WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO 
IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
17 February 2012 
 (12-0914) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
 
  
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER 
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
FINLAND 
  The present document reproduces the text
1 of the Act on the Openness of Government 
Activities, as notified by Finland on 10 February  2011 under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see 
document IP/N/1/FIN/3). 
 
 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
1 de la Loi sur la transparence des activités du 
gouvernement, notifiée par la Finlande le 10 février 2011 au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le 
document IP/N/1/FIN/3). 
 
 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 texto
1 de la Ley sobre la transparencia de las 
actividades del gobierno, notificada por Finlandia el 10 de febrero de 2011 en virtud del párrafo 2 del 
artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase el documento IP/N/1/FIN/3). 
                                                      
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente.   
   IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS 
AND REGULATIONS 
(in English) 
   
Unofficial translations 
 
 
  
PROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION 
  
Related legal instruments 
   
   IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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  ACT ON THE OPENNESS OF GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES 
 21.5.1999/621 (Unofficial translation) 
 
(621/1999; AMENDMENTS UP TO 1060/2002 INCLUDED) 
 
Chapter 1 — General provisions  
 Section 1 — Principle of openness 
 
(1) Official documents shall be in the public domain, unless specifically otherwise provided in this 
Act or another Act.  (2) There are specific provisions that apply to the right to attend Parliamentary 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 acce ss 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 public or private intere sts, 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 access and the duties of  the authorities provided in this Act are to 
promote openness and good practice on information management in government, and to provide 
private individuals and corporations with an oppor tunity 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 rights and interests.  
Section 4 — Authorities 
 (1) 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, including the Finance Supervision Authority, the National Pensions 
Institution and other independent institutions subject to public la w; however, this Act applies 
to the documents of the Pensions Security Cent re and the Agricultural Pensions Institute as 
provided in paragraph (2); 
(6) Parliamentary agencies and institutions; (7) Åland authorities, when performing th e duties of State authorities in Åland; 
(8) independent boards, consultative bodies,  commissions, committees, working groups, 
investigators, as well as auditors of municipaliti es and federations of municipalities, and other 
comparable organs appointed for the performance  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). 
 (2) The provisions on an authority also apply to corporations, institutions , foundations and private 
individuals appointed for the performance of a public task on the basis of an Act, a Decree or a IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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  provision or order issued by virtue of an Act or a Decree, when they exercise public authority. 
Separate provisions apply to access to the docum ents of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. 
 Section 5 — Official document  
 
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a document  is defined as a written or visual presentation, and also as 
a message relating to a given topic or subject-matter and consisting of signs wh ich, 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.  
(2) An official document  is defined as a document in the possessi on of an authority and prepared by 
an authority or a person in the service of an authorit y, or a document delivered to an authority for the 
consideration of a matter or otherwise in connection with a matter within the competence or duties of 
the authority. In addition, a document is deemed to be prepared by an authority if it has been 
commissioned by the authority; 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 for the 
performance of the commission.  (3) Subject to the exceptions provided in paragraph (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 authority or to an elected 
official because of another task perform ed or position held by the recipient; 
(2) notes kept by a person in the service of an authority or a person commissioned by an authority and such drafts which have not yet been released for presentation or other 
consideration; 
(3) documents procured for in-service training, information retrieval or any other comparable 
internal activity of an authority; (4) a document given to an authority for the performance of a task on behalf of a private party, or prepared for this purpose; (5) a document left with or handed in to an authority as lost property.  
(4) This Act applies to documents prepared for negotiations or communicati ons between persons in 
the service of authorities or between authorities 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, according to the archives legisl ation, they are to be archived. However, if the 
documents are archived, the authority may orde r that access to them may be granted only by 
permission of the authority. 
 (5) 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 aut hority enters the public domain 
 (1) Unless otherwise provided on document publicity or secrecy or another restriction of access to 
information in this Act or another Act, a documen t 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, information on a susp ect in the diary of a prosecutor enters the 
public domain only after the application for a summons or the prosecutor's summons has been  IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
 Page 7 
 
