scholarly journals Access to Information Held by Public Authorities

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Record Management ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Freedom Of Information Act ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Time Limits ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Definition Of Information ◽  
The Right

Chapter 4 considers the administrative structure created by the Freedom of Information Act 2000; the right to information itself; the public authorities that are subject to the right; and the way in which requests for information should be handled. The chapter addresses the form of the request; the definition of ‘information’; the problems that tribunals have had in deciding whether information is held by a public authority; time limits; the transfer of requests from one authority to another; the duty to provide advice and assistance; fees and costs; vexatious and repeated requests; and the notice which has to be given when a request is refused. The chapter then considers the automatic disclosure of information through publication schemes, the need for consultation with third parties, and record management.

An Overview

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Public Authority ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Freedom Of Information Act ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Codes Of Practice ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an unnecessarily complicated piece of legislation. Chapter 2 gives a simple overview of the Act: the framework for the new statutory right to information; the exemptions; the public interest test; the way in which the right is regulated through the Information Commissioner and codes of practice; enforcement through the tribunal system; and the relationship between freedom of information and data protection. The chapter considers the questions public authorities have to ask when someone seeks information and identifies the provisions concerning practice, procedure, and implementation, including the offence of altering records and the provision in section 78 that nothing in the Act is to be taken to limit the powers of a public authority to disclose information held by it.

The Right to Information in India Implementation and Impact

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
_______ Naveen ◽  
_____ Priti
Keyword(s):  
Public Life ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Know How ◽  
The People ◽  
The Government ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The Right to Information Act 2005 was passed by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government with a sense of pride. It flaunted the Act as a milestone in India’s democratic journey. It is five years since the RTI was passed; the performance on the implementation frontis far from perfect. Consequently, the impact on the attitude, mindset and behaviour patterns of the public authorities and the people is not as it was expected to be. Most of the people are still not aware of their newly acquired power. Among those who are aware, a major chunk either does not know how to wield it or lacks the guts and gumption to invoke the RTI. A little more stimulation by the Government, NGOs and other enlightened and empowered citizens can augment the benefits of this Act manifold. RTI will help not only in mitigating corruption in public life but also in alleviating poverty- the two monstrous maladies of India.

scholarly journals Attempt to increase the transparency

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rastislav Munk
Keyword(s):  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Freedom Of Information Act ◽  
Legislative Changes ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right

The author deals with problems related to the Amendment to the Freedom of Information Act in the Slovak Republic in this article. In the introduction, the author assesses the legal regulation of the use of the right to information in the Slovak Republic. Subsequently, the author discusses the legal regulation of the use of the right to information in the Slovak Republic and expresses its attitude towards the legal regulation of the use of the right to information in the Slovak Republic, underlining the possibility of adopting legislative changes. It is also concerned with the Amendment to the Freedom of Information Act and with the practical problems associated with the right to information.

Silence with caution: The right to silence in police investigations in Belgium

2021 ◽  
pp. 203228442110283
Author(s):  
Ashlee Beazley ◽  
Fien Gilleir ◽  
Michele Panzavolta ◽  
Joëlle Rozie ◽  
Miet Vanderhallen
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
Public Prosecutor ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Devices ◽  
Police Investigations ◽  
Right To Silence ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

This article is about the right to remain silent within Belgium. Although the right has always been considered applicable, both the courts and parliament have historically demonstrated a disinclination to define or engage with this. The right to silence is now formally recognised in the Belgian Code of Criminal Procedure, albeit with the classic distinction between those who are not (yet) accused of a crime and those who are formal suspects: while all enjoy the right not to incriminate themselves, only formal suspects in Belgium enjoy the explicit right to remain silent. Accordingly, whilst no one may be obliged to assist with their own conviction or be forced to co-operate with the authorities, it remains unclear how far the right not to cooperate effectively stretches. The case law seems to be moving, albeit slowly, in the direction of confining this right within narrower borders, particularly by excluding its applicability with regard to the unlocking and decryption of digital devices. This is not, however, the only idiosyncrasy concerning the right to silence in Belgium. Among those also addressed in this article are: the lack of caution on the right to remain silent given to arrested persons immediately following their deprivation of liberty (an absence striking for its apparent breach of Directive 2012/13/EU on the right to information in criminal proceedings); the possible inducement to breach the right to silence via the discretionary powers of the public prosecutor to offer a reduction or mitigation in sentence; the obscurity surrounding the definition of ‘interrogation’ and the consequences of this on both the caution and the obtaining of statements; and the extent to which judges can draw adverse inferences from the right to silence. The question remains: is the right to silence currently protected enough?

