Kymenlaakson Käräjäoikeus – Court Ruling (Finland, 2024)

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