 
  signed or verified in a similar manner, or af ter the public prosecutor has decided to waive 
prosecution or the matter has lapsed;  (2) in cases other than those referred to in subpa ragraphs (3) and (4), an invitation to tender, 
to provide information or to comment, as well as a proposal, a proposition, a motion, a 
notification and a petition, including any appe ndices, enters the public domain when it has 
been signed or confirmed in another comparable manner;  (3) in cases relating to a service or procuremen t contract or any other contract based on 
tenders, a request for information supplementa ry to the tender and any other accounts and 
documents prepared for the consideration of su ch tenders enter the public domain when the 
contract has been awarded;  (4) the budget propositions of ministries and the agencies 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 pr opositions sent to the Ministry of Finance 
from the other ministries and the other propositions drafted for and 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 co mparable accounts which, forming a coherent 
whole, contain information on the alternatives, reasons and impacts pertaining to a decision or 
plan of general importance, even when they otherwise concern unfinished business, enter the 
public domain when they are fit for their purpose;  (6) minutes enter the public domain when they ha ve been scrutinised and signed or confirmed 
in a comparable manner, unless they have been ke pt 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 commitment of an authority, as 
well as the pertinent memoranda, minutes an d other documents not referred to in 
subparagraphs (1)-(3) or (5)-(7), enter the pu blic domain when the decision, statement, 
instrument or contract has been signed 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. 
 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions in paragraph (1 ), commission reports, discussion papers and other 
similar documents intended for general disseminati on enter the public domain when they are in the 
possession of an authority for dissemination.  
(3) If an instrument or other document is to be i ssued, 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 
 
(1) Unless otherwise provided on document publicity or secrecy or another restriction of access to 
information in this Act or another Act, a document de livered to an authority for the consideration of a 
matter or otherwise in connection with a matter with in its jurisdiction or duties shall enter the public 
domain when the authority has received it. IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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(2) Expert opinions and other such documents that are to be opened at a given time or after the lapse 
of a given period shall enter the public domain, subject to the restrictions referred to in paragraph (1), 
after the moment they have been opened. Procur ement, 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, subject to the restrictions referred to in paragraph (1), when the contract is awarded. 
 (3) Unless otherwise provided in the rules of secrecy or some other restrictions of access, a document that can be deciphered only by means of a device en ters the public domain at the earliest when it is 
available to an authority or a person acting on behalf of the authority. 
 
Section 8 — General dissemination of a document 
 Statistics on the development of the national econom y, initiatives and action plans of economic policy 
and other similar documents the contents of whic h could obviously have an impact on the capital and 
financial markets, shall be generally disseminated as soon as possible after the event referred to in 
sections 6 and 7.  Chapter 3 — Right of access to a document 
 Section 9 — Access to a document in the public domain 
 
(1) Everyone shall have the right of access to an official document in the public domain. 
 (2) 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 prov isions 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, unless specifically otherwise provided 
in this Act. When only a part of a document is secr et, access shall be granted to the public part of the 
document if this is possible without disclosing the secret part. 
 Section 11 — Parties' right of access 
 (1) 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 have in fluenced the consideration of his/her matter. 
 (2) A party, his/her representative or counsel shall not have the right 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 other 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 investigation 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, before the consideration of the matter by that authority has been concluded; however, acc ess to a paper written in a matriculation 
examination and to the identity of the m oderator designated by the Matriculation  IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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  Examinations Board to mark the paper shall not  be granted until the Board has finalised the 
marks given for the papers; (4) a document prepared or procured by an au thority 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; 
(5) information compiled during enforcement pr oceedings and not relating to the economic 
situation of the debtor, unless it is necessary fo r a court action for the recovery of assets to a 
bankrupt estate; (6) information compiled in connection with an o fficial 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 number or other compar able 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 We lfare Act (683/1983) or another report giving 
rise to official action, if access would compromi se the safety, interest or right of the witness, 
injured party, other party or the person making the report. 
 
(3) 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 contains  information on deliberations referred to in 
chapter 1, section 7 of the Code of Judicial Procedur e, access to it shall be subject to the permission of 
the authority. 
 
