132 annual report 2011 ing local authorities). In the local authority’s opinion, the memos were internal documents within the meaning of the Act on Public Access to Documents on Public Files and there was no duty to release the information contained in the memos. The Regional State Administration was of the opinion that the memos were not covered by the Act at all. The Ombudsman stated that the memos were covered by the Act and that the Regional State Administration’s conception of the law was clearly incorrect. He was also of the opinion that the three memos had been subject to administrative processing, cf. section 4(1), first sentence, of the Act, which is a condition for a right of access under the Act to exist at all. The Ombudsman noted that the memos did not contain any assessments from the three employees but solely information about factual circumstances of the three incidents. Regardless of the possible internal character of the memos, there was consequently a right of access to the memos according to section 11(1) of the Act (on the obligation to extract from documents and provide information which is not exempt from access). Accordingly, the Ombudsman did not find it necessary to determine whether the memos might have lost their internal character on being read out. The Ombudsman recommended that the Regional State Administration resume processing the case. (Case No. 2009-2870-701) 20-5. no duty for local authority to check whether power of attorney from owners’ association had been validly signed A construction firm applied on behalf of an owners’ association for a building permit to put up two balconies. The construction firm had a power of attorney that had been signed by the association’s chairman. One of the owners complained to the Regional State Administration and then to the Ombudsman. She found that the local authority should have checked whether the power of attorney was valid before granting the permit. In the Ombudsman’s opinion, the local authority did not have a duty to check either whether the decision to put up balconies had been validly made at the association’s general meeting or whether the power of attorney given to the construction firm had been signed in