Mediation has been used in criminal and civil matters in Finland since 1983. The Act on Conciliation in Criminal and Certain Civil Cases entered into force on 1 January 2006.
Amendments to the Act on Conciliation entered into force on 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2025.
As of 1 January 2027, mediation services will be transferred to the administrative branch of the Ministry of Justice and placed under the responsibility of the National Legal Services Agency (OPV), at which point the next amendment to the Act on Conciliation in Criminal and Certain Civil Cases will also enter into force.
Key legal sources
- Act on Conciliation in Criminal and Certain Civil Cases 9.12.2005/1015 (Finlex)
- Valtioneuvoston asetus rikosasioiden ja eräiden riita-asioiden sovittelusta 267/2006 (in Finnish, Finlex)
- HE 93/2005 Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle laiksi rikosasioiden sovittelusta (in Finnish, Finlex)
- HE 130/2024 Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle laiksi rikosasioiden ja eräiden riita-asioiden sovittelusta annetun lain muuttamisesta (in Finnish, Finlex)
Other relevant laws
- Criminal Investigation Act 805/2011 (Finlex)
- Laki oikeudenkäynnistä rikosasioissa 689/1997 (in Finnish, Finlex)
- Child Welfare Act 417/2007 (Finlex)
- Poliisilaki 872/2011 (in Finnish, Finlex)
- Criminal Code 39/1889 (Finlex)
- Rikosvahinkolaki 1204/2005 (in Finnish, Finlex)
- Damages Act 412/1974 (Finlex)
EU and international law
- Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime (EUR-Lex)
- Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Istanbul, 2011 (Council of Europe)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child (59/1991) (Finlex)
- Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States concerning mediation in penal matters (Recommendation No. R (99) 19) (Council of Europe)
- Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States concerning restorative justice in criminal matters (CM/Rec (2018)8) (Council of Europe)