(4) 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 vi rtue of this section only in so far as it is in the 
public domain.  
Section 12 — Access to a document pertaining to the individual  
 Unless otherwise provided in an Act, every individu al 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 
 (1) A request for access to an offici al document shall be sufficiently detailed, so that the authority can 
determine which document the request concerns. Th e 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 requesting access need not identify himself/he rself nor provide reasons for the request, unless 
this is necessary for the exercise of the author ity's discretion or for determining if the person 
requesting access has the right of access to the document.  
(2) When requesting access to a s ecret document, a personal data filing system controlled by an 
authority or any other document, access to which can  be granted only subject to certain conditions, the 
person requesting access shall, unless specifically othe rwise provided, declare the use to which the 
information is to be put, as well as give the othe r details necessary for determining whether the 
conditions have been met and, where necessary, ex plain what arrangements have been made for the 
protection of the information. 
 IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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  Section 14 — Decision on access 
 (1) 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 is sued in connection with a task performed on 
commission by any other authority shall be made  by the commissioning authority, unless otherwise 
required by the nature of the commission.  (2) Access to the contents of a document shall be gr anted by an official or employee who has been so 
designated by the authority or to whom the task othe rwise belongs by virtue of his/her office or duties. 
 
(3) 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 access of the reason for the refusal; 
(2) inform the person requesting access that he/she may have the 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 charges involved in the consideration of the 
request. 
 
(4) A matter referred to in this section shall be c onsidered without delay, and access to a document in 
the public domain shall be granted as soon as possibl e, and in any event within two weeks from the 
date when the authority received the request fo r the document. If the number of the requested 
documents is large, if they 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 acc ess 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  
 
(1) If access is requested to a document prepared by  another authority or pertaining to a matter under 
consideration by another authority, the request may be  forwarded to be dealt with by the authority that 
has prepared the document and is responsible fo r the consideration of the matter as a whole. 
 (2) If access is requested to personal, business, real estate or vehicle data or other similar 
identification or address information which is entere d into a register meant for public use by another 
authority, the request may be transferred for the cons ideration of the appropriate registration authority. 
 Section 16 — Modes of access 
 (1) 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  listened to in the offices of the authority, or by issuing a copy or 
a printout of the document. Access to the public c ontents of the document shall be granted in the 
manner requested, unless this would unreasonably in convenience the activity of the authority owing 
to the volume of the documents, the inherent diffi culty of copying or any other comparable reason. 
 
(2) Access to the public information in a computerised  register of the decisions of an authority shall 
be provided by issuing a copy in magnetic 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 otherwise provided in an Act.   IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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  (3) Access may be granted to a personal data filing sy stem 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 requestin g access has the right to record and use such data 
according to the legislation on the protection of personal data. However, access to personal data for 
purposes of direct marketing, polls or market research shall not be granted unless 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 
 (1) When making decisions under this Act and also ot herwise 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 restri cted than what is necess ary for the protection of 
the interests of the person protected, and that th e persons requesting access are treated on an equal 
basis.  (2) In the application of the provisions on document 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 document is based  on the adverse consequences of access ( secrecy based on 
putative access ), or whether any access to the document re quires that there manifestly are no adverse 
consequences of access ( secrecy based on putative secrecy ). 
 Section 18 — Good practice on information management  
 
(1) In order to create and realise good practice on in formation management, the authorities shall see to 
the appropriate availability, usability, protection, in tegrity and other matters of quality pertaining to 
documents and information management syst ems and, for this purpose, especially: 
 
(1) maintain an index of any matters submitted and taken up for consider ation and any matters 
considered and decided, or otherwise make su re 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 section 24 or in some other Act; 
 
(3) when the introduction of information manageme nt systems or administrative or legislative 
reforms are being prepared, analyse the effect  of the proposed reform on the publicity, 
secrecy and protection of documents and on the qu ality of the information contained therein, 
as well as undertake the necessary measures for th e safeguarding of the rights pertaining to 
the information and its quality, and for the a rrangement of the protection of the documents, 
the information management systems an d the information contained therein; 
 (4) plan and realise their document and info rmation administration and the information 
management systems and computer systems they maintain in a manner allowing for the effortless realisation of access to the documents 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, paying due attention to the significance of the IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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  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 adequate ly 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 information management systems, and that 
compliance with the provisions, orders and guidelines issued for the realisation of good practice on information management is properly monitored.  
 
