Kymenlaakson Käräjäoikeus – Court Ruling (Finland, 2024)

Court Ruling
DPA Kymenlaaksonkrjoikeu3 June 2024Finland
final
Court Ruling

General GDPR enforcement action

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Kymenlaakson Käräjäoikeus declined a request for case lists and public decision summaries from a claimant who wanted to use the information for his website. The court stated that while everyone has the right to access public court documents, the requested information contained personal data that could not be shared. This ruling highlights the balance between public access to information and the protection of personal privacy.

What happened

The court rejected a request for public court documents that included personal information.

Who was affected

The claimant, who wanted the information for website content and academic study, was affected.

What the authority found

The court held that the requested documents contained personal data and could not be disclosed under privacy laws.

Why this matters

This case emphasizes the importance of protecting personal information even in public records. Companies should be cautious about how they handle and share data that may involve personal details.

GDPR Articles Cited

AI-verified

View original scraped data
Art. 85(1) GDPR
Art. 85(2) GDPR

Original data from scraper before AI verification against source document.

National Law Articles

AI-identified

Julkisuuslaki (621/1999) 1 §
Julkisuuslaki (621/1999) 16 § 3
Oikeudenkäynnin Julkisuuslaki (370/2007)
Tietosuojalaki (1050/2018) 27 §
Decision AuthorityI-SHO
Reviewed AuthorityKymenlaakson käräjäoikeus (Finland)
Source verified 20 March 2026
articles corrected
national law identified
authority corrected
Full Legal Summary
Detailed

A claimant requested the District Court of Kymeenlaakso (Ky­men­laak­son kä­rä­jä­oi­keus) to provide all case lists and public decision summaries that are not published on the court's website. The claimant intended to use this information to create content for his website. He also stated that he studies court decisions for academic purposes, specifically to assess whether the decisions are consistent and the reasoning behind them is understandable. The District Court declined the request to provide the information. According to the Law on litigation in public courts ([https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2007/20070370?__cf_chl_tk=BkGgxvbQAG3BnbpWiuKtw2bDwQUvFLqD.DATyw87Tj0-1724049343-0.0.1.1-5566 Oikeudenkäynnin julkisuuslaki]), everyone has the right to access public court documents. The court is responsible for publishing case lists prior to hearings, and if a case is declared classified, the court is required to produce a public summary of the case. The Act on the Publicity of the Activities of Public Authorities ([https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1999/19990621 Julkisuuslaki]) in § 1 explicitly states that documents produced by authorities are public unless specific laws make them confidential. § 16 of the Act on the Publicity of the Activities of Public Authorities limits the disclosure of personal information, even when the document itself is not classified. The recipient must have the right to process such personal data. According to Article 85 GDPR, member states must balance freedom of speech and freedom of information with protection of personal data in their national legislation. Finland's Act on the Publicity of the Activities of Public Authorities allows journalists to access personal information for journalistic purposes. The requested documents contain personal information, such as the names of defendants. According to the District Court’s reasoning, publishing on a private website does not qualify as journalistic activity that would justify t

Outcome

Court Ruling

A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.

Related Cases (0)

No other cases found for Kymenlaakson Käräjäoikeus in FI

This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.

Details

Ruling Date

3 June 2024

Authority

DPA Kymenlaaksonkrjoikeu

About this data

Data: GDPRhub (noyb.eu)
Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
AI-verified and classified

Cite as: Cookie Fines. Kymenlaakson Käräjäoikeus - Finland (2024). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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