Parliament receives huge bill for centennial wines

Secretary-General Tiitinen not enthusiastic over possible appeal

Paavo Lipponen

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Parliament has lost its case in the Helsinki District Court over the fate of more than a thousand bottles of wine. It will have to pay in excess of EUR 60,000 for its own legal costs as well as for those of the other party.
      The wine bottles ordered from South Africa for the 100th anniversary of the first Finnish Parliament are now available, and they can be picked up from the warehouse of the importing company. However, some experts say that the wine could already be undrinkable, only adding to the rather farcical nature of the entire exercise.
     
The ordered white wines have been sitting in the warehouse for three years. The lavish celebrations were held already in 2006.
      The selecting of wines for the occasion demanded great precision, and the choice fell on Thabana Sauvignon Blanc, which is regarded as a quality wine.
     
A parliamentary delegation
including the former Speaker of Parliament Paavo Lipponen and Secretary-General Seppo Tiitinen paid a visit to South Africa in which connection they also visited a vineyard owned by the Finnish lawyer Zacharias Sundström, in order to taste and select the centennial wine.
      Sundström lives and runs a vineyard near Cape Town.
      However, the National Product Control Agency for Welfare and Health (STTV) did not allow the transfer of the wine bottles to Parliament, saying that the wines had been delivered incorrectly and in contravention of Finnish licensing practices.
     
At that point, Parliament would have wanted to cancel the entire deal with the importing company as the items were not received.
      Now Parliament will have to pay in legal expenses for the batch of wines many times more than the original price would have been.
      Secretary-General Seppo Tiitinen would have preferred to settle the matter without litigation, but Administrative Director Kari T. Ahonen wanted to take the dispute to court.
      In Finland it is usually very expensive and generally very unwise to hire a lawyer and to go to court, as Master of Law Tiitinen knew in advance.
     
”The decision did not come as any surprise”, Tiitinen said.
      But Ahonen wanted to pursue the case in court?
      ”Yes. So I have understood”, the Secretary-General said.
      And you are now appealing to the Court of Appeal?
      ”You are making judicial questions. It is not likely that I would have changed my earlier opinion after all this. Let us just take this bit of paper and go to pick up the wines”, Tiitinen commented.
     
Master of Laws Ahonen said that the compensation covers a sum of EUR 22,000 for the counterparty’s legal costs and Parliament’s own costs totalling EUR 40,000.
      According to Ahonen, Parliament does not intend to abide by the lower court's decision, but is considering an approach to the Court of Appeal.
      At present, an administrative reform is in progress in Parliament. In the new organisation, Tiitinen would concentrate on parliamentary tasks.
      As a result of administrative problems, particularly Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö (National Coalition Party) would like to see some changes in the staff of the administrative department that is headed by Ahonen.


Links:
  National Product Control Agency for Welfare and Health (STTV)

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