(2) More detailed provisions on the measures necessar y for the realisation of the obligations provided 
in paragraph (1) shall be issued by Decree. Howeve r, more detailed provisions on the diaries of the 
courts and prosecutors shall be issued by the Minist ry of Justice. Provisions may be issued by Decree 
on the powers of the Government to issue more  detailed orders and guidelines on the technical 
specifications for data security arrangements and procedures for the safeguarding of information 
management systems and the information contained therein, ensuring the integrity and quality of the 
information and the transfer of information by wa y of data networks, as well as on the classification, 
within the State administration, of the pertinent documents, information management systems and the 
information contained therein.  (3) The provisions in the Archives Act (831/1994) and the provisions 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 a ccess to information in pending matters 
 
(1) Unless otherwise follows from the secrecy provi sions, an authority shall keep available the 
documents which contain information on 
 
(1) the initiation of a legislative reform project , a commission relating to the same, a deadline 
set and the person in charge of the drafting; and (2) plans, accounts and decisions on pend ing matters of general importance. 
 
(2) When requested to do so, the authority shall, orally or by another convenient means, provide 
access to information on the stage of considerati on, alternatives and impact assessments relating to 
matters referred to in paragraph (1), as well as on the opportunities of private individuals and 
corporations to exercise an influence on the matters.  
Section 20 — Duty of the authorities to pr oduce and disseminate information 
 (1) The authorities shall promote the openness of  their activities and, where necessary for this 
purpose, produce guides, statistics and other public ations, as well as information materials on their 
services and practices, as well as on the social c onditions and developments in their field of 
competence. When the extent of this duty is bei ng assessed, due consideration shall be given to the 
opportunities to obtain information on the activity of the authority by means of access to its 
documents or the general compilati ons of statistics in Finland. 
 (2) The authorities shall publicise their activities and services, as well as the rights and obligations of 
private individuals and corporations in matte rs falling within their field of competence. 
 
(3) The authorities shall see to it that the documents or the pertinent indexes which are essential to the 
general public's access to information are availa ble where necessary in libraries or public data 
networks, or otherwise easily accessible to the members of the public.   IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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  Section 21 — Production of sets of data on request 
 (1) When requested to do so, an au thority may compile and deliver a set of data formed from signs 
contained in one or more computerised informati on management systems and maintained for various 
purposes, if such delivery is not contrary to the provisions on document secrecy and the protection of 
personal data owing to the search criteria used, the vol ume or quality of the data or the intended use of 
the set of data.  (2) Where permitted by the authorities concerned and subject to the provisions in paragraph (1), the 
set of data may be compiled also from informati on management systems maintained by different 
authorities. 
 Chapter 6 — Secrecy obligations  
 Section 22 — Document secrecy 
 
(1) 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 auth ority by virtue of an Act, or if  it contains information covered by 
the duty of non-disclosure, as provided in an Act.  (2) 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 mean s of a technical interface or otherwise. 
 Section 23 — Non-disclosure and prohibition of use 
 (1) A person in the service of an authority and an el ected official shall not disclose the secret content 
of a document, nor information which would be secr et if contained in the document, nor any other 
information obtained in the service of the authorit y, where covered by a duty of non-disclosure 
provided in an Act. The provision on non-disclosure shall apply also after the service or the performance of the task on behalf of the authority has ceased.  (2) The provision in paragraph (1) applies also wh ere trainees or other tem porary personnel, persons 
commissioned by the authority or persons in th e service of such persons have acquired secret 
information by virtue of an Act or a permission b ased 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 persons than the 
party himself. 
 
