WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
9 February 2007 
 (07-0558) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PR OPERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
FINLAND
 
 
 The   present   document   reproduces    the   consolidated   text1  of  the Act on the Openness 
of Government Activities 21.5.1999/621 as amended up to 1060/2002 incl., notified by Finland under 
Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/FIN/2). 
 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce  
 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À 
LA PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
 
FINLANDE
 
  Le présent document contient le texte actualisé
1 de la Loi 21.5.1999/621 sur l'ouverture des 
activités gouvernementales, modifiée jusqu'en 2002 (1060/2002) inclusivement, notifiée par la 
Finlande au titre de l'article 63:2 de l' Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/FIN/2). 
 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
 
 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
FINLANDIA  
 
 En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley 21.5.1999/621 sobre la apertura de 
las actividades gubernamentales y sus modificacion es hasta 2002 (1060/2002) inclusive, notificado 
por Finlandia en virtud de lo dispuesto en el  párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase el 
documento IP/N/1/FIN/2).  
                                                     
 
1 In English only. The text is available for co nsultation by interested Delegations at the WTO 
Secretariat in Finnish and Swedish./En anglais seulement.  Les délégations intéressées peuvent consulter le texte 
en finnois et suédois au Secrétariat de l'OMC./En inglés solamente.  Las delegaciones interesadas podrán 
consultar en la Secretaría de la OMC el texto en finlandés y sueco. IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  Act on the Openness of Govern ment Activities 21.5.1999/621 
(Unofficial translation) 
 
(Amendments up to 1060/2002 included;  
amendments 2005/701, 2005/495, 2004/281 and 2003/684 not included) 
  
Chapter 1 
General provisions 
 Section 1  — Principle of openness 
 Official documents shall be in the public dom ain, unless specifically otherwise provided in 
this Act or another Act.  There are specific provisions that apply to the right to attend Parlia mentary plenary sessions, 
meetings of municipal councils and other muni cipal bodies, court hearings and meetings of 
ecclesiastical bodies.  Section 2  — Scope of application 
 This Act contains provisions on the right of access to official documents in the public domain, officials’ duty of non- disclosure, document secrecy and any other restrictions of 
access that are necessary for the protection of pub lic or private interests, as well as on the 
duties of the authorities for the achievement of the objectives of this Act.  Section 3  — Objectives 
 The objectives of the right of acc ess and the duties of the authorities provided in this Act are 
to promote openness and good practice on inform ation management in government, and to 
provide private individuals and corporations with an opportunity to monitor the exercise of 
public authority and the use of public resources,  to freely form an opinion, to influence the 
exercise of public authority, and to protect their right s and interests. 
 Section 4  — Authorities 
 For the purposes of this Act, authorities are defined as:  (1) State administrative authorities and other State agencies and institutions; 
 (2) courts of law and the other bodies for the administration of the law;  
 (3) State enterprises;  (4) municipal authorities;   (5) the Bank of Finland, includ ing the Finance Supervision Au thority, the National Pensions 
Institution and other independent institutions su bject to public law; however, this Act applies  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  to the documents of the Pensions Security Centre and the Agricultural Pensions Institute as 
provided in paragraph (2);  (6) Parliamentary agencies and institutions;  (7) ˜land authorities, when  performing the duties of St ate authorities in ˜land; 
 (8) independent boards, consultative bodies , commissions, committees, working groups, 
investigators, as well as auditors of municipali ties and federations of m unicipalities, and other 
comparable organs appointed for the performan ce of a given task on the basis of an Act, a 
Decree or a decision of an authority referre d to in subparagraph (1), (2) or (7). 
 The provisions on an authority also apply to  corporations, institutions, foundations and 
private individuals appointed for the performance of a public task on th e basis of an Act, a 
Decree or a provision or order i ssued by virtue of an Act or a Decree, when they exercise 
public authority. Separate provisions apply to  access to the documents of the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church.  Section 5  — Official document 
 For the purposes of this Act, a document is de fined as a written or visual presentation, and 
also as a message relating to a given topic or subject-matter and consisting of signs which, by 
virtue of the use to which they are put, are meant to be taken as a whole, but are decipherable only by means of a computer, an audio or video recorder or some other technical device. 
 An official document is defined as a document in  the possession of an authority and prepared 
by an authority or a person in the service of an authority, or a document delivered to an 
authority for the consideration of a matter or ot herwise in connection w ith a matter within the 
competence or duties of the authority. In additi on, a document is deemed to be prepared by an 
authority if it has been commissioned by the au thority; and a document is deemed to have 
been delivered to an authority if it has been given to a person commissioned by the authority 
or otherwise acting on its behalf fo r the performance of the commission. 
 Subject to the exceptions provided in paragra ph (5), the following are deemed not to be 
official documents:  (1) a letter or other document sent to a person in the service of an author ity or to an elected 
official because of another task perf ormed or position held by the recipient; 
 (2) notes kept by a person in th e service of an authority or  a person commissioned by an 
authority and such drafts wh ich have not yet been releas ed for presentation or other 
consideration;  (3) documents procured for in-service training, in formation retrieval or any other comparable 
internal activity of an authority;  (4) a document given to an authority for the pe rformance of a task on behalf of a private 
party, or prepared for this purpose; IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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(5) a document left with or handed in  to an authority as lost property. 
 This Act applies to documents prepared for negotiations or communica tions between persons 
in the service of authorities or between author ities and private individuals or corporations 
acting on their behalf, or for other comparable internal activities of such authorities, only if the documents contain such information that, acco rding to the archives legislation, they are to 
be archived. However, if the documents are ar chived, the authority may order that access to 
them may be granted only by permission of the authority.   The provisions on document secrecy in section 24 of  this Act or in another Act apply also to 
documents referred to in paragr aph (3)(2) and paragraph (4). 
 
