Legislation

(June 1, 1922/148)

Published by the Ministry of Justice

Helsinki 1992

Please note: This is an unofficial translation.

The original titles in Finnish and Swedish are:

Kielilaki

Språklag 1.6.1922/148

Asetus kielilain täytäntöönpanosta

Förordning angående verkställighet av språklagen

29.12.1922/311

Amendments have been marked with the date and number of the amendment. If an entire section has been amended, the information appears after the section number. If only a paragraph or subparagraph has been amended, the information appears after it.

Department of Legislation, Ministry of Justice

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1

(January 1O, 1975/10)

The national language of Finland, Finnish or Swedish, or both Finnish and Swedish, shall be used before courts and other State authorities, as well as before the authorities of the municipalities, the other autonomous districts and the joint municipal organizations, as provided by this Act. The language or languages used shall be determined on the basis of the language of each administrative district, autonomous district, corresponding community or joint municipal organization, as well as of the parties to the matter.

Separate provisions shall be enacted on the right to use the Sámi language before the authorities. (March 8, 1991/517)

Section 2

(January 1O, 1975/10)

An administrative district or an autonomous district that comprises only one municipality shall be unilingual, if its entire population uses the same language or if the number of the inhabitants using the other language is less than eight per cent of the total number of inhabitants. The district shall be bilingual if the number of the inhabitants using the other language equals or exceeds the said percentage, or is at least 3,000. The same provision shall apply to an administrative district smaller than a municipality.

An administrative district or an autonomous district that comprises several municipalities, as well as a joint municipal organization, shall be unilingual if all the member municipalities are unilingual. The language or languages used in each municipality shall be correspondingly used in a district with unilingual member municipalities with different languages or with bilingual member municipalities.

Every ten years the Council of State shall determine on the basis of the official statistics those administrative districts and autonomous districts that shall be unilingual and those that shall be bilingual in accordance with the provisions above. A bilingual municipality shall not be determined to be unilingual unless the number of the inhabitants using the other language has fallen to six per cent or less of the total.

For a special reason the Council of State can, on the proposal of the municipal council or also otherwise after having obtained an opinion from the municipality, determine a municipality to be bilingual for the following ten-year period, even if it would be unilingual according to the provisions above in this section.

When the boundaries of administrative districts or autonomous districts are changed, the languages of the new districts shall at the same time be determined in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 1-4. Also in this situation the Council of State shall have the right referred to in paragraph 4.

II. LANGUAGE OF THE PARTIES TO A MATTER AND LANGUAGE OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

Section 3

The language of the district or one of the languages of a bilingual district shall be used before a court and another State authority. However, a Finnish citizen shall have the right to use his own language, Finnish or Swedish, in a matter to which he is a party and a matter in which he is being heard. Also, a municipality and another autonomous community, a joint municipal organization, a religious community, a Finnish association, a cooperative, a company, a partnership, a foundation and a service shall have the right to use the language in which its minutes are kept and an educational institution the language it uses for education. (January 10, 1975/10)

If a document submitted to a court or to another State authority has been written, contrary to the provisions of paragraph 1, in the other national language, the authority shall obtain a valid translation on the expense of the submitting party. However, the authority shall obtain the translation on its own expense, if it is to see to the interpretation in the matter in accordance with section 22 of the Administrative Procedure Act (598/82).

(August 6, 1982/599)

Section 4

When a State agent, a Public Prosecutor or another State official is pursuing an action as a part of his official duties, he shall use the language of the defendant, if he is required to know this language.

If necessary, interpretation shall be resorted to in an oral hearing of a matter before a court or when a matter is considered by the police.

Section 5

(April 5, 1935/141)

In a unilingual administrative district a court and another authority shall issue its documents in the language of the district.

However, the Council of State, a Ministry, a central administrative board, a court and a County Government shall be obliged to enclose a valid translation to its documents if the original document should according to section 6 be issued in the other language and a party to the matter, who according to section 3 has the right to use the other language than that used in the administrative district, has requested a translation.