Social Mobilization for Public Accountability

2019 ◽  
pp. 136-150
Author(s):  
Kuldeep Mathur
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Social Mobilization ◽  
Democratic Accountability ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Adequate Information ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right

This chapter examines administrative accountability through the democratic pillar of public transparency. One of the pillars of democratic accountability is the availability of adequate information in the public domain about the functioning government. It has taken a social movement for transparency in government to establish people’s right to information through the passage of the Right to Information Act in 2005. However, traditional administration has not reconciled to its demands and PPPs are kept out of its purview on the plea that they are not public authorities. The Lok Pal (ombudsman) Bill has been passed in response to another struggle of civil society.

scholarly journals The right to information about the activities of public authorities: certain theoretical and legal aspects

2021 ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Alla IVANOVSKA ◽  
Olena HALUS ◽  
Iryna RYZHUK
Keyword(s):  
Active Form ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right

It is found that the right to information about the activities of public authorities is linked to the more general constitutional right of everyone to freely collect, store and disseminate information in any lawful manner. The analyzed law is subject to international and domestic rules governing the right of access to information in general. At the same time, this right is regulated in great detail by special regulations that establish additional guarantees. An important guarantee that ensures the realization of the right of citizens to information about the activities of public authorities is the principle of transparency, which applies in many democracies around the world. The principle of transparency is manifested, firstly, in the fact that public authorities are obliged to inform the public about their activities, and secondly, every member of society has the appropriate right to receive such information, and the level of access to information about activities of public authorities is very important. Forms of exercising the right to information about the activities of public authorities, taking into account the peculiarities of legal regulation, are divided into passive and active. The passive form presupposes that the citizen himself gets acquainted with the information about the activity of the public authority, which duty is to make it public. An active form of exercising this right involves direct appeals of citizens or their groups to public authorities with requests to provide relevant information. It is concluded that ensuring the exercise of the right to information about the activities of public authorities is the key to building a democratic state governed by the rule of law and relies on public authorities, which are obliged to create all conditions for public participation in the adoption of legal acts by these bodies and to provide adequate access to complete and objective information about their activities.

scholarly journals Accountability of the media as seen by Spanish citizens

2021 ◽  
pp. 177-191
Author(s):  
Juan-Carlos Suárez-Villegas ◽  
Ruth Rodríguez-Martínez ◽  
Jesús Díaz-Campo
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Information Process ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
Information Channels ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

This article analyses the opinions of citizens on the core values of the so-called Media accountability: truthfulness, independence, transparency, public participation and respect for peoples’ rights. It also analyses citizens’ perceptions of various deontological instruments to measure the effectiveness of compliance with these ethical values. The qualitative methodology used to carry out this analysis is part of the R+D+I research project “Accountability and Journalistic Cultures project in Spain. Impact and proposal of good practices in the Spanish media” (MediaACES), which has been achieved through six focus groups in different Spanish cities. The results of the analysis reflect the critical spirit of citizens towards the media due to the following factors: the absence of objectivity, the mixture of economic interests with their editorial line and an ambiguous participation of the public, which requires a better definition of their role within the information process. The conclusions derived from this analysis allow us to reflect on several aspects: among others, the competition in a deregulated market leads to infotainment and affects the quality of information, as well as the rights of people affected by the news. At the same time, the excess of information channels leads to greater disinformation, under the appearance of a spontaneous pluralism that is superfluous. Ethics, therefore, seems to be a necessary requirement to differentiate professional journalism from other inappropriate information channels and to guarantee the right to information of citizens.

scholarly journals Government Transparency: Reality or Mirage?

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 725-736
Author(s):  
Noemia Rute Peres de Bessa Vilela ◽  
Jose Caramelo Gomes ◽  
Paulo Morais
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
Diverse Groups ◽  
Different Levels

All citizens are entitled to access governmental information as, only if properly informed, that they can participate in politics. The right to information is enshrined in a number of international agreements, including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right of citizens to access public authorities’ information is called Freedom of information. This information plays a crucial role in informing the population so that they can make accurate political choices. The mere disposal of information is not enough, as much of public documents suffer from complex language and other technicalities that can prevent an informed use of the information. Thus, sites displaying information must be adapted in order to guarantee usability, functionality and accessibility; there must be different levels of information, as there are diverse groups of individuals with different skills. Such usability, functionality and accessibility require designing effective communications, paying attention to balancing the complexity that citizens can manage and the complexity that those responsible for the requested information are producing.

Information indeed is power – people and their right to information

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. R Balasubramaniam ◽  
M N Venkatachaliah
Keyword(s):  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Freedom Of Information Act ◽  
Common People ◽  
Youth Movement ◽  
Asymmetry Of Information ◽  
Democratic Development ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right

This chapter focuses on the passing of the Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2005, an important milestone in the history of democratic India which conferred upon common people the right to request information from any ‘public authority’. This Act, comparable to the Freedom of Information Act (USA) has tremendous potential to tackle corruption and asymmetry of information in public, and it is therefore imperative that every citizen of the country knows about this act. The chapter then looks at how the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) undertook a campaign-on-foot to create awareness about RTI among the people of some 120 villages in 2008. Covering five districts in South Karnataka, the campaigners interacted with thousands of people in about a month on not just people's right to information, but also on different issues related to democratic development including corruption, accountability, and citizen's responsibility.

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