 
Chapter 2  
When documents enter the public domain 
 Section 6  — When a document prepared by an authority enters the public domain 
 Unless otherwise provided on document publicity or  secrecy or another restriction of access 
to information in this Act or another Act, a document prepared by an authority shall enter the 
public domain as follows:  (1) an entry in a continuously updated diary or comparable register enters the public domain 
when it is made; however, inform ation on a suspect in the diar y of a prosecutor enters the 
public domain only after the application for a summons or the prosecutor’s summons has 
been signed or verified in a similar manner, or  after the public pros ecutor has decided to 
waive prosecution or the matter has lapsed;  (2) in cases other than those re ferred to in subparagra phs (3) and (4), an invitation to tender, 
to provide information or to comment, as we ll as a proposal, a proposition, a motion, a 
notification and a petiti on, including any appendices, enters  the public domain when it has 
been signed or confirmed in another comparable manner;  (3) in cases relating to a service or procurem ent contract or any ot her contract based on 
tenders, a request for information supplementa ry to the tender and any other accounts and 
documents prepared for the consideration of such tenders enter the public domain when the 
contract has been awarded;  (4) the budget propositions of ministries and the ag encies and institutions within their fields 
of competence enter the public domain when th e Ministry of Finance has signed its first 
position on the budget proposition; thereafter, the propos itions sent to the Ministry of Finance 
from the other ministries and the other propos itions drafted for a nd included in the budget 
proposal enter the public domain when the budget proposal has been submitted to Parliament;  (5) studies and statistics, as well as other comparable account s which, forming a coherent 
whole, contain information on the alternatives, reasons and impacts pertaining to a decision  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  or plan of general importance, even when th ey otherwise concern unf inished business, enter 
the public domain when they are fit for th eir purpose; 
 (6) minutes enter the public dom ain when they have been scru tinised and signed or confirmed 
in a comparable manner, unless they have been kept for the preparation of a matter or for the internal use of the authority;  (7) a court order or judgment enters the public  domain from the moment it is handed down or 
when it is made available to the parties;  (8) a decision, a statement, an instrument and a contractual co mmitment of an authority, as 
well as the pertinent memoranda, minutes and other documents not referred to in 
subparagraphs (1)—(3) or (5)— (7), enter the public domain when the decision, statement, 
instrument or contract has been signe d or confirmed in a corresponding manner; 
 (9) a document not referred to in subparagraphs  (1)—(3) or (5)—(7) enters the public domain 
when the consideration of the pertinent ma tter has been concluded by that authority. 
 Notwithstanding the provisions in  paragraph (1), commission re ports, discussion papers and 
other similar documents intended for general dissemination enter the public domain when 
they are in the possession of an authority for dissemination. 
 If an instrument or other docum ent is to be issued, the authority shall, where necessary, make 
its best effort to provide the parties to the matter with information on the contents of the 
document before it enters the public domain.  Section 7  — When a document delivered to an authority enters the public domain 
 Unless otherwise provided on document publicity or  secrecy or another restriction of access 
to information in this Act or another Act, a document delivered to an authority for the 
consideration of a matter or ot herwise in connection with a ma tter within its jurisdiction or 
duties shall enter the public domain when the authority has received it. 
 Expert opinions and other such documents that ar e to be opened at a given time or after the 
lapse of a given period shall ente r the public domain, subject to the restrictions referred to in 
paragraph (1), after the moment they have been opened. Procurement, service and other 
tenders that have been delivered to an authority on the basis of an invita tion to tender and that 
result in a contract enter the public domain, subj ect to the restrictions referred to in paragraph 
(1), when the contract is awarded.  
Unless otherwise provided in the rules of secr ecy or some other restrictions of access, a 
document that can be deciphered only by means of  a device enters the public domain at the 
earliest when it is available to  an authority or a person acti ng on behalf of the authority. 
 Section 8  — General dissemination of a document 
 Statistics on the development of the nati onal economy, initiatives and action plans of 
economic policy and other similar documents the contents of which could obviously have an IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  impact on the capital and financial markets, shall be generally disseminated as soon as 
possible after the event referre d to in sections 6 and 7. 
 
