Publicity in general courts

For example, when documents containing personal data are disclosed, data protection provisions may affect the conditions for disclosure even if the document is public. In some cases, additional information may be needed from the applicant for a document request, for example on the intended use of the information in order to ensure the legality of the disclosure.

For important reasons, exceptions may also be made to public access. The law has directly ordered certain information in the trial to be kept secret. In addition, under the conditions laid down by law, the court may order the case to be heard without the presence of the public and may also order the procedural documents to be kept confidential where necessary. The publicity of a court decision may also be restricted.

Information on the trial

The following information shall always be made public in the proceedings:

1. which court is considering the matter;
2. the nature of the matter;
3. what steps the proceedings of the matter include;
4. date and place of the oral hearing
5. the information necessary to identify the party concerned;

However, the court may order that the identity of the injured party be kept secret in a criminal case concerning a particularly sensitive matter relating to his or her private life. An example of such an issue is sexual offences. The identity of an asylum seeker may also be ordered to be kept secret under certain conditions.

Documents

The documents of the authorities and their information shall be public, unless they shall be kept secret by law. However, data protection provisions may also affect the conditions for the disclosure of public documents when the documents contain personal data.

In connection with documents containing personal data, requesting additional information may sometimes be necessary to ensure the legality of the disclosure and to exercise the authority's discretion. The form in which the information is requested to be provided, for example orally or visibly, or in electronic, printout or copy form, may affect what additional information is needed.

In order to ensure compliance with the data protection provisions, additional information from the applicant may be needed, for example on the purpose of the use, processing grounds or protection of personal data. Images and audio recordings may only be made available to the court for inspection if there is reason to believe that the provision of information in another way could lead to an infringement of the privacy of the persons in the recordings. Otherwise, the information on the image and audio recordings may be disclosed in a similar manner as other documents.

Only a small part of the judicial documents are directly confidential under the law. A typical example of a confidential document is one that contains information on the person's state of health or disability or the social welfare service they receive. Other such procedural documents may include documents in treason trials, photographs of the victim of the offence, mental examination, a pre-sen­tence re­port of a young offender and a suitability study of the community service.

In addition, the contact details of the party or other party involved in the trial may be kept secret if this is necessary, for example because of a security threat to the person.

However, in certain situations the court may order that procedural documents containing the aforementioned information be made public in part or in full.

In addition, the court may order that documents other than those mentioned above be kept secret. The issuing of a secrecy order usually requires a request from a party. A precondition for issuing a secrecy order is that the procedural document contains information that is not provided for in the Act on the Openness of the Judicial Procedure in the General Courts and that the disclosure of the information is likely to cause significant harm or damage.

If a confidential document is necessary for the processing of the applicant's own case, he or she may obtain it.

The document shall be requested from the authority which handles or has dealt with the matter. The document request must be specified as well as possible. You shall strive to specify a document request on the basis of, for example, the name and position of the party, the diary number, the decision information or the titles of the case. It is also good if the document to which the request relates can be allocated and limited in time to a specified period.

The authorities will use different directories to help the person requesting the information find the matter to which the document relates.

Once the document has been found, the authority will examine whether it can be disclosed or not. If a request for information cannot be executed as such, the applicant has the right to request, if he or she so wishes, a decision that can be appealed against.

Public in a trial

The general rule is that the oral hearing in court will be held in public. Thus, anyone has the right to follow the hearing.

However, at the request of a party to the case or for special reasons, the court may otherwise decide that the oral hearing shall be conducted in full or, where appropriate, without the presence of the public. Even in this case, the parties and their lawyers have the right to be present at the hearing.

There are strict conditions in law for processing without the presence of the public. This is the case, for example, in a case of treason or in a trial where sensitive information is presented on matters relating to a person's private life, state of health, disability or social welfare. In addition, a matter may be dealt with without the public being present, for example if a confidential procedural document is presented, a person under 18 years of age is prosecuted in a criminal case or a person under 15 years of age is heard in the case.

The chairperson of the court may authorize the photography at the oral hearing. If filming is allowed, it usually takes place at the beginning of the session. Filming of the entire trial will only be considered exceptionally.

In written trials, publicity is realised as the right to be informed of a public procedural document, i.e. a decision.

Judgment

The decision of the court shall be public unless the court orders it to be kept secret in some respects. Parties have the right to be informed of the contents of a confidential decision.

The decision may be ordered to be kept secret where necessary, if the decision contains information provided for by law to be kept secret or information ordered by the court to be kept secret or information for which the oral hearing of the case has been conducted without the presence of the public.

The outcome of the decision and the applicable legal provisions cannot be ordered to be kept secret; they are always public. In criminal cases, the defendant's name, the offence attributed to him or her and the sentenced sentence are also always public information. However, the court may order that the identity of the injured party be kept secret in a criminal case concerning a particularly sensitive matter relating to his or her private life. An example of such an issue is sexual offences. The identity of an asylum seeker may also be ordered to be kept secret under certain conditions.