Court system outage disrupts judgments and evidence access

Widespread problems in the Aipa information system used by Finnish courts and prosecutors have disrupted work since Monday, Yle reports. The cause of the outage is not yet known.

Aipa is used to file cases, bring charges, serve summonses and issue judgments. Judgments can nevertheless be pronounced in courtrooms.

Heidi Lindqvist, a special adviser at the National Courts Administration, told Yle that the system did not work at all at the beginning of the week. It has since operated intermittently and appeared to slow down again.

At the Helsinki District Court on Wednesday morning, a hearing concerning irregularities involving state reform schools was interrupted when the judge said evidence presented by the prosecutor could not be opened because of the system failure. The prosecutor was able to show the material from their own computer, allowing the hearing to continue.

Lindqvist said the cause of the disruption had not been identified. A large team is investigating the problem, she said, adding that restoring normal operations for prosecutors and courts was the top priority.

The Aipa system, used by the prosecution service and the general courts, has cost the state 87 million euros. It also experienced problems in spring 2025.