Chapter 3 
Right of access to a document 
 Section 9  — Access to a document in the public domain 
 Everyone shall have the right of access to an official document in the public domain. 
 Access to a document which is not  yet in the public  domain under sections 6 and 7 shall be 
granted at the discretion of the authority. The provisions in section 17 shall be taken into 
account when discretion is exercised.  Section 10  — Access to a secret document 
 No access to a secret document or its contents  shall be granted, unle ss specifically otherwise 
provided in this Act. When only a part of a doc ument is secret, access shall be granted to the 
public part of the document if this is po ssible without disclosing the secret part. 
 Section 11  — Parties’ right of access 
 A petitioner, an appellant and any other person w hose right, interest or obligation in a matter 
is concerned (a party) shall also have the right  of access, to be granted by the authority which 
is considering or has considered the matter, to the contents of a document which is not in the 
public domain, if they may influence or may ha ve influenced the cons ideration of his/her 
matter.  A party, his/her representative or  counsel shall not have the ri ght of access referred to in 
paragraph (1) above to:  (1) a document, access to which would be contra ry to a very important public interest, the 
interest of a minor or some othe r very important private interest; 
 (2) a document produced or prepared in the c ourse of a criminal investigation or police 
inquiry before the completion of the investig ation or inquiry, if access would impede the 
clearing up of the case;  (3) a presentation memorandum, a draft decision  or a comparable document prepared by an 
authority for the preparation of a matter, be fore the consideration of the matter by that 
authority has been concluded; however, acce ss to a paper written in a matriculation 
examination and to the identity of the moderator designated by the Matriculation 
Examinations Board to mark the paper shall no t be granted until the Board has finalised the 
marks given for the papers;  (4) a document prepared or procured by an author ity acting as a litigant in a trial, if access 
would be contrary to the interests of the pub lic corporation or the corporation, foundation, 
institution or person referred to in section 4(2) in the trial;  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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(5) information compiled during enforcement pr oceedings and not rela ting to the economic 
situation of the debtor, unless it is necessary for a court action for the recovery of assets to a 
bankrupt estate;  (6) information compiled in connect ion with an official invitation to tender and relating to the 
business or professional secret of another tenderer, with the exception of the tender price; 
 (7) the address, telephone numbe r or other comparable contact information of a witness, an 
injured party, another party to the matter or a person who has reported an offence, made a 
report referred to in section 40 of the Child Welfare Act (683/1983) or another report giving 
rise to official action, if access would compromise the safety, interest or right of the witness, 
injured party, other party or the person making the report. 
 If a document forms a part of the documentation in a civil or criminal trial, a party shall have access to it regardless of the restrictions in pa ragraph (2), except for the case referred to in 
paragraph (2)(7). In so far as the document c ontains information on deliberations referred to 
in chapter 1, section 7 of the Code of Judicial Procedure, access to it shall be subject to the 
permission of the authority.  A person whose standing to appeal a decision is  based on membership of a municipality or 
any other corporation shall have access to the decision by virtue of  this section only in so far 
as it is in the public domain.  Section 12  — Access to a document pert aining to the individual 
 Unless otherwise provided in an Act, every individual shall have the right of access to 
information contained in an official document and pertaining to themselves, subject to the 
restrictions provided in section 11(2) and (3). 
 
 
Chapter 4 
Granting access to a document 
 
Section 13  — Request for access to a document 
 A request for access to an official document sh all be sufficiently detailed, so that the 
authority can determine which document the request concerns. The person requesting access shall be assisted, by means of official diaries and indexes, to specify the document to which 
access is being requested. The person requestin g access need not identify himself/herself nor 
provide reasons for the request, unless this is necessary for the exercise of the authority’s 
discretion or for determining if the person re questing access has the right of access to the 
document.  When requesting access to a secret document, a personal data filing system controlled by an 
authority or any other document, access to wh ich can be granted only subject to certain 
conditions, the person requesting access shall, un less specifically otherw ise provided, declare 
the use to which the information is to be put, as well as give the other details necessary for IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  determining whether the conditions have been met and, where necessary, explain what 
arrangements have been made for the protection of the information. 
 Section 14  — Decision on access 
 Unless otherwise provided, the decision to grant access to an official document shall be made 
by the authority in possession of the document. The decision to grant access to a document 
commissioned by an authority or to a document issued in connection with a task performed 
on commission by any other authority shall be  made by the commissioning authority, unless 
otherwise required by the na ture of the commission. 
 Access to the contents of a document shall be  granted by an official  or employee who has 
been so designated by the authority or to w hom the task otherwise belongs by virtue of 
his/her office or duties.  If the official or the other person referred to in paragraph (2) refuses to grant the requested 
access, he/she shall  (1) inform the person requesting acc ess of the reason for the refusal; 
 (2) inform the person requesting access that  he/she may have th e matter decided by the 
authority;  (3) ask a person who has filed a written request for access whether he/she wishes to have the 
matter forwarded to that authority; and  (4) inform the person requesting access of the ch arges involved in the consideration of the 
request.  A matter referred to in this section shall be  considered without delay, and access to a 
document in the public domain shall be granted as soon as possible, an d in any event within 
two weeks from the date when the authority received the request for the document. If the 
number of the requested documents is large, if th ey contain secret parts or  if there is any other 
comparable reason for the consideration and the decision of the matter requiring special measures or otherwise an irregular amount of work, the matter shall be decided and access to 
the document granted within one month of the receipt of the request for access by the 
authority.  Section 15  — Forwarding the request for a document to another authority 
 
If access is requested to a document prepared by  another authority or pertaining to a matter 
under consideration by another au thority, the request may be fo rwarded to be dealt with by 
the authority that has prepared the document a nd is responsible for the consideration of the 
matter as a whole.  If access is requested to personal, business, real estate or vehicle data or other similar identification or address information which is entered into a register meant for public use by  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  another authority, the request may be transfer red for the consideratio n of the appropriate 
registration authority.  Section 16  — Modes of access 
 Access to an official document shall be by explai ning its contents orally to the requester, by 
giving the document to be studied, copied or list ened to in the offices of the authority, or by 
issuing a copy or a printout of the document. Access to the public contents of the document 
shall be granted in the manner requested, unl ess this would unreasonably inconvenience the 
activity of the authority owing to the volume of the documents, the inherent difficulty of 
copying or any other comparable reason.  Access to the public information in a computerised  register of the decisions of an authority 
shall be provided by issuing a copy in magne tic media or in some other electronic form, 
unless there is a special reason to the contrary . Similar access to information in any other 
official document shall be at the discretion of  the authority, unless ot herwise provided in an 
Act.  Access may be granted to a personal data filing system controlled by an authority in the form 
of a copy or a printout, or an  electronic-format copy of the contents of the system, unless 
specifically otherwise provided in an Act, if  the person requesting access has the right to 
record and use such data according to the le gislation on the protection of personal data. 
However, access to personal data for purposes of direct marketing, polls or market research 
shall not be granted un less specifically otherwise provided  or unless the data subject has 
consented to the same.  
 
