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Photo from Access to Information: An Instrumental Right for Empowerment © Article 19 |
Freedom of Information (FOI) or right to information is defined as the universal right to access information held by public bodies.
FOI legislation reflects the fundamental premise that all information held by governments and governmental institutions is in principle public and may only be withheld if there are legitimate reasons, such as typically privacy and security, for not disclosing it. Over the past 10 years, the right to FOI has been recognized by an increasing number of countries, including developing ones, through the adoption of a wave of right to information laws. In 1990, only 13 countries had adopted national right to information laws, whereas there are currently more than 70 such laws adopted across the world with a further 20-30 of them under consideration in other countries.
FOI is a cornerstone of participative democracy
The free flow of information and ideas lies at the heart of the very notion of democracy and is crucial to effective respect for human rights. Democracy demands that individuals are able to participate effectively in decision making and in assessing the performance of their government. This participation depends on access to a variety of information held by public bodies. This can be for instance information on the laws or rights applicable in a country, or about the state of the economy, social systems, and other matters of public concern such as the use of public funds. Indeed, one of the most effective ways of addressing poor governance is through open, informed debate. Although the right to information is not a substitute for good governance, it both supports and aids its implementation.
It is not enough to simply pass a FOI law for the principles of open access to information to be established. FOI laws vary in content and scope and FOI law implementation relies on a multitude of factors: from the surrounding constitutional laws, to the availability of resources for its implementation, to the dynamism of civil society including the activism of transparency NGOs and of professional investigative reporters, and the capacity of the citizens to benefit from the law.
FOI is a cornerstone of participative democracy
The free flow of information and ideas lies at the heart of the very notion of democracy and is crucial to effective respect for human rights. Democracy demands that individuals are able to participate effectively in decision making and in assessing the performance of their government. This participation depends on access to a variety of information held by public bodies. This can be for instance information on the laws or rights applicable in a country, or about the state of the economy, social systems, and other matters of public concern such as the use of public funds. Indeed, one of the most effective ways of addressing poor governance is through open, informed debate. Although the right to information is not a substitute for good governance, it both supports and aids its implementation.
It is not enough to simply pass a FOI law for the principles of open access to information to be established. FOI laws vary in content and scope and FOI law implementation relies on a multitude of factors: from the surrounding constitutional laws, to the availability of resources for its implementation, to the dynamism of civil society including the activism of transparency NGOs and of professional investigative reporters, and the capacity of the citizens to benefit from the law.
