"Shouldn"t Mediation be Spreading in Finland and the Nordics?"

Anna Hietala, Associate Legal Counsel, Power Plants Legal Affairs, Wärtsilä Finland Oy, Power Plants, Finland

Mediation is not just an English issue or an American issue. The Mediation Directive (EU Directive 2008/52/EC) came into force in back May 2011, and member states are still putting the rules into place to facilitate mediation in their own countries and across the EU. Contrary to the expectations of many – and especially the contentious law firms – the mediation market has grown quickly. But perhaps not fast enough. ADR should become one of the standard ways to resolve commercial disputes. However, there is still a significant lack of knowledge about mediation, and the differences between litigation, arbitration and mediation in Finland and the civil law countries. In this general context, multinational companies will soon have to make key policy decisions in relation to their supply and customer contracts on a range of issues, how to prepare and train their resources on ADR and mediation, and how best to extract value from a less confrontational and more commercial approach.

Anna Hietala is a Finnish lawyer with a Masters in Law from the University of Lapland and a Masters in Administrative Sciences from the University of Vaasa. Anna has worked in the Advocacy Unit of the Finnish Competition Authority in Helsinki, and current works with Wärtsilä Power Plants Legal Affairs in Vaasa where she is engaged in supporting the business unit in cross border contracting and commercial disputes (and in particular ICC Rules of Arbitration and alternative dispute resolution).

Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of its customers vessels and power plants. In 2011, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 4.2 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in nearly 170 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.