Chapter 5 
Duty of the authorities to promote access and good practice on 
information management 
 Section 17  — Taking the right of access into account in decision-making 
 When making decisions under this  Act and also otherwise when  performing its duties, an 
authority shall see to it that, in view of sections 1 and 3, access to information on the 
activities of the authority is not  unduly or unlawfully restricted, nor more restricted than what 
is necessary for the protection of the interests of the person protecte d, and that the persons 
requesting access are treated on an equal basis.  In the application of the provisions on documen t secrecy, attention shall also be paid to 
whether the secrecy obligation is independent of the case-by-case consequences of access 
(strict secrecy), whether any access to the docum ent is based on the adverse consequences of 
access (secrecy based on putat ive access), or whether any access to the document requires 
that there manifestly are no adverse conseq uences of access (secrecy based on putative 
secrecy).  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  Section 18  — Good practice on information management 
 In order to create and realis e good practice on information mana gement, the authorities shall 
see to the appropriate availabi lity, usability, protection, integr ity and other matters of quality 
pertaining to documents and information ma nagement systems and, for this purpose, 
especially:  (1) maintain an index of any matters submitted and taken up for consideration and any matters considered and decided, or otherwise make sure that their public documents can be 
easily located; (2) draw up and make available specifications on their information management systems and 
the public information contained therein, unless granting access to  such information would be 
contrary to the provisions in se ction 24 or in some other Act; 
 (3) when the introduction of information manage ment systems or admini strative or legislative 
reforms are being prepared, analyse the eff ect of the proposed reform on the publicity, 
secrecy and protection of documents and on the qua lity of the informati on contained therein, 
as well as undertake the necessary measures fo r the safeguarding of the rights pertaining to 
the information and its quality, and for the a rrangement of the protec tion of the documents, 
the information management systems a nd the information contained therein; 
 (4) plan and realise their document and information administration and the information management systems and computer systems th ey maintain in a manner allowing for the 
effortless realisation of access to the documen ts and for the appropriate archiving or 
destruction of the documents, the informati on management systems and the information 
contained therein, as well as for the appropriate safeguarding and data security arrangements 
for the protection, integrity and quality of the documents, the information management 
systems and the information contained therein, pa ying due attention to the significance of the 
information and the uses to which it is to be put, to the risks to the documents and the information management systems and to the cost s incurred by the data security arrangements; 
 (5) see to it that their personnel are adequa tely informed of the right of access to the 
documents they deal with and the procedures, data security arrangements and division of 
tasks relating to the provision of access and the management of information, as well as to the 
safeguarding of information, documents and in formation management systems, and that 
compliance with the provisions, orders and guid elines issued for the realisation of good 
practice on information management is properly monitored.  More detailed provisions on the measures nece ssary for the realisation of the obligations 
provided in paragraph (1) shall be issued by Decree. However, more detailed provisions on 
the diaries of the courts and prosecutors shall be  issued by the Ministry of Justice. Provisions 
may be issued by Decree on the powers of the G overnment to issue more detailed orders and 
guidelines on the technical specifications for data security arrangements and procedures for 
the safeguarding of information management sy stems and the information contained therein, 
ensuring the integrity and quality of the information and the transfer of information by way of data networks, as well as on the classifica tion, within the State administration, of the 
pertinent documents, information management systems and the information contained therein.  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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The provisions in the Archives Act (831/1994) and the provisi ons and orders issued on the 
basis of that Act apply to the duties of the archive service.  Section 19  — Duty of the authorities to provide  access to information in pending matters 
 Unless otherwise follows from the secrecy provisions, an authority shall keep available the documents which contain information on  (1) the initiation of a legislative reform proj ect, a commission relating to the same, a deadline 
set and the person in char ge of the drafting; and 
 (2) plans, accounts and decisions on pe nding matters of general importance. 
 When requested to do so, the authority shall, orally or by another convenient means, provide 
access to information on the stage of consideration, alternatives and impact assessments relating to matters referred to in paragraph (1 ), as well as on the opportunities of private 
individuals and corporations to ex ercise an influence on the matters. 
 Section 20  — Duty of the authorities to produce and disseminate information 
 The authorities shall promote th e openness of their activities and, where necessary for this 
purpose, produce guides, statistics and other publ ications, as well as information materials on 
their services and practices, as well as on the so cial conditions and developments in their field 
of competence. When the extent of this duty is being assessed, due consideration shall be 
given to the opportunities to obt ain information on the activity of the authority by means of 
access to its documents or the general co mpilations of statistics in Finland. 
 The authorities shall publicise their activities  and services, as well  as the rights and 
obligations of private i ndividuals and corporations in matte rs falling within their field of 
competence.  The authorities shall see to it that the documents or the pertinent indexes which are essential to the general public’s access to information ar e available where necessary in libraries or 
public data networks, or otherwise easily  accessible to the me mbers of the public. 
 Section 21  — Production of sets of data on request 
 When requested to do so, an authority may comp ile and deliver a set of data formed from 
signs contained in one or more computer ised information management systems and 
maintained for various purposes, if such deli very is not contrary to the provisions on 
document secrecy and the protectio n of personal data owing to the search criteria used, the 
volume or quality of the data or th e intended use of the set of data. 
 Where permitted by the authorities concerned and subject to the provisions in paragraph (1), 
the set of data may be compiled also from information management systems maintained by 
different authorities. 
 IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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Chapter 6 
Secrecy obligations 
 Section 22  — Document secrecy 
 An official document shall be secret if it has been  so provided in this Act or another Act, or if 
it has been declared secret by an authority by virt ue of an Act, or if it contains information 
covered by the duty of non-disclosu re, as provided in an Act. 
 A secret official document, a copy or a printout  thereof shall not be shown or given to a third 
party or made available to a third party by m eans of a technical interface or otherwise. 
 Section 23  — Non-disclosure and prohibition of use 
 A person in the service of an authority and an elected official shall not disclose the secret 
content of a document, nor information which w ould be secret if contained in the document, 
nor any other information obtained in the servic e of the authority, wher e covered by a duty of 
non-disclosure provided in an Act. The provision on non-disclosu re shall apply also after the 
service or the performance of the task  on behalf of the authority has ceased. 
 The provision in paragraph (1) applies also where trainees or other temporary personnel, 
persons commissioned by the authority or persons  in the service of such persons have 
acquired secret information by virtue of an Act or a permission based on an Act, unless 
otherwise provided in the Act or laid down in the permission. A party, his/her representative 
or counsel shall not disclose to third parties secret information obtained by virtue of party 
status and concerning other pers ons than the party himself. 
 A person referred to above in paragraph (1) or  (2) shall not use secret information for 
personal benefit or the benefit of another, nor fo r the detriment of another. However, a party, 
his/her representative and couns el may use information concerning a person other than the 
party himself/herself, where the matter concerns  the right, interest or  obligation on which the 
access of the party to the information is based.  Section 24  — Secret official documents 
 Unless specifically otherwise provided, the fo llowing official documents shall be secret: 
 (1) the documents of the Government Foreign Affairs Committee, unl ess otherwise decided 
by the Committee, as well as the political assessme nts of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and 
the Finnish missions abroad, th e documents concerning politic al or economic negotiations 
with a foreign state and the coded messages in  the field of foreign affairs administration, 
unless otherwise decided by the Ministry;  (2) the documents, other than those referr ed to in subparagraph (1), concerning the 
relationship of Finland with a foreign state or an international organisation; the documents 
concerning a matter pending before an intern ational court of law, an international 
investigative body or some other internationa l institution; as well as the documents  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  concerning the relationship of the Republic of Fi nland, Finnish citizens, Finnish residents or 
corporations operating in Finland with the authorities, persons or corporations in a foreign 
state, if access to such documents could da mage or compromise Finland’s international 
relations or its ability to particip ate in international co-operation; 
 (3) the reports of offences made to the police and any other authoritie s carrying out criminal 
investigations, as well as to the public prosecutor and the authorities charged with 
responsibility for inspection a nd supervision; the documents  obtained or prepared for 
purposes of criminal investigations or a decisi on on whether to bring ch arges, as well as the 
application for a summons, the summons and the defendant’s response in a criminal case, 
until a decision has been made for a hearing in the case, the public prosecutor has decided to 
waive prosecution, or when the case has been  abandoned, unless it is obvious that access to 
the documents will not compromise the clearing  up of the offence, the achievement of the 
objectives of the investigation, or without a pr essing reason cause injury or suffering to a 
party, or compromise the right of the court to or der that the documents are to be kept secret 
on the basis of the Act on the Ope nness of Court Proceedings (945/1984); 
 (4) the registers maintained by the police, and any other aut horities carrying out criminal 
investigations for purposes of cr ime prevention and clearing up of  the particulars of offences; 
the reports prepared for the prevention of cr ime; as well as the photographs and other 
identifying information taken or obtained in ad ministrative proceedings for the determination 
or verification of identity and th e right to travel, and the special identification codes issued to 
a person or entered into his/her id entity card or travel documents; 
 (5) the documents containing information on the tactical and technical plans and methods of 
the police, the frontier guard, the customs auth orities and the prison authorities, if access 
would compromise the prevention of crime, the clearing up of offences or the maintenance of 
public order or the order of penal institutions;  (6) documents relating to a complaint before a decision has been made on the matter of the 
complaint, if access would compromise the re solution of the matter or without a pressing 
reason cause injury or suffering to a party; (7) documents relating to or affecting the realis ation of the security arrangements of persons, 
buildings, installations, constructions, and data  and communications systems, unless it is 
obvious that access will not compromise the ac hievement of the objec tive of the security 
arrangements;  (8) documents concerning preparations for accidents and emergency conditions, civil defence and the investigation of accidents, if access would breach or compromise safety, the 
realisation of civil defence or the preparation for emerge ncy conditions, compromise the 
investigation of accidents or violate the rights of  the victims or the memory of the victims or 
cause distress to persons closely involved wi th them, unless the granting of access is 
necessary for the purpose of carrying out an official task;  (9) the documents of the security police and th e other authorities conc erning the maintenance 
of State security, unless it is obvious that  access will not compro mise State security; 
 IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  (10) documents concerning military intelligence, the supply, formations, locations or 
operations of the armed forces, the inventions, f acilities, installations and systems used in the 
armed defence of the country or other defence, the other matters significa nt to the defence of 
the country, as well as defensiv e preparations, unless it is obvious that access will not violate 
or compromise the interests of defence;  (11) documents containing information on decisi ons, measures or preparations in monetary 
policy or foreign exchange policy, as well as on  the preparation of fina ncial or income policy 
or research into the need for decisions or meas ures in the fields of financial policy, income 
policy, monetary policy or foreign exchange policy, if access would be contrary to the interests of the state as a social partner or otherwise significantly compromise the 
achievement of the purpose of the decision or  measure or hamper the proper conduct of 
financial, monetary or foreign exchange policy;  (12) the reports prepared for the performan ce of the statutory tasks of the authorities 
supervising the financial markets and insurance operators and the authorities charged with the 
functioning of the financial markets and the in surance systems, containing information on the 
functioning of the markets, th e financial, insurance or pens ions institutions, or their 
customers, if access would injure or compromi se the credibility or functioning of the 
financial or insurance systems;  (13) statistics on the national economy, a financial policy initi ative and operational plan, and 
other such documents containing information which obviously may influence the capital and 
financial markets, before they have been publ icly disseminated as pr ovided in section 8; 
 (14) documents containing information on e ndangered animal or plant species or the 
protection of important natural habitats, if access would compromise the protection of the 
species or the habitat;  (15) documents containing information on insp ections or other supervisory tasks of the 
authorities, if access would compromise the insp ection or the achievement of its objectives, 
or without a pressing reason cause injury or suffering to a party; 
 (16) the basic data for research and statistics , where these have been voluntarily handed over 
to the authority for the express purpose of research or statistical operations; 
 (17) documents containing information on any busin ess or professional secr et of the State, a 
municipality, some other public corporati on or a corporation, institution or foundation 
referred to in section 4(2), as well as doc uments containing other comparable business 
information, if access would cause economic loss to the corporations, institutions or 
foundations referred to above or improve the competitive position of another public 
corporation or private person pursuing the same or a comp eting activity, or reduce the 
opportunities of the public corporation or a co rporation, institution or foundation referred to 
in section 4(2) for procurement, investment, financing or debt serv ice on favourable terms; 
 (18) documents containing information compiled or obtained by the State, a municipality or 
some other public corporation as  a labour partner or a party to  a labour dispute, if access 
would be contrary to the interests of the public corporation as an employer; documents  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
 Page 15 
 
