Legislation

(December 29, 1922/311)

Section 1

(December 20, 1935/418)

For the production of valid translations, as referred to in section 3, paragraph 2, section 5, paragraph 2, section 8, paragraph 2 and section 9 of the Language Act, the Council of State translation bureau shall have translators competent in legal matters for both the Finnish and the Swedish languages.

If a court or a County Government wishes to carry out the necessary translations on its own, be it in full or in part, it shall submit a proposal on the same to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry shall then appoint an official for the task and authorize him to produce valid translations. The official shall carry out his duties for the fee determined by confirmed rate.

Section 2

(December 20, 1935/418)

When a valid translation of an original document is to be produced on the expense of the State in accordance with section 5, paragraph 2, section 8, paragraph 2 or section 9 of the Language Act or on the expense of the party to the matter in accordance with section 3, paragraph 2 of the Language Act, and unless an authority has been appointed for the task, the authority concerned shall send the documents to the Council of State translation bureau, which shall see to that they be translated without delay.

Section 3

In order for a translation to gain legal validity in cases referred to in section 2, it shall be produced and signed or verified by the Council of State translation bureau or by an official appointed and authorized by the Ministry of Justice.

The translator and the verificator shall be responsible for the correctness of the translation and liable to pay the damages caused by contingent errors.

Section 4

When a party to a matter is entitled by section 7, paragraph 2 of the Language Act to receive a valid translation with a municipal document or when a valid translation is to be enclosed to municipal minutes in accordance with section 15, paragraph 2 of the Language Act, the municipality shall produce the said translation on its own, verified by the translating authority, or acquire the translation from the Council of State translation bureau of from an official appointed for the task by the Ministry of Justice. In the latter cases the provisions of section 3 shall apply to a valid translation.

The above provision shall apply also to parishes of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

If a municipal or parochial authority has verified a translation, it shall be responsible for its correctness and liable to pay the damages caused by contingent errors.

Section 5

(December 20, 1935/418)

In cases where the State is not liable to cover the costs of a valid translation and an authority of a municipality, parish or other autonomous community or a private party to a matter wishes to acquire a valid translation of a document written by a State authority or an authority of an autonomous community, or to get a translation of such a document verified by the Council of State translation bureau or by an official appointed for the task, the translation bureau or the official shall carry out the task for the fee determined by confirmed rate.

The provision of paragraph 1 on the translation fee shall apply also to a translation referred to in section 3, paragraph 2 of the Language Act.

Section 6

When interpretation is necessary in the oral hearing of a matter, as provided by section 4 of the Language Act, the interpretation shall be carried out by the person presiding over the hearing. If this proves impossible, an interpreter shall be appointed on the expense of the State. The same provision shall apply, if a party to a matter, who is not entitled by section 3 of the Language Act to use a language other than that of the district, has need of interpretation in a criminal matter initiated by a Public Prosecutor. If such a party has need of interpretation in other matters, he shall himself be required to obtain the services of an interpreter.

Section 7

When a matter is being considered by the police, the statements of the persons interrogated shall, whenever possible, be recorded in the language, Finnish or Swedish, used by the person in questions.

Section 8

(December 20, 1935/418)

When an administrative district or an autonomous district consists of unilingual municipalities with different languages or bilingual municipalities, in the application of the provision of section 2, paragraph 2 of the Language Act, unless otherwise provided by section 3, 4, 12 or 16 of the Act, an authority in the administrative district shall have jurisdiction over each municipality as a separate unit. In these cases the language used in a matter shall be determined on the basis of the municipality where the authority at the time has jurisdiction over the matter or, if the matter does not belong to a particular municipality, on the basis of the municipality where the party to the matter resides.

When the language used in a matter is to be determined in accordance with paragraph 1 on the basis of two or more municipalities in the district, and, as the municipalities are unilingual with different languages, or one of them is bilingual, or, as the parties to the matter reside outside of the district, or for another reason, no municipality can be used as the basis to determine the language used, both languages shall be used as in a bilingual district.

The provisions above in this section on a municipality as the basis for the language used in a given situation shall apply correspondingly to State Railway stopping places.

Section 8 a

(June 17, 1963/299)

When the Ministry of the Interior makes a decision on the change in municipal division, as provided by section 34 a of the Act on Changing the Municipal Division, as it is in the Act of 27 July 1962 (424/62), it shall at the same time, after having obtained an opinion from the Ministry of Justice, determine the languages of the newly organized municipalities on the basis of the provisions in the Language Act.

Section 9

(December 20, 1935/418)

With the exception of the command language, which is always Finnish, an unit of the Armed Forces shall be deemed to be assembled in order to set up an unilingual unit i.e. unilingual, if it is composed of conscripts with the same mother tongue, Finnish or Swedish, or if the number of conscripts with the other language is less than ten per cent of the total number of conscripts in the unit. A unit shall be deemed to be assembled regardless of the mother tongue of its rank and file i.e. bilingual, if the number of conscripts with the other language equals or exceeds ten per cent of the total number of conscripts in the unit.

A unit means a battalion or equivalent.

The administrative district of military headquarters or another authority or institution shall be deemed unilingual, if its activities concern only unilingual units, headquarters, administrative districts or autonomous districts with the same language. In other cases the district shall be deemed to have the same language as the unit, headquarters, administrative district and autonomous district as the unit, headquarters, administrative district or autonomous district concerned.

Section 10

In the correspondence with others than Finnish authorities the Finnish missions and consulates shall heed the requirements of international customs and the local circumstances.

A consulate not headed by a Consul by Career shall use as its official language the language determined by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Section 11

When a passport is not to be issued in a foreign language, it shall in each County be issued as a Finnish-language original and, in addition, in the Province of Aland as a Swedish-language original. In the other Counties a passport shall be issued as a Swedish-language original, if the person concerned has used Swedish or requested a Swedish-language passport.

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