scholarly journals The constitutional and legal enshrinement of the right to information. The impact of states of emergency upon the right to information

2019 ◽  
pp. 20-34
Author(s):  
ANCA-JEANINA NIȚĂ
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Starting from the premise that information is the raw material of a democratic society, the present article aims to showcase the importance of the constitutional regulation of the right to information. Observing Article 31 of the Romanian Constitution and the infraconstitutional norms in the field of free access to information of public interest, which further develop the constitutional norm, this paper presents the content of the right to information and its limits. Moreover, some legal literature currents and the case law of the Constitutional Court of Romania are emphasized with regard to the restriction in the exercise of this right, under the conditions of Article 53 of the Constitution. Without detailing the complexity of the legal consequences that derive from declaring a state of emergency, there are identified the limits under which, in such cases, the restriction of some fundamental rights and liberties that can occur. In the current normative context, while insisting that exceptional measures must not find themselves outside the existing constitutional order, the present paper analyses the impact of Decree no. 195/2020 for declaring a state of emergency on the territory of Romania upon the right to information. The article emphasizes that the multiple social, economic and political consequences of such a crisis cannot be dissociated from their legal dimension, that the constitutional rigor of a correct information to the general public through media, both public and private, necessary irrespective of a state of emergency, is needed even more so under exceptional circumstances, where the fight against disinformation is by all accounts legitimate and required. At the same time, it is emphasized the requirement that a state of emergency isn’t used as a pretext for tighter governmental control over information release, for the amputation of the mechanism introduced by Law no. 544/2001 on the free access to information of public interest.

Legal grounds for restricting access to information: a philosophical aspect

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 64-73
Author(s):  
Oleh M. Omelchuk ◽  
Mariia P. Muzyka ◽  
Mykola O. Stefanchuk ◽  
Iryna P. Storozhuk ◽  
Inna A. Valevska
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right

The rapid spread of the Internet and communication technologies raises the issue of access to information, especially access to information via the Internet. The amount of information on the network is constantly increasing, and at the same time more and more efforts are being made to limit users' access to it to some extent. The more restrictions state bodies create in this area, the more efforts are made to circumvent or violate these prohibitions. Free access to information in a democratic society should be the rule, and restriction of this right – the exception. These restrictions should be clearly defined by law and applied only in cases where legitimate and vital interests, such as national security and privacy, need to be respected. The main purpose of this study is to consider the legal and socio-philosophical aspects of access to information. Restricting access to documents as media has been practiced since ancient times. The study highlights the existing inconsistencies and lags in the implementation of the principles of exercise of the right to information in Ukraine at the level of laws and subordinate legislation. The study classifies information according to the nature of restrictions (exercise) of constitutional rights and freedoms in the information sphere. It was discovered that the legislation of Ukraine does not systematise the list of confidential information in a single regulation in contrast to the Russian Federation and provides the main types of confidential personal information. It was found that restrictions on any freedoms and human rights, including in the information space, can be established with the help of various regulators, the dominant among which are the following levels of implementation: legal (legislative); moral self-consciousness of society; autonomy of the person. Features and spheres of action of regulators of restriction of freedoms and human rights are described. To restrict access to information, various methods are used to protect it from unauthorised receipt, which can be divided into two groups: formal and informal

scholarly journals Cuestiones controvertidas en torno a las instancias de control deontológico de los periodistas en el ámbito del derecho a la información

2019 ◽  
pp. 319
Author(s):  
Jesús Sánchez Lorenzo
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
Protective Function ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

El derecho a la información es un pilar fundamental del Estado democrático del que los periodistas no son los únicos titulares aunque son los que lo ensalzan. Por otro lado, no existe una definición concreta de estos sino una que podría considerarse ambigua ofrecida por el Tribunal Constitucional para evitar, efectivamente, una interpretación inconstitucional del derecho a informar y las garantías en su ejercicio. La deontología profesional de la actividad periodística, recogida en diferentes códigos deontológicos, pretende proteger a los periodistas, a la información y al propio derecho a informar por la repercusión que tienen en la opinión pública libre, institución política fundamental en un Estado democrático. Sin embargo no puede hacer efectiva esta función protectora porque no existe control respecto a las infracciones que se puedan cometer. Y no existe este control porque no se ha llegado a un consenso respecto a la naturaleza que debe regir tal control, pública o privada. Esto facilita que los medios sobrepasen los propios códigos tratando la información como mercancía que se puede manufacturar y hasta fabricar, dada la presión del mercado por ser mejores, con lo que la actividad de los profesionales de la información queda supeditada a aquéllos, con las consecuencias que conlleva para la formación de la opinión pública y el propio Estado democrático.The right to information is a fundamental pillar of the democratic State of which journalists are not the sole holders although they are the ones who extol. On the other hand, there is no a concrete definition of these but one that might be considered ambiguous offered by the Constitutional Court to avoid, really, an unconstitutional interpretation of the right to inform and the guarantees in its exercise. Professional ethics of journalist activity, gathered in different codes of conduct, aims to protect journalists, information and the right to inform itself about the impact they have on the free public opinion, fundamental political institution in a democratic State. Nevertheless it cannot make this protective function effective because there is no control over the offenses that could be committed. And this control does not exist because it has not come near to a consensus regarding the nature that must govern such control, public or private. This facilitates the media exceed the codes themselves treating information as a commodity that can be manufactured and be manufactured, given the market pressures to be better, so the activity of information professionals is subordinated to those, with the consequences that it carries for the public opinion formation and the democratic State itself.