 
  containing information compiled or obtained by the representatives of the State for 
negotiations on agricultural subsidies, if access w ould be contrary to the interests of the State 
as a negotiating party;  (19) documents prepared or obtained by an author ity acting as a litigant in a trial for purposes 
of preparing for the trial, if access would be cont rary to the interests of the public corporation 
or a corporation, institution, foundati on or individual referred to in  section 4(2) in the trial; 
 (20) documents containing information on a privat e business or profession al secret, as well as 
documents containing other comparable private business information, if access would cause economic loss to the private busin ess, provided that the informa tion is not relevant to the 
safeguarding of the health of consumers or th e conservation of the environment or for the 
promotion of the interests of t hose suffering from the pursuit of the business, and that it is not 
relevant to the duties of the business and the performance of those duties; 
 (21) documents concerning the basic materials for a dissertation or other scientific study, 
technological or other devel opment project, or the assessme nt of the same, unless it is 
obvious that access will not cause inconvenience to the completion of the dissertation, study 
or development project or their exploitation, it s appropriate assessment or the person carrying 
out the research, nor to the person commi ssioning the study or development project; 
 (22) documents containing information on an en trance examination or other examination or 
test, if access would compromise the achievement of the objectives of the examination or test, 
or prevent the future use of the test;  (23) documents containing data on the annual in come or net worth of a person, data on the 
income and assets on which a subsidy or benefit is based, or data that otherwise describes the 
economic situation of a person: however, an en forcement application, the decision of the 
bailiff and the minutes of the enforcement proceedings, with the exception of the minutes of the evaluation of the assets and liquidity of the debtor, shall be in the public domain; 
 (24) documents concerning a refugee or a person seeking asylum, residence permit or visa, unless it is obvious that access will not compromise  the safety of the ref ugee, the applicant or 
a person closely involved with them;  (25) documents containing information on a recipien t of welfare or an in dividual client of the 
labour administration and a benefit, support measur e, social service or service of the labour 
administration for individual clients given to him/ her, or information on the state of health or 
handicap of a person, the medical care or treatm ent given to him/her, or information on 
his/her sexual behaviour and preferences; (1060/2002) 
 
