Castrén & Snellman and the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre began a pro bono partnership at the start of 2021. The Finnish Refugee Advice Centre is a non-governmental organisation and law firm specialised in immigration law.
10.12.2021
C&S and the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre Partner to Support Refugees in Finland
It provides legal aid and advice to asylum seekers, refugees and other foreigners in Finland. The organisation specialises in helping people in vulnerable positions, such as victims of human trafficking and torture. The organisation also engages in lobbying. The Finnish Refugee Advice Centre was founded over 30 years ago and is unique in Finland.
‘No other organisation in Finland engages in human rights work in this field as extensively or expertly. Our work often revolves around fundamental human and basic rights, for example, the right of refugees to family life. Our lawyers provide legal aid to people who have suffered serious violations of their human rights or who have not previously received sufficient legal protection in Finland’, says Hanna Laari, Executive Lawyer at the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre.
The goal of the Refugee Advice Centre is for everyone to enjoy legal protection in Finland, regardless of their background. In addition to Hanna, the Centre employs ten other refugee and immigration law experts.
Hanna Laari, Executive Lawyer at the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre. Picture: Finnish Refugee Advice Centre.
Finances Crippled by Legislative Amendments
Despite the centre’s important mission, its financial situation has been, and continues to be, dire. The current situation was caused by legislative amendments in 2016.
‘The amendments resulted in the legal aid paid for assisting asylum seekers dropping significantly and the handling of early-stage cases being restricted. Our work became financially unsustainable, and the financial foundation of our entire organisation crumbled’, says Hanna.
Though some of these amendments were finally reversed in August 2021, the losses incurred over the past five years cannot be quickly remedied.
Partnership Enables Appeals to UN Committees
Thanks to its partnership with C&S, the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre has been able to take more cases to supranational courts than it otherwise would have.
‘We don’t have the resources to hire outside help, for example, to handle labour-intensive translations. Appeals to UN committees and the related documentation must be translated into English. The translations provided by the C&S translation team have been an invaluable aid this past year as we have drafted appeals to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in family reunification cases’, says Hanna.
Partners are vital to the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre:
‘We couldn’t do the work we do without our supporters. Castrén & Snellman participating in concrete work on behalf of human rights in Finland. Together, we can continue working to promote the realisation of basic and human rights in 2022’, says Hanna.
Latest news
Latest references
Neste – EUR 500 million refinancing arrangement
We advised Neste Corporation on the refinancing of its EUR 500 million term facility by way of two EUR 250 million bilateral term facilities provided by OP Corporate Bank plc and Danske Bank A/S, Finland Branch. Each term facility has a maturity of three years with extension options.
Case published 25.11.2025
Prisma Properties – Sale and leaseback of ten grocery retail properties
We are assisting Prisma Properties AB in a sale and leaseback arrangement with Kesko Oyj comprising ten grocery retail properties. The transaction value is approximately EUR 59 million, and the properties are located in Sastamala, Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, Vihti, Oulu, Saarijärvi, Liminka, Imatra, Loviisa, and Eurajoki. As part of the arrangement, the properties are leased back to Kesko Oyj under lease agreements with a weighted average lease term of 11.6 years. The portfolio includes well-known store concepts such as K-Citymarket, K-Supermarket, and K-Market.
Case published 20.11.2025
YIT – Data centre construction agreements with XTX Markets
We advised the urban developer and construction company YIT on the drafting and negotiation of two construction agreements with the leading algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets for the development of two data centres in Kajaani, Finland, which are part of XTX Markets’ data centre complex. The first agreement, valued at approximately EUR 100 million and signed in December 2024, marked the commencement of the construction of the first data centre facility in Kajaani, establishing Kajaani as a strategic hub for high-performance computing infrastructure. Building on the success of this collaboration, YIT and XTX Markets entered into a second agreement in August 2025 to commence construction of a second data centre facility. This phase includes the delivery of the shell and core of the new building.
Case published 20.11.2025
Rabobank – Financing arrangement for Olana Energy
Castrén & Snellman acted as legal advisor to Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. in its capacity as sole lender and hedging bank providing senior financing to Olana Energy for a Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) portfolio in Finland. Our advice included preparing a legal due diligence report on the projects as well as advising on the negotiation of the various finance and project agreements. Olana Energy is a management-owned fast-growing independent power producer with an international pipeline of over 1 GW. The diversified portfolio of assets ranging from 5 to 30 MW reinforces the Finnish grid at a granular level.
Case published 18.11.2025