A1 Journal article (refereed)
Viestintäyksiköiden rooli kaupunkiorganisaatioiden vastatessa julkisuuslain mukaisiin tietopyyntöihin (2017)
Communication units' roles in local authorities’ handling of Freedom of Information Act requests

Mykkänen, M., & Koski, A. (2017). Viestintäyksiköiden rooli kaupunkiorganisaatioiden vastatessa julkisuuslain mukaisiin tietopyyntöihin. Kunnallistieteellinen aikakauskirja, 45(2), 27-40.

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Mykkänen, Markus; Koski, Aleksi

Journal or series: Kunnallistieteellinen aikakauskirja

ISSN: 0356-3669

eISSN: 2342-1797

Publication year: 2017

Volume: 45

Issue number: 2

Pages range: 27-40

Publisher: Kunnallistieteen yhdistys

Publication country: Finland

Publication language: Finnish

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access: 

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/85589

Abstract

The principle of the publicity of governmental records and public access to governmental information is written in the Finnish Constitution (PL 12.2 §) and seen as a basic right. The Act on the Openness of Government Activities is the lex generalis and is also known as the Finnish freedom of information act (FOIA). According to the Finnish legislation, it is everyone’s right to request information from governmental records. It is the public authorities’ duty to disclose the requested information or give reasons based on legislation about why the records are not disclosed. Communication units are parts of municipalities as local authorities and this article examines the roles of the units when municipalities are answering the freedom of information act requests. The empirical data consist of two small types of research on communication units and an analysis on the communication guidelines of (different) cities. 16 cities participated in the research and the guidelines of 10 cities’ were analysed. The result suggests that communication units have four distinguished roles in FOIA request processes. Communication units and communication professionals are either processing requests by themselves, delivering them to other unit(s) or taking care of (supervising) them, or are eventually ignorant of them and assuming that other units are processing them. From this study, it can be concluded that openness and the work of communication units have significant benefits for the openness of local authorities and for the freedom of information.

Keywords: municipalities; towns and cities; communication; responses; legislation; Act on the Openness of Government Activities; documents; public authorities; requests for information (Act on the Openness of Government Activities); treatment and handling; justification

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2017

JUFO rating: 1