(26) documents containing sensitive informati on on the private life of the suspect of an 
offence, an injured party or another person involved in a criminal  matter, as well as 
documents containing information on the victim of an offence, if access would violate the 
rights or the memory of the victim or cause di stress to those close to him/her, unless the 
granting of access is necessary for the performance of an official task; 
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  (27) documents containing information on a psyc hiatric examination of the suspect of an 
offence, a character examination of a young offender or a study of the feasibility of 
community service as an altern ative to a custodial sentence; 
 (28) administrative documents and registers co ntaining information on convicts, prisoners or 
other persons deprived of thei r liberty, unless it is obvious th at access will not compromise 
the future livelihood of the person, his/her rehabilitation into soci ety or his/her safety and if 
there is a justifiable reason for providing access to the information; 
 (29) documents containing information on a psychol ogical test or aptitude  test on a person or 
the results thereof, or on the assessments for the assignment of conscripts, the selection of 
employees or the establishment of a basis for a salary;  (30) documents on student welfare and exemptions  from teaching, the test results of students 
and candidates and the school diplomas and othe r documents containing a verbal assessment 
of the personal characteristic s of the student, as well as documents indicating the 
Matriculation Examination Board's division of moderators among th e schools putting forward 
candidates for the matriculation examination, un til one year has passed from the examination 
round in question;  (31) documents containing information on a secret telephone number given by a person or 
information on the location of a mobile comm unications device, and documents containing 
information on the person’s domicile, place of residence or temporary place of residence, telephone number or other contact information, if  the person has asked for the information to 
be kept secret and he/she has a justified reason to believe that hi s/her own health or safety or 
that of his/her family are in jeopardy; (1151/2001)  (32) documents containing information on the polit ical convictions or th e privately expressed 
views of a person, or information on a person’ s lifestyle, participation in voluntary 
associations, interests, family life or other co mparable personal circum stances of the person; 
however, documents containing information on the activity of a person in  political or other 
elected office, or his/her seeki ng such office, as well as the pa rticipation of a person in the 
establishment or registration of a political party, or the establishment of an electoral 
association are in the public domain.  The provisions in section 17 shall be taken into  account in the applicat ion of the provisions 
on document secrecy in paragraph (1) or in another Act.  Section 25  — Seal of secrecy and classification 
 
