the request has verifiably been served on the respondent.

The respondent’s reply is sent to the claimant without delay. For special reasons, the claimant may be reserved a possibility to give his statement on the reply. If the respondent has brought a counterclaim, the claimant is always reserved a possibility to give a written statement thereon to the Arbitration Institute within a period set by the Arbitration Institute. The statement of the claimant is also sent to the respondent without delay.

5.    Appointment of the Arbitral Tribunal

When the respondent has submitted his reply and the claimant has given his statement on any counterclaim or the time limits fixed for this purpose have expired, the request to appoint an Arbitral Tribunal will be handled at the meeting of the Arbitration Institute.

At its meeting, the Arbitration Institute shall appoint the Chairman of the Arbitral Tribunal, the sole arbitrator or the arbitrators. If the parties have not agreed on the number of arbitrators in a case complying with the Rules of the Arbitration Institute, there shall be three arbitrators unless the Institute, due to the nature of the case, its minor economic value or other reasons, deems it necessary to appoint a sole arbitrator. If a sole arbitrator is appointed, he shall be appointed by the Institute. In other cases, the parties shall appoint an equal number of arbitrators and the Institute shall appoint the Chairman of the Arbitral Tribunal unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties.

Upon the request of the parties, the Arbitration Institute may also determine the place of arbitration. Usually this is, however, left to the discretion of the Arbitral Tribunal.

6.    Security for costs

The Arbitration Institute may order the parties to deposit, into an account designated by the Finland Chamber of Commerce, an amount, which shall constitute a security for the fees and costs of the proceedings and the fees of the arbitrators. The amount of the security depends on the scope of the dispute and the amount of the fees of the arbitrators to be expected. In practice, the Arbitration Institute gives this kind of order only if the arbitration is of an international character (i.e., at least one party is from abroad). If the Arbitration Institute has not ordered the parties to deposit a security, the arbitrators have a similar right.

After the meeting of the Arbitration Institute, the parties are sent an invoice for the security payment. Each party shall pay half of the security, but the parties are, however, jointly and severally liable for the entire amount. If a party fails to pay his share of the security, the Arbitration Institute shall afford the other party an opportunity to pay the unpaid share. If the unpaid amount is not paid, the case shall be dismissed. In this case the matter relating to the appointment of the Arbitral Tribunal may be taken up for re-handling only on the basis of a new request, in which case also new registration fee is charged.

During the proceedings the security may be used to cover the costs of the proceedings of the Arbitral Tribunal and the fees of the arbitrators.

7.    Submitting the documents to the Arbitral Tribunal

When the Arbitral Tribunal has been appointed and any security has been paid in full, the Arbitration Institute submits the letter of appointment and copies of all the documents so far obtained to the arbitrators. In this connection the arbitrators are also sent a written statement of independence, which they have to fill in properly, sign and return to the Arbitration Institute. The Arbitration Institute shall send a copy of the statement of independence issued by the arbitrator to the parties.

When applying the Rules of the Arbitration Institute, the arbitral award shall be rendered no later than one year after the Institute has sent the case file to the arbitrators.