(3) A person referred to above in  paragraph (1) or (2) shall not use secret information for personal 
benefit or the benefit of another, nor for the de triment of another. However, a party, his/her 
representative and counsel 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  
 (1) Unless specifically otherwise provided, the following official documents shall be secret: 
 
(1) the documents of the Government Forei gn Affairs Committee, unless otherwise decided 
by the Committee, as well as the political assessments of the Mini stry for Foreign Affairs and 
the Finnish missions abroad, the documents concerning political or economic negotiations 
with a foreign state and the coded messages in the field of foreign affairs administration, 
unless otherwise decided by the Ministry; IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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(2) the documents, other than those referre d 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 interna tional institution; as well as the documents 
concerning the relationship of the Republic of Finland, Finnish citizens, Finnish residents or 
corporations operating in Finland with the aut horities, 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 authorities carrying out criminal 
investigations, as well as to the public prosecutor and the authorities charged with responsibility for inspection and supervision; the documents obtained or prepared for 
purposes of criminal investigations or a decision on whether to bring charges, 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 ab andoned, 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 pressing reason cause injury or suffering to a party, or compromise the right of the court to order that the documents are to be kept secret on the basis of the Act on the Openness of Court Proceedings (945/1984); 
 
(4) the registers maintained by  the police, and any other authorities carrying out criminal 
investigations for purposes of crime prevention an d clearing up of the particulars of offences; 
the reports prepared for the prevention of crime; as well as the photographs and other identifying information taken or obtained in ad ministrative proceedings for the determination 
or verification of identity and the right to trav el, and the special identif ication codes issued to 
a person or entered into his/her identity 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 au thorities 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 orde r 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 resolution of the matter or without a pressing 
reason cause injury or suffering to a party;  
 
(7) documents relating to or affecting the rea lisation of the security arrangements of persons, 
buildings, installations, constr uctions, and data and communications systems, unless it is 
obvious that access will not compromise the achi evement of the objective of the security 
arrangements;  
(8) documents concerning preparations for acci dents and emergency conditions, civil defence 
and the investigation of accidents, if access would breach or compromise safety, the realisation of civil defence or the prepara tion for emergency 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 with them, unless the granting of access is 
necessary for the purpose of carry ing out an official task; 
 (9) the documents of the security police and th e other authorities concerning the maintenance 
of State security, unless it is obvious that access will not compromise State security; 
  IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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  (10) documents concerning military intelligen ce, 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 significant to the defence of 
the country, as well as defensive preparations, unless it is obvious that access will not violate or compromise the interests of defence; 
 
(11) documents containing information on decisions, measures or preparations in monetary policy or foreign exchange policy, as well as on th e preparation of financial or income policy 
or research into the need for decisions or measu res 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 insurance systems, containing information on the functioning of the markets, the financial, insurance or pensions institutions, or their customers, if access would injure or compromise  the credibility or func tioning of the financial 
or insurance systems;  
(13) statistics on the national economy, a financ ial policy initiative and operational plan, and 
other such documents containing information which obviously may influence the capital and financial markets, before they have been pu blicly disseminated as provided in section 8; 
 (14) documents containing information on endangered animal or plant species or the 
protection of important natura l 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 inspec tion 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 statisti cs, 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 business or professional secret of the State, a 
municipality, some other public corporation or  a corporation, institution or foundation 
referred to in section 4(2), as well as documen ts containing other comparable business 
information, if access would cause economi c loss to the corporations, institutions or 
foundations referred to above or improve the competitive position of another public 
corporation or private person pursuing the sa me or a competing activity, or reduce the 
opportunities of the public corporation or a cor poration, institution or foundation referred to 
in section 4(2) for procurement, investment, financing or debt service on favourable terms; 
 (18) documents containing information compiled or obtained by the State, a municipality or 
some other public corporation as a labour partne r or a party to a labour dispute, if access 
would be contrary to the interests of the public corporation as an employer; documents 
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;  IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
Page 16  
 