A secret official document, whic h is given to a party and secret in the public interest or the 
interest of a third party, sh all be put under seal. Also othe r secret documents may be put 
under seal. The seal of secrecy sh all indicate the part of the doc ument that is secret and the 
basis for its secrecy. If the secrecy is based on a provision involving strict  secrecy, the seal of 
secrecy need not indicate more than the provision on which the secrecy is based. 
 A document shall be marked with a data secur ity classification, if the Government has so 
ordered as provided in section 18(2).  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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Chapter 7 
Derogations from secrecy and declassification 
 Section 26  — General principles for granti ng access to secret information 
 An authority may provide access to a secret official document, if: 
 (1) there is a specific provision on such access or on the right of such access in an Act; or 
 (2) the person whose interests are protected by the secrecy provision consents to the access. 
 Notwithstanding the secrecy provisions, the authority may grant access to information on the economic status or business or professional se cret of some other person, information on a 
recipient of health care or welfare, as referred to in section 25(1)(25), information on the private life of a person, as referred to in secti on 25(1)(32), or comparable information that is 
secret under another Act,  if access is necessary: 
 (1) for the realisation of a private person's or some other authority's statutory duty of 
information; or  (2) for the realisation of a paym ent or any other claim that is  to be taken care of by the 
authority granting access.  An authority requesting executive assistance or the performance of a task on commission by 
it or otherwise on its behalf may grant access to a secret document, if such access is 
indispensable for the assistance or the performa nce of the task. For such tasks, access to 
secret information may be granted also if the removal of the secret information is obviously 
not feasible owing to its large volume or for a ny other comparable reason. The authority shall 
ensure in advance that the arrangements for th e secrecy and the protection of the information 
are appropriate.  Section 27  — Access to archival documents 
 Access may be granted to a secret official doc ument which has been archived in accordance 
with the Archives Act for research or anothe r approved purpose, unless otherwise ordered by 
the authority which has sent the document to be archived. When a decision on access is made, due consideration shall be given to the safe ty of the freedom of scientific research. 
 