Section 6

(April 5, 1935/141)

In a bilingual administrative district a court and another authority shall issue its documents in the language of the party or the parties to the matter or in the language agreed on by the parties.

If the parties have used different languages and they do not agree on the document language, the following provisions shall apply:

1. In a criminal matter the language of the defendant shall be used.

2. In another matter and in a criminal matter with defendants using different languages the language of the majority of the population of the administrative district shall be used, unless the authority, with regard to the rights and interests of the parties, decides otherwise.

Section 7

Before municipal authorities and the authorities of the other autonomous districts the language or, if the district is bilingual, one of the languages of the district shall be used. The provisions of section 5, paragraph I and section 6 shall also apply with regard to these authorities.

(Paragraph 2 has been repealed by the Act of 10 January 1975/10.)

Section 8

A higher court and another higher authority shall in each case issue its documents in the language used, in accordance with this Act, by the lower authority concerned.

A party to a matter who according to section 5, paragraph 2 has the right to request that a valid translation be enclosed to a document shall have the same right with regard to the documents of a higher court and a higher authority.

Section 9

(April 5, 1935/141)

If a unilingual municipality or other autonomous community is officially requested to issue an opinion or to give an explanation in a matter in which the other language than that of the municipality or community is used, the documents shall be sent to the municipality or community as a translation officially certified by the authority concerned. The same provision shall apply to a document issued in such a matter.

Section 10

(April 5, 1935/141)

Announcements, notifications, proclamations and the other comparable documents issued by a court, another State authority or an authority of a municipality or another autonomous district and intended for public notice shall in an unilingual administrative district or autonomous district be written in the language of the district and in a bilingual administrative district or autonomous district in both the national languages.

Official proclamations and statements issued in a bilingual district by a Town Court, a Judicial District Court, a judge, a County Government, a Town Administrative Court, a Bench of Magistrates, a sheriff and a population registrar and relating to the rights of a private citizen may, where appropriate, be written only in the language of the majority of the population of the district, unless the applicant requests otherwise.

(January 10, 1975/10)

III. LANGUAGE USED WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATION

Section 11

A court and another State authority in a unilingual administrative district shall use the language of the district in its internal affairs.

In this Act the language used in internal affairs means the language used in such minutes and other documents that are not to be given to a private party to a matter, in the correspondence between authorities and in official diaries.

Section 12

(January 10, 1975/10)

A court and another State authority in a bilingual administrative district or exercising jurisdiction over bilingual municipalities or unilingual municipalities with different languages shall use the language of the majority of the administrative district in its internal affairs. However, in a matter where the documents are to be issued in the language of the minority the language of the documents shall be used, unless there are special reasons for using the language of the majority. If a language other than that of the documents has been used, a valid translation of the documents relating to the matter shall without delay be enclosed to the documents, if a party to the matter so requests. This provision shall not apply to documents obviously irrelevant to the decision in the matter.

Section 13

(April 7, 1935/141)

In a matter where documents are to be issued a higher authority shall communicate with a lower authority in the language that the latter is to use in accordance with section 12 and with a unilingual municipality or other autonomous district and their authorities in the language of the municipality or district. (January 10, 1975/10)

Regardless of the provision of paragraph 1 a lower authority may not refrain from complying with an order issued in the other language, if the authority is required to know this language.

Section 14

An authority whose activities concern only one language group shall use the language of this group in its internal affairs.

The administrative organs and officials of unilingual education and instruction institutions of the State or a municipality shall also use the language of the institution even if it were located in a municipality using the other language.

Section 15

The provisions of sections 11, 12 and 14 shall apply also to the authorities of municipalities and other autonomous districts. In addition, in bilingual districts these authorities shall comply with the provision of section 13, paragraph 1 in their correspondence with authorities subordinate to them.