  (19) documents prepared or obtained by an aut hority acting as a litigant in a trial for purposes 
of preparing for the trial, if access would be c ontrary to the interests of the public corporation 
or a corporation, institution, foundation or i ndividual referred to in section 4(2) in the trial; 
 (20) documents containing information on a private business or professional secret, as well as 
documents containing other comparable private business information, if access would cause 
economic loss to the private business, provided th at the information 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 those 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 development project, or the assessment 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, its  appropriate assessment or the person carrying 
out the research, nor to the person commissioning the study or development project; 
 (22) documents containing information on an entrance 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 pro ceedings, 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 th e safety of the refugee, the applicant or 
a person closely involved with them;  (25) documents containing information on a recipient of welfare or an individual client of the 
labour administration and a benefit, support measu re, 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 treat ment 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;  
(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 alterna tive to a custodial sentence; 
 (28) administrative documents and registers c ontaining information on convicts, prisoners or 
other persons deprived of their liberty, unless it is obvious that access will not compromise 
the future livelihood of the person, his/her reha bilitation into society or his/her safety and if 
there is a justifiable reason for providing access to the information;   IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
 Page 17 
 
 
  (29) documents containing information on a psyc hological test or aptitude test on a person or 
the results thereof, or on the assessments fo r 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 ot her documents containing a verbal assessment 
of the personal characteristics of the st udent, as well as documents indicating the 
Matriculation Examination Board's division of  moderators among the schools putting forward 
candidates for the matriculation examination, until 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 communications 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 his/her own health or safety or 
that of his/her family are in jeopardy; (1151/2001)  (32) documents containing information on the political convictions or the privately expressed 
views of a person, or information on a pers on's lifestyle, participation in voluntary 
associations, interests, family life or other co mparable personal circumstances of the person; 
however, documents containing information on the activity of a person in political or other 
elected office, or his/her seeking such office, as  well as the participation of a person in the 
establishment or registration of a political pa rty, or the establishment of an electoral 
association are in the public domain. 
 
(2) The provisions in section 17 shall be taken into  account in the application of the provisions on 
document secrecy in paragraph (1) or in another Act.  Section 25 — Seal of secrecy and classification  
 (1) A secret official document, which is given to a pa rty and secret in the public interest or the interest 
of a third party, shall be put under seal. Also othe r secret documents may be put under seal. The seal 
of secrecy shall indicate the part of the document 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.  
(2) A document shall be marked with a data security  classification, if the Government has so ordered 
as provided in section 18(2).  Chapter 7 — Derogations from secrecy and declassification  
 Section 26 — General principles for granti ng access to secret information 
 
(1) 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 c onsents to the access. 
 
(2) Notwithstanding the secrecy provisions, the authority may grant access to information on the 
economic status or business or professional secret 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, IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
Page 18  
 
  as referred to in section 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 payment or any other claim that is to be taken care of by the 
authority granting access. (3) An authority requesting ex ecutive 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 performance 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 any 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  
 (1) Access may be granted to a secret official doc ument which has been arch ived in accordance with 
the Archives Act for research or another approved pu rpose, 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 safety of the freedom of scientific research. 
 
(2) The person who has gained access to the docum ent shall undertake in writing not to use the 
document to the detriment or defamation of the pe rson whom it concerns, nor to the detriment or 
defamation of a person close to him, nor in violatio n of those other interests protected by the secrecy 
provision. 
 
Section 28 — Official permission to gain access to a secret document  
 (1) Unless otherwise provided in an Act, an author ity may, on a case-to-case basis, grant permission 
to gain access to a secret document for purposes of sci entific research, statistical compilations or the 
preparation of official plans or studies, if it is obvious 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 r esearch. If the information in the document has been 
handed over to the authority on the consent of th e person whose interests are protected by the secrecy 
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 doc uments in the possession of a number of authorities 
within the purview of the same ministry, the minist ry shall decide on the permission, where necessary, 
after having heard the authorities.  (2) A permission referred to in pa ragraph (1) above may be granted for a fixed period; the conditions 
necessary for the protection of the public and privat e 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 information to some other authority  
 (1) An authority may grant access to a secret  document to some other authority, if 
 
(1) there is a specific provision on access 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 for the considera tion of a matter pertaining to an advance tax 
assessment, a preliminary ruling, an appeal or  a complaint against, or a submission of, a  IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
 Page 19 
 
 
  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 perform ance of a specific monitoring or inspection task 
by the authority. 
 
