Ministry of Justice, Finland

Legislation on the openness of government activities entered into force at the beginning of December 1999

More information on preparation, clarification of secrecy

A reform of the legislation on access to and secrecy of government activities entered into force at the beginning of December. The Act on the Openness of Government Activities implemented the right of access to information in official documents in the public domain.

The right of access to information was extended to all those exercising public authority irrespective of their organisational form. The authorities have an obligation to promote the openness of their activities by disseminating information on their activities and by producing relevant information material. The openness of preparation is increased. The new Act also codifies the most central provisions on secrecy.

The Act on the Openness of Government Activities and the related Acts (altogether 73 Acts) entered into force on 1 December 1999.
Information brochure

Background

Finland was part of Sweden when the first Act on the Freedom of Publishing and the Right of Access to Official Documents was enacted in 1776. It was the first Act of its kind in the world. We can say that ever since then the principle of free access to information (the openness principle) has prevailed in Finland. For more than 40 years now, access to official documents has been regulated by the Act on the Publicity of Official Documents of 1952.

The right of access to information in official documents is now a basic right protected by the Constitution. Under the Constitution, everyone has access to documents in the public domain. The documents in the possession of the authorities are in the public domain unless access to them has, for unavoidable reasons, been specifically restricted by an Act.

The goals of the reform

The goal of the reform has been to increase the openness of government activities, to enhance the implementation of the openness principle relating to these activities, to improve the possibilities to participate in the public debate and to influence the management of common issues.

The scope of application of the openness principle will be extended

In addition to administrative authorities and the courts, the Act applies also e.g. to State and municipal enterprises. The new Act also applies to private-law organisations and private individuals performing functions involving the exercise of public authority or performing a function commissioned by an authority.

The new Act applies to all documents in the possession of the authorities irrespective of their manner of storage (paper documents, electronic documents).

Increased openness of preparation and preparatory documents

Access to information pertaining to issues of general importance creates the prerequisites for social debate before decision-making. Access to preparatory documents gives people a possibility to ascertain the grounds on which the authorities make their decisions.

Earlier, access to internal accounts prepared by an authority for the consideration of a matter and other preparatory documents required the permission of the authority in question. The new Act changed this main rule: with the exception of documents to be kept secret, all preparatory documents relating to decision-making enter the public domain at the latest when the decision has been made. The reform thus enhances the openness of decision-making.

Under the new Act, certain documents also enter the public domain earlier than before. Various studies, statistics and comparable accounts relating to the preparation of a project of general importance normally enter the public domain as soon as they are fit for their purpose. The reform also gives earlier access to the budget propositions of the Ministries.

What is totally new is that the authorities have a responsibility to have available information on legislation being drafted and on other pending projects of general importance e.g. by means of a project register. All this facilitates the monitoring of matters that are pending and their preparation.

The reform also repeals the provision of the Penal Code, under which the disclosure of information in a document, access to which is at the discretion of the authority, is a punishable act. Typical examples of these documents are those relating to matters that have not yet been decided. The amendment of the Penal Code, for its part, promotes the possibilities of the authorities to participate in public debate in their areas.

Access to information will have to be promoted

The right of access to information contained in documents in possession of the authorities is a basic right. Because under the Constitution, public power has to promote the practical implementation of basic rights, the authorities are enacted an obligation to promote this access.

The authorities have to ensure that documents central to their activity are easily available. Indexes have to be maintained of material in the public domain. The authorities themselves actively have to produce information on their activities and social conditions. This information includes e.g. publications describing the activities of the authority, statistics and a register of decisions made. The Act also requires that the authorities ensure the availability of this information by making it available e.g. in libraries and data networks.

What is also new is the obligation laid down for all those exercising public authority to inform people of their activities. This obligation has been part of the legislation on municipalities for a long time already.

The production of sets of data on request

The authorities may also arrange data services to produce sets of data for those needing them. Information can also be disseminated in electronic form more widely than at present.

The goal: good practice on information management

The authorities are also under an obligation to implement good practice on information management in their document and information management.

When planning and implementing reforms, the authorities have to ascertain and take into account rights relating to access to information. The authorities have to arrange their document and information management as well as their data systems so as to implement the openness principle also in practice. For example ADP systems have to be changed so that access can be granted to their public parts without disclosing secret information.

Good practice on information management also requires that the authorities ensure the quality, protection and data security of information in their possession.

