Chapter 2
Provision of assistance

Section 8
Language and translations

The request and the accompanying documents shall be in Finnish or in Swedish, or be accompanied by a translation into either of these languages. It may be enacted by Decree that the request and the accompanying documents may be in a foreign language.

A competent authority may execute a request for assistance even where the request and the related documents are in a foreign language provided by Decree or in another foreign language, provided that the execution of the request is not otherwise precluded according to this Act. However, the competent authority may refuse to execute the request, where the request and the documents are not in Finnish or in Swedish, nor accompanied by translations into these languages, if the authority deems that it does not have a sufficient understanding of the language used in the documents. The Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for carrying out translations from foreign languages into Finnish and Swedish as will be enacted by Decree.

A document to be served need not be accompanied by a translation where the service may be executed without a translation under section 17, paragraph 2.