The Supreme Administrative Court has ruled in Yle's favour in a case centred around a request for information about a former government minister's move to the board of a Swedish bank while she was still in office.
The court on Monday ruled that the Chancellor of Justice's decision to withhold documents related to then Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner's decision to join the board of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) in 2019 to be in contravention of freedom of information laws.
The court has referred the matter back to the Chancellor of Justice's office for reconsideration.
In February 2019, Yle journalist Merja Niilola requested documents, including email correspondence, from the Office of the Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Pöysti about Berner's appointment to the board of the bank while she was still an MP, a minister and member of the government coalition.
The office refused to release the documents, citing confidentiality concerns.
However, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected this interpretation, ruling that according to Article 12 (2) of the Finnish Constitution, documents and other recordings held by an authority are public, unless their disclosure is specifically restricted by law for reasons such as national security.
In light of the administrative court's ruling, the Office of the Chancellor of Justice is now compelled to update its decision about the release of the documents.
Background to request for information
Former minister Berner led Vallila Interior, a family-owned interior design company, for many years before becoming an MP representing the electoral district of Uusimaa as a non-attached candidate with the Centre Party in 2015. Despite being a first-time MP, she was handed the transport and communications portfolio by then Prime Minister Juha Sipilä (Cen).
Her ambitious attempt to reform Finland's transport infrastructure and introduce private ownership caused friction, most notably within the Centre Party, while another proposal to eliminate vehicle taxes and set up a road usage fee never got off the ground.
In 2019 Berner announced that she would not be seeking re-election at that year's parliamentary poll, and would instead take up a position on the board of the SEB Bank in Sweden.
Her announcement received widespread media attention at the time as cabinet members are constitutionally prohibited from holding administrative roles in banks or financial institutions while in office.
Berner said at the time that she would not take up the position until 29 April 2019, some two weeks after the election on 14 April, and this was deemed to be in line with Finnish law by the Office of the Chancellor of Justice. However, online news outlet Uusi Suomi reported that the board would actually convene for the first time on 26 March - while Berner was still a minister.
SEB then published a statement, clarifying that Berner would not become a member of the board until 1 June.
The Chancellor of Justice's correspondence about this matter around that time was the subject of Yle journalist Niilola's request for information.