However, in a matter where the documents are to be issued in the language of the minority of the municipality, a valid translation shall without delay be enclosed to the minutes of the municipal authority, if a party to the matter or a member of the municipality so requests.

(January 10, 1975/10)

Also, the provision in paragraph 1 shall not preclude the right of the council of an autonomous district to decide that the minutes be kept in both languages.

Section 16

A member of a collegiate body with jurisdiction over a bilingual administrative district, bilingual municipalities or unilingual municipalities with different languages shall in discussions and in opinions to be entered in the minutes have the right to use the language, Finnish or Swedish, he deems appropriate.

The members of the councils of autonomous districts and the members of general committees and boards shall have the same right. If a member of a council does not understand a statement given in the other language, it shall be briefly interpreted to him, if he so requests.

IV. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Section 17

(April 7, 1935/141)

The provisions of this Act on the Language of State authorities shall apply also to the language of the parties to a matter, the language of official documents and the language used within the administration in the Cathedral Chapters, Vicar's offices and other authorities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, unless the matter by its nature is to be deemed an internal matter of the Church under the Church Act. The provisions on municipalities and other autonomous communities shall apply correspondingly to the parishes of this Church. Also, parishes formed on the basis of language shall remain unilingual regardless of the language of the people of the district.

Provisions on the official language of the Greek Orthodox Church shall be issued by Decree.

Section 17 a

(January 10, 1975/10)

The provisions of this Act on the language of municipal authorities shall apply also to the language of the parties to a matter, the language of official documents and the language used within the administration in the authorities of joint municipal organizations.

Section 18

(April 7, 1935/141)

Separate provisions shall be enacted on the official language of the authorities of State Universities and institutions of higher education and on the language used in instruction and examinations there.

Section 19

This Act shall apply to military authorities. Their administrative districts shall be deemed unilingual, if the rank and file of the units subordinate to them have been assembled in order to set up an unilingual unit and bilingual, if the rank and file have been assembled regardless of mother tongue or if the activities of the authorities concern units of different languages.

The command language of the Armed Forces shall be Finnish.

Section 20

(April 7, 1935/141)

Regardless of the provisions of section 2, paragraph 2, the State Railway administrative districts shall for the part of each stopping place be deemed to use the language or languages of the stopping place.

Stopping places shall be unilingual, if the municipalities immediately surrounding them are unilingual and bilingual, if the municipalities immediately surrounding them are bilingual or unilingual with different languages.

Section 21

(January 1O, 1975/10)

The law proposals and reports prepared and published by a Ministry, a State committee, a commission or another corresponding body shall be published in Finnish and, unless especially persuasive reasons otherwise warrant, in full, in part or as a synopsis also in Swedish, as decided by the competent Ministry with regard to the importance of the matter to the Swedish-speaking population and to other circumstances.

Section 22

The provisions on the authorities in bilingual administrative districts shall apply to Finnish missions abroad. They shall apply also to consulates headed by a Consul by career.

Provisions on the use of a language other than Finnish or Swedish in missions and consulates shall be issued by Decree.

Section 23

A document issued as a valid translation in accordance with this Act shall be considered equal to the original.

If a State authority is to give or send a party concerned a translation of a document or if internal documents of the authorities are to be translated in accordance with section 12, the costs of the translation shall be covered by the State. The costs arising from the translation referred to in section 15, paragraphs 1 and 2 and the interpretation referred to in section 16, paragraph 2 shall be covered by the autonomous community or the joint municipal organization. (January 10, 1975/10)

Section 24

This Act shall not apply to official correspondence addressed to foreign States or foreign citizens or to documents intended to be used abroad; however, the provisions of sections 5 and 6 shall be complied with also in connection with such documents, unless they are issued in a foreign language or in both the national languages.

Section 25

Further provisions on the implementation of this Act shall be issued by Decree.

Section 26

This Act shall enter into force on January 1, 1923.

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