File description

2. Controller

Name: National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland
Postal Address: P.O.Box 1190, FI-00101 Helsinki
Street Address: Arkadiankatu 6 A, 00100 Helsinki
Telephone: (09) 6939 500

Under the Associations Act, the Register of Associations is kept by the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland. The Register contains information on non-profit associations, chambers of commerce and the Central Chamber of Commerce.

The duties of the Register of Associations consist of keeping the Register on the basis of basic notices, amendment notices and dissolution notices; of carrying out of preliminary checks of associations’ rules (bylaws) and amendments to rules; and of providing information to clients.

In addition to the effect of publicity, some of the entries in the Register of Associations have a constitutive effect.

4. Data Content of the Register

The Associations Act lays down the details that an association must report for entry in the Register of Associations. A separate entry is made of associations that function as chambers of commerce. In addition, certain duties to notify for entry in the Register of Associations are laid down for courts of law. The Ministry of Employment and the Economy must report to the National Board of Patents and Registration if a permission to found a chamber of commerce has been cancelled. Pursuant to the Decree on the Register of Associations, the list to be kept of associations must contain the name and domicile of an association; the type and the date of arrival of the notification; the date of registration and registration number; the provision of the rules on the manner of signing for the association as well as the full name, address, municipality of residence and personal identity code or date of birth of the chairperson of the Executive Committee and the same information on any other person who is authorised to sign for the association on his or her own or together with another person; preliminary check of the rules and any amendment to them; surrender in bankruptcy of the assets of the association and the termination of the bankruptcy proceedings; any caution or a temporary ban on activities issued on the association; liquidators or trustees chosen or appointed for the association; and any other information necessary for the keeping of the register. Under the Act on Chambers of Commerce, in addition to the information above, the Register of Associations must contain the names of the chairpersons, other members and deputy members of organs that have been appointed to manage the public duties of the chambers of commerce and the Central Chamber of Commerce referred to in Section 2 of the said Act, and copies of the annual accounts and audit reports of the chambers of commerce and the Central Chamber of Commerce.

5. Regular Sources of Data

The data entered in the Register of Associations is based on notices submitted by associations, authorities and courts of law. The basic notice, which must be accompanied by the charter and the rules (bylaws) of the association, must give the full name, address, domicile and personal identity code of the chairperson of the executive committee and of each person authorized to sign the name of the association as well as the limitation concerning the right to sign the name of the association referred to in Section 36, if any. If such person has no Finnish personal identity code, his or her date of birth must be given. When a change occurs in the details entered in the register, the association must report the new details for registration.

Chambers of commerce and the Central Chamber of Commerce must additionally report the names of the chairpersons, other members and deputy members of organs that have been appointed to manage the public duties of the chambers of commerce and the Central Chamber of Commerce referred to in Section 2 of the Act on Chambers of Commerce, and copies of the annual accounts and audit reports of the chambers of commerce and the Central Chamber of Commerce. (The annual accounts must be submitted for registration within two months from their adoption.) Under an agreement between the National Board of Patents and Registration and the Population Register Centre, the Associations Register can update its files and check the personal details of persons reported in notifications and attachments against the Population Information System.

6. Regular Disclosure of Data

Under the Associations Act, anyone is entitled to obtain information from the Register of Associations. Information can be obtained from the Register of Associations by ordering extracts from the Register, by inquiring by telephone, or by studying electronic registers at the National Board of Patents and Registration. Contract clients can study the information over the Internet in the NetYREKA service on the website of the National Board of Patents and Registration, or by using application queries. Information is also available over the Internet in the free-of-charge AssociationNet service on the website of the National Board of Patents and Registration. Registered details of associations are also available through our Shopping Basket Service, which requires access codes for an online banking service of a Finnish bank or payment by Visa or Mastercard credit cards. Customers of Elisa or TeliaSonera can order registered details of associations to their mobile phones. Notifications and enclosures submitted by associations can be studied at the National Board of Patents and Registration.

7. Principles of Securing Data

Manual data The manual data is stored in separate archives dedicated for the purpose. Only the staff of the National Board of Patents and Registration has access to the archives through a passage control.
Data stored electronically The ADB system of the Register of Associations is operated on a mainframe computer which is located in a fireproof and locked space. Only authorised persons responsible for the ADB operations have access there. The system is accessed from PCs and requires a user ID and a password. The users are divided in different groups that have different access rights. A person responsible for the register grants authorisations and gives access rights to the groups. File maintenance on PCs takes place in premises that are locked and have passage control.

8. Right of Access

A data subject can inspect what information on him or her has been entered in the Register of Associations, or that there are no such entries. It is possible to check one’s data free of charge once a year. The information on a person can be checked only with regard to those details that have been reported to the Register of Associations on 1.1.1995 or thereafter.

A request for access to data must be submitted to the National Board of Patents and Registration in writing and the request must be personally signed. The request must state the name and personal identity code of the person in question. The information is printed on paper and given to the client or delivered by post to the address given by the client. The information can also be checked at the Client Service of the National Board of Patents and Registration upon proving one's identity.

9. Rectification of Personal Data

The correctness of personal details is checked against the Population Information System, if the person in question has a Finnish personal identity code. The details of those who have no Finnish personal identity code are checked against the documents that the association in question has submitted. If the information received from the Population Information System (name, address, citizenship, possible incapacity) is incorrect, requests for rectification or amendment are to be filed with the controller of the Population Information System. Requests for rectification concerning persons without a Finnish personal identity code are to be filed with the National Board of Patents and Registration.