(2) An authority may grant another authority access to an address or other contact information which 
is secret by virtue of section 24(1)(31).  (3) An authority may open a technical interface for another authority, to access from its personal data 
filing system information which the latter authorit y must take into account in its decision-making 
under a specific statutory obligation. If there is a provision on the secrecy of personal data, the 
interface may be used only for retrieving informat ion on persons who have consented to the same, 
unless specifically otherwise provided on access to secret information.  Section 30 — Granting access to secret information to the authority of a foreign state or to an 
international institution 
 
In addition to the specific statutory provisions on the same, an authority ma y grant access to a secret 
official document to an authority of a foreign state or  to an international institu tion, if an international 
agreement binding on Finland contains a provision on  such co-operation between Finnish and foreign 
authorities, or there is a provision to this effect in an act binding on Finl and, and if the Finnish 
authority in charge of the co-operation coul d under this Act have access to the document. 
 Section 31 — Declassification  
 (1) An official document shall no longer be secret when the period of secrecy provided in an Act or 
ordered on the basis of an Act has ended or when the authority which has ordered the secrecy of the 
document has repealed that order.  (2) The period of secrecy for official documents is 25 years, unless otherwise provided or ordered. A document which is secret for the protection of pr ivate life, as provided in section 24(1)(24)—(32), or 
a comparable document which is kept secret by virt ue 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.  (3) If it is obvious that the declassification of the do cument would, even after the period provided in 
this section, cause significant harm to the inte rests protected by the secrecy provision, the 
Government may extend the period by at most 30 years. 
 (4) The period of secrecy of an official document shall run from the date on the document or, if the 
document bears no date, from the day of its comp letion. The period of secrecy of a document handed 
in by a private 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 de classification apply, where appropriate, also to 
information subject to the duty of non-disclosure.  IP/N/1/FIN/U/4 
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  Chapter 8 — Miscellaneous provisions  
 Section 33 — Appeal 
 (1) The decision of an authority shall be subject to appeal, as provided in the Act on Administrative 
Judicial Procedure (586/1996), unless otherwise provide d in paragraph (2). A decision of an authority 
other than those listed in section 7 of the Act on Ad ministrative Judicial Procedure shall be appealed 
before the Supreme Administrative Court. However,  an appeal against the decision of a local or 
regional authority and a decision of a institution,  corporation, foundation or private individual 
exercising public authority, as referred to in section 4(1)(8) and 4(2), shall be lodged with the 
Administrative Court which has jurisdiction under section 12 of the Act on Administrative Judicial 
Procedure.  (2) If a party to the case requests access to a documen t related to a pending trial, the pertinent court 
order shall be subject to appeal in accordance 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 subject to a charge, as specifically provided 
elsewhere. Other access provided by virtue of this Act shall be free of charge.  Section 35 — Penal provisions  
 
(1) 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 with chapter 40, section 5 of the Penal 
Code, unless the act is punishable under chapter 38, sec tion 1 or 2 of the Penal Code or unless a more 
severe penalty has been provided in another Act.  (2) 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  
 (1) This Act enters into force on 1 December 1999.  
(2) 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, matter s referred to in section 14 shall be dealt with 
without delay and access to a document in the pub lic domain granted as soon as possible, with the 
time limits of two weeks and one month in sec tion 14(4) being replaced by one month and two 
months, respectively. 
 
(3) This Act repeals the Act on the Publicity of O fficial Documents (83/1951), as amended. However, 
while the Parliament Act (7/1928) remains in fo rce, the repealed 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/U/4 
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(4) The secrecy orders based on the Act on the Publicity  of Official Documents shall remain in force. 
 (5) Information compiled on the consent of the person concerned before the entry into force of this 
Act may be used and access to it may be granted regardless of the provisions in section 28, if it is 
obvious that such use and access are not essentia lly different from the purposes for which the 
information was given.  Section 38 — Transitional provision  (636/2000) 
 
The indexes and specifications referred to in secti on 18(1)(1) and 18(1)(2) shall be drawn up within 
one year of the entry into force of this Act. Info rmation 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, inte grity and quality of the informati on shall be in place within five 
years of the entry into force of the Act. 
 
 
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