More uniform and transparent secrecy

The reform clarifies the criteria of secrecy and makes them more uniform. Under the Constitution, access to official documents can only be restricted by an Act.

The most common provisions on secrecy are codified in the new Act. The Act also regulates the secrecy obligation of the authorities. These amendments makes it possible to repeal altogether about 120 separate secrecy provisions. The new Act thus gives a better overall picture of what is secret and what is not.

Under the new Act, the criteria of secrecy is the same for all the authorities: the secrecy provisions are applied irrespective of the authority in whose possession
the document is.

From an absolute secrecy obligation to an evaluation of the effects

In the reform, secrecy has been restricted only to what is unavoidable, as the Constitution requires. Therefore, under the new provisions, the secrecy of a document depends on the case-by-case detrimental consequences that may be caused to the interests being protected by the disclosure of information (other than strict secrecy).

With the exception of provisions protecting privacy, the new secrecy criteria do not in practice bring new restrictions on access to information. They relate to documents, access to which is discretionary at present. Also so far, there has usually been no access to documents containing for example information on security arrangements or the technical or tactical methods of the police. The same applies, i.a., to complaints as well as preparatory documents relating to economic or incomes policy as well as
documents relating to inspection activities of the authorities. The new Act contains more specific provisions on documents that are subject to strict access and they thus narrow down the discretionary powers of the authority.

Improved protection of privacy

The new secrecy provisions protecting privacy are based on the reform of the basic rights and the European Union Directive on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data as well as on the practice relating to the European Human Rights Convention.

The presumption for interpretation: the openness principle

Access to a document is the main rule and secrecy is the exception. Therefore, the restrictions on access to information have to be interpreted narrowly. Also otherwise, the authority have to take the general principles of governance into account in its activity. Access to information may not be restricted any more than what is necessary to protect the interests in question and persons requesting information will have to treated on an equal basis.

The openness principle will be seen also on the practical level: if a document is only partly secret, access will have to provided to those parts of the document that are in
the public domain.

Principles for customer service

Under the new Act, the authorities have to ensure that their customer service functions well. Persons requesting information have to be served quickly and efficiently. Where necessary, they also have to be assisted in locating the information they want. All persons requesting information have to be treated on an equal basis.

The authority has to assist in specifying the document requested. This takes place by means of diaries and subject-matter indexes.

The person requesting information still keeps his identity to himself, as well as the reasons for requesting the information. However, when exercising his discretion to decide whether to grant access to a secret document, the authority needs information on the capacity in which the person requests the information (for example on whether it is a personal matter or whether he needs the information for instance for research purposes.). The use of the information may be relevant in deciding whether the disclosure of secret information will or will not have harmful effects.

The procedure for considering a request for information and remedies

Usually access to a document is decided by the authority in possession of the document. The authority also decides whether to grant access to a document drafted by another party (e.g. a private ADP company) commissioned by the authority.

Access to a document has to be granted in the manner requested unless this causes unreasonable harm to official activities. Most commonly, the information will be given orally or in the form of a copy of the document. Registers of decision in the public domain are accessible electronically; otherwise, it is up to the authority
to decide whether or not to grant electronic access.

A decision refusing access to a document has to contain the reasons for the refusal. If a person’s request for access to information has been refused, he may request the official to refer the matter to the authority. If the request has been made in writing, this possibility will have to be stated in the refusal.

A decision concerning access to a document may be appealed to an administrative court. The authority has to append appeal instructions to his decision.

Time limits for the consideration of requests for information

The earlier Act specified no unambiguous time limit for the consideration of a request for information; it provided that the matter is to be considered without delay. Also under the new Act, the authority has to consider a request for a document without delay. Access to a document in the public domain has to be granted as soon as possible, and in any event within one month (from the beginning of the year 2003, within two weeks) from the arrival of the request. If the number of documents requested is large or the request otherwise requires an irregular amount of work, the information has to be provided within two months (from the beginning of the year 2003, within one month) from the arrival of the request.

General ground rules for the disclosure of secret information

Secret information may be disclosed upon the consent of the party whose interests are protected by the secrecy provision or under the provision of an Act. The Act on the Openness of Government Activities contains general provisions on the most common circumstances in which secret information may be disclosed.

Entry into force

The new Act entered into force on 1 December 1999. The purpose is to implement the total reform by stages so that the new Act will, in full, be in force three years after its general entry into force.