Right to receive information about government activities

By law, everyone has the right of access to an official document in the public domain. Official documents are in the public domain unless specifically provided otherwise.

A party’s right of access to information is more extensive

A party, i.e. a person whose rights, interests or obligations are affected by a matter, has the right to receive information about official documents that could have affected the consideration of the matter. The right of access to information is more extensive than usual, because a party also has the right of access to non-disclosable documents.

However, not even parties are allowed to access all documents. The addresses of witnesses and the victim may be non-disclosable for safety reasons during a trial, for example. Neither does a participant in a competitive bidding organised by a public authority have the right to receive any information about the business or trade secrets of another tenderer.

Requesting access to a document

Access to a document must be requested from the authority that is processing or has processed the matter. In some cases, the authority may need to request additional information from the party submitting the request on matters such as the purpose for which the information will be used.

Processing time

The Act on the Openness of Government Activities lays down maximum time limits for the processing of a request for access to a document. As a rule, the request must be processed without delay. Access to the document must be granted no later than within two weeks from the date when the authority received the request. If the request is especially difficult to process, access must be granted no later than one month after the request.

Fees for requests for information

Access to an official document is free of charge when the information is given orally, the document is made available at the office of the authority or the document is sent by email. However, a fee may be charged if the retrieval or processing of the document entails special costs.

Copies and printouts of the document may also be subject to a fee corresponding to the costs.

Request for review

A request for a review of a decision by an authority must usually be submitted to the Administrative Court.