Procedure for the Referral of a Precedential Question

Through the procedure for the referral of a precedential question (ennakkopäätöskysymysmenettely), a District Court, Court of Appeal, or Market Court may refer a question concerning the application of the law that arises in a case under its consideration to the Supreme Court. The proposal to refer the question to the Supreme Court may come from either the court itself or from the parties.

The Supreme Court may decide to consider the referred question if it is deemed important with regard to the application of the law in other similar cases or because of the need to ensure uniformity of judicial practice.

In other respects, the provisions on granting leave to appeal apply to the referral of a precedential question, where applicable. If the Supreme Court decides to consider the question, the provisions governing appeals from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court will apply correspondingly.
Once the Supreme Court has either resolved the precedential question or decided not to consider it, the referring court will resume its consideration of the case.

Each party is responsible for bearing its own legal costs incurred in connection with the referral of the precedential question.