scholarly journals Access to information as a tool of the prevention of corruption in EU institutions

2007 ◽  
Vol 59 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 433-462
Author(s):  
Srdjan Korac
Keyword(s):  
Good Governance ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
Public Scrutiny ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Appeal Procedure ◽  
The Eu

The author analyses the impact of exercising the right to access to information and respecting of transparency for the prevention of corruption in the EU institutions. These two issues are the key principles of good governance and basic prerequisites for democratic participation, allowing citizens to effectively protect their fundamental rights and liberties through public scrutiny. The EU standards are assessed by comparison with the internationally recognized standards, and five indicators have been used: the scope of the right to access, the scope of exceptions, the administrative and appeal procedure, the protection of whistleblowers, administration performance openness and political will. The author wonders if the adopted regulations and rules of procedure are strict enough to prevent emergence of corruption and maladministration in the EU institutions.

PRAVO NA SLOBODAN PRISTUP INFORMACIJAMA OD JAVNOG ZNAČAJA

Glasnik prava ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
Ružica Kijevčanin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Daily Routine ◽  
Right To Know ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Free Society ◽  
The Right To Know ◽  
The World ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right

The right to free access to information of public importance is a condition for the enjoyment of other fundamental human rights and freedoms, and above all freedom of opinion, the right to information, the right to vote, etc. Man is a biological, psychological, legal, economic, but also informational being, so the exchange of information is a daily routine that allows him to learn, upgrade and spread various intellectual products, that is, to function in the world. Democracy and free society, as the ideals of today, imply a tireless struggle for the unhindered exercise of the right to free access to information, the importance of which is reflected in two basic reasons. One reason refers to the fact that a person was born with the right to know, and the other reason is in his political nature. By participating in the elections, an individual chooses his representative whom he trusts, so the least he can expect in return is to be informed about everything that interests him and is in his interest, and what the elected bodies have. The importance of the right to free access to information is immeasurable, so it is also called the "oxygen of democracy".

THE STATE OF OPEN ACCESS ADOPTION IN LEGAL SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION: AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED OPEN ACCESS RESOURCES

Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-100
Author(s):  
Solomon Bopape
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Open Access Publishing ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Legal Information ◽  
Scholarly Literature ◽  
Open Access Resources ◽  
The Right

The study of law focuses, among other aspects, on important issues relating to equality, fairness and justice in as far as free access to information and knowledgeis concerned. The launching of the Open Access to Law Movement in 1992, the promulgation of the Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarshipin 2009, and the formation of national and regional Legal Information Institutes (LIIs) should serve as an indication of how well the legal world is committed to freely publishing and distributing legal information and knowledge through the Internet to legal practitioners, legal scholars and the public at large aroundthe world. In order to establish the amount of legal scholarly content which is accessible through open access publishing innovations and initiatives, this studyanalysed the contents of websites for selected open access resources on the Internet internationally and in South Africa. The results of the study showed that there has been a steady developing trend towards the adoption of open access for legal scholarly literature internationally, while in South Africa legal scholarly literature is under the control of commercial publishers. This should be an issue for the legal scholarship which, among its focus, is to impart knowledge about the right of access to information and knowledge.

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.

