According to the short description of the Supreme Administrative Court:

"The applicant's appeal under the Aliens Act had been heard before the administrative court in Finnish language and a decision had been made also in Finnish. The Administrative Court rejected the assistant's claim for reimbursement of the costs of interpreting in English as unfounded. According to the reasoning of the Administrative Court, the applicnat had an excellent knowledge of English and had dealt with the authorities in that language. The assistant had not claimed interpretation costs other than for follow-up, which required the assistant to be deemed to have met the applicant in English or another language they both understood.

The Supreme Administrative Court granted leave to appeal. The decision of the Administrative Court was amended so that the assistant was reimbursed for the costs of post-clearance interpretation, including VAT, from State resources.

According to section 9 (1) of the Aliens Act, the right of an alien to receive legal aid is provided for in the Legal Aid Act.

Pursuant to section 10 (1) of the Aliens Act, an interpreter has the right to use an administrative and appeal matter in accordance with the said Act.

Under section 203 of the Aliens Act, a party has the right to be informed of a decision concerning him or her in his or her mother tongue or in another language which he or she may reasonably be expected to understand. Information about the decision is given by interpretation or translation.

According to section 2 (2) of the Legal Aid Act, a person who does not have a domicile in Finland or a domicile or residence in another Member State of the European Union or a state belonging to the European Economic Area is granted legal aid if the person's case is heard in a Finnish court or there is a special reason for legal aid.

Pursuant to Section 4 (1) (2) of the Legal Aid Act, the granting of legal aid relieves the beneficiary of the obligation to pay a fee and compensation for the interpretation and translation assistance he or she needs in the proceedings.

Pursuant to section 17 (1) of the Legal Aid Act, compensation for expenses is established for a private assistant. Reimbursable expenses are provided for in Section 11 (2) of the Government Decree on the Basis of Fees for Legal Aid.

In the light of the above provisions and of the legal certainty and procedural guarantees of the applicant in the service of the decision and on appeal, the administrative court could not, on the grounds relied on, reject the fee for post-clearance interpretation as unjustified.