The person who has gained access to the document shall undertake in writing not to use the 
document to the detriment or defamation of the person whom it concerns, nor to the detriment 
or defamation of a person close to him, nor in violation of those other interests protected by 
the secrecy provision.  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  Section 28  — Official permission to gain  access to a secret document 
 Unless otherwise provided in an Act, an au thority may, on a case -to-case basis, grant 
permission to gain access to a secret document fo r purposes of scientific research, statistical 
compilations or the preparation of official plan s or studies, if it is obvi ous that access will not 
violate the interests protected by the secrecy provision. When a decision on access is made, 
due consideration shall be given to the safety of the freedom of scientific research. If the 
information in the document has been handed over to the authority on the consent of the 
person whose interests are protected by the secr ecy provision, the permission may be granted 
only subject to the conditions for use and access laid down in the consent. If permissions are 
required for documents in the possession of a numb er of authorities within the purview of the 
same ministry, the ministry shall decide on the permission, where ne cessary, after having 
heard the authorities.  A permission referred to in paragraph (1) ab ove may be granted for a fixed period; the 
conditions necessary for the protection of the pub lic and private interests involved shall be 
attached to the permission. The permission may be withdrawn, if this is deemed to be 
necessary.  Section 29  — Granting access to secret inform ation to some other authority 
 An authority may grant access to a secret  document to some other authority, if 
 (1) there is a specific provision on acce ss or the right of access in an Act; 
 (2) the person whose interests are protected by the secrecy provision consents to the same; 
 (3) the document is necessary fo r the consideration of a matter pertaining to an advance tax 
assessment, a preliminary ruling, an appeal or  a complaint against, or a submission of, a 
decision by an authority, or a complaint made to an international body for the administration 
of justice or investigation;  (4) the information is required for the performan ce of a specific monito ring or inspection task 
by the authority.  An authority may grant another authority access to an address or other contact information 
which is secret by virtue of section 24(1)(31).  An authority may open a technical interface for another authority, to access from its personal 
data filing system information which the latter  authority must take into account in its 
decision-making under a specific st atutory obligation. If there is  a provision on the secrecy of 
personal data, the interface may be used only fo r retrieving information on persons who have 
consented to the same, unless specifically othe rwise provided on access to secret information. 
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  Section 30  — Granting access to secret information to th e authority of a foreign state or to an 
international institution  In addition to the specific statutory provisions on the same, an authority may grant access to a 
secret official document to an authority of a fore ign state or to an inte rnational ins titution, if 
an international agreement binding on Finlan d contains a provision on such co-operation 
between Finnish and foreign authoriti es, or there is a prov ision to this effect in an act binding 
on Finland, and if the Finnish authority in ch arge of the co-operation could under this Act 
have access to the document.  Section 31  — Declassification 
 An official document shall no l onger be secret when the period of secrecy provided in an Act 
or ordered on the basis of an Act has ended or when the au thority which has ordered the 
secrecy of the document has repealed that order.  The period of secrecy for official documents  is 25 years, unless otherwise provided or 
ordered. A document which is secret for the protection of private li fe, as provided in 
section 24(1)(24)—(32), or a comparable document which is kept secret by virtue of another 
Act or an order based on another Act shall be kept secret for 50 years after the death of the person whom the document concerns or, if the time of death is unknown, for 100 years. 
 If it is obvious that the declassi fication of the document would, even after the period provided 
in this section, cause significant harm to the interests protected by the secrecy provision, the 
Government may extend the period by at most 30 years.  The period of secrecy of an official document sh all run from the date on the document or, if 
the document bears no date, from the day of  its completion. The period of secrecy of a 
document handed in by a privat e person shall run from the day when the authority has 
received the document.  Section 32  — Application to the duty of non-disclosure 
 The provisions in this chapter on secrecy and d eclassification apply, where appropriate, also 
to information subject to the duty of non-disclosure. 
  
Chapter 8 
Miscellaneous provisions 
 
Section 33  — Appeal 
 The decision of an authority shall be subj ect to appeal, as provided in the Act on 
Administrative Judicial Pro cedure (586/1996), unless otherwise provided in paragraph (2). A 
decision of an authority other than those listed in section 7 of the Act on Administrative 
Judicial Procedure shall be a ppealed before the Supreme Admi nistrative Court. However, an 
appeal against the decision of a local or regional authority and a decision of a institution, corporation, foundation or privat e individual exercising public authority, as referred to in IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
Page 20  
 
  section 4(1)(8) and 4(2), shall be lodged with the Administ rative Court which has jurisdiction 
under section 12 of the Act on Admi nistrative Judicial Procedure. 
 If a party to the case requests access to a docum ent related to a pending trial, the pertinent 
court order shall be subject to appeal in acco rdance with the procedure for appeals in the 
main issue. In addition, the provisions on the Act on the Openness of Court Proceedings 
apply to the right of appeal.  Section 34  — Charges 
 A copy of a document and the provision of access to information in the form of a printout or 
by means of a technical interface, otherwise electronically or in a comparable manner, as well 
as the retrieval and delivery service provided by an authority, may be s ubject to a charge, as 
specifically provided elsewhere. Other access provi ded by virtue of this Act shall be free of 
charge.  Section 35  — Penal provisions 
 A breach of the document secrecy provision in section 22 or the provision on nondisclosure and prohibition of use in section 23 shall be punished in accordance wi th chapter 40, section 
5 of the Penal Code, unless the act is punishable  under chapter 38, section 1 or 2 of the Penal 
Code or unless a more severe penalt y has been provided in another Act. 
 Also a violation of the commitment referred to  in section 27 and the order referred to in 
section 28(2) shall be considered a breach of the secrecy provision referred to in 
paragraph (1).  Section 36  — Power to issue Decrees 
 More detailed provisions on the implementation of this Act shall be issued by Decree. The 
secrecy provisions contained in Decrees shall be specifically repealed by Decree. 
 Section 37  — Entry into force 
 This Act enters into force on 1 December 1999.  However, the provisions in section 14(4) on the time limits for granting access to documents apply only as from 1 January 2003. Until that time,  matters referred to in section 14 shall be 
dealt with without delay and access to a document in the public domain granted as soon as 
possible, with the time limits of two weeks a nd one month in section 14(4) being replaced by 
one month and two months, respectively. 
 This Act repeals the Act on the Publicity of  Official Documents (83/1951), as amended. 
However, while the Parliament Act (7/1928) rema ins in force, the repe aled Act continues to 
apply to parliamentary documents, as provided in section 28 of the repealed Act. The secrecy 
provisions contained in other Acts  shall be specifically repealed. 
  IP/N/1/FIN/O/3 
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  The secrecy orders based on the Act on the Publicity of Official Documents shall remain in 
force.  Information compiled on the consent of the pers on concerned before the entry into force of 
this Act may be used and access to it may be gr anted regardless of the provisions in section 
28, if it is obvious that such use and access are not essentially different from the purposes for 
which the information was given.  Section 38  — Transitional pr ovision (636/2000) 
 The indexes and specifications referred to in section 18(1)(1) and 18(1)(2) shall be drawn up 
within one year of the entry into force of th is Act. Information management systems taken 
into use before the entry into force of this Act shall be protected and the arrangements required in this Act for the safeguarding of  the protection, integrity and quality of the 
information shall be in place within five years of the entry into force of the Act.  
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