Freedom of Expression versus Privacy and the Right to Reputation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Voorhoof
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Media Freedom ◽  
Investigative Journalism ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Right Of Privacy ◽  
The One ◽  
Grand Chamber ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The normative perspective of this chapter is how to guarantee respect for the fundamental values of freedom of expression and journalistic reporting on matters of public interest in cases where a (public) person claims protection of his or her right to reputation. First it explains why there is an increasing number and expanding potential of conflicts between the right to freedom of expression and media freedom (Article 10 ECHR), on the one hand, and the right of privacy and the right to protection of reputation (Article 8 ECHR), on the other. In addressing and analysing the European Court’s balancing approach in this domain, the characteristics and the impact of the seminal 2012 Grand Chamber judgment in Axel Springer AG v. Germany (no. 1) are identified and explained. On the basis of the analysis of the Court’s subsequent jurisprudence in defamation cases it evaluates whether this case law preserves the public watchdog-function of media, investigative journalism and NGOs reporting on matters of public interest, but tarnishing the reputation of public figures.

El derecho a ser informado como elemento esencial del derecho a la protección de datos. Una visión crítica de la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Constitucional y de su cambio de doctrina en la STC 39/2016

2016 ◽  
pp. 191-216
Author(s):  
Miguel Ángel CABELLOS ESPIÉRREZ
Keyword(s):  
Video Surveillance ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Control Technology ◽  
Specific Regulation ◽  
The Right

LABURPENA: Lan eremuan bideozaintzaren erabilerak ondorio garrantzitsuak dakartza funtsezko eskubideei dagokienez, esate baterako intimitateari eta datu pertsonalen babesari dagokienez. Hala eta guztiz ere, oraindik ez daukagu araudi zehatz eta espezifikorik kontrol-teknika hori lan eremuan erabiltzeari buruz. Horrek behartuta, errealitate horri araudi-esparru anitz eta generikoa aplikatzeko modua auzitegiek zehaztu behar dute, kontuan hartuta, gainera, Espainiako Konstituzioaren 18.4 artikulua alde horretatik lausoa dela. Konstituzio Auzitegiak, datuen babeserako funtsezko eskubidea aztertzean, datuen titularraren adostasuna eta titular horri eman beharreko informazioa eskubide horretan berebizikoak zirela ezarri zuen; hortik ondorioztatzen da titularraren adostasuna eta hari emandako informazioa mugatuz gero behar bezala justifikatu beharko dela. Hala ere, Konstituzio Auzitegiak, duela gutxiko jurisprudentzian, bere doktrina aldatu du. Aldaketa horrek, lan eremuan, argi eta garbi langileak informazioa jasotzeko duen eskubidea debaluatzea dakar, bere datuetatik zein lortzen ari diren jakiteari dagokionez. RESUMEN: La utilización de la videovigilancia en el ámbito laboral posee importantes implicaciones en relación con derechos fundamentales como los relativos a la intimidad y a la protección de datos personales. Pese a ello, carecemos aún de una normativa detallada y específica en relación con el uso de dicha técnica de control en el ámbito laboral, lo que obliga a que sean los tribunales los que vayan concretando la aplicación de un marco normativo plural y genérico a esa realidad, dada además la vaguedad del art. 18.4 CE. El TC, al analizar el derecho fundamental a la protección de datos, había establecido el carácter central en él del consentimiento del titular de los datos y de la información que debe dársele a éste, de donde se sigue que cualquier limitación del papel de ambos deberá estar debidamente justificada. Sin embargo, en su más reciente jurisprudencia el TC ha realizado un cambio de doctrina que supone, en el ámbito laboral, una clara devaluación del derecho a la información por parte del trabajador en relación con qué datos suyos se están obteniendo. ABSTRACT : T he use of video surveillance systems within the work sphere has major implications for fundamental rights such as privacy and data protection. Nonetheless, we still lack of a detailed and specific regulation regarding the use of that control technology within the work sphere, which obliges courts to define the application of a plural and generic normative framework to that issue, given the vagueness of art. 18.4 of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court, when analyzing the fundamental right to data protection, had settled the centralityof the consent of the data rightholder and of the information to be provided to the latter, and from this it followed that any restriction on the role of both rights should be duly justified. However, in its most recent case law the Constitutional Court has changed its doctrine which means, within the work sphere, a clear devaluation of the right of information by the employee regarding the obtained data of him/her.

Amendment of the Contravention Code or Defiance of the Constitution by the Exceptional Situations Commission?

2021 ◽  
pp. 56-65
Author(s):  
Iulian Rusanovschi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Constitutional Review ◽  
Republic Of Moldova ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Right ◽  
Epidemiological Situation

On 17.03.2020, the Parliament declared a state of emergency on the entire territory of the Republic of Moldova for the period March 17 - May 15, 2020. By the same Decision, the Parliament delegated the Commission for Exceptional Situations with the right to implement a series of measures to overcome the epidemiological situation in the country. However, in the conditions of a functioning Parliament and despite the clear and exhaustive texts of the Constitution, the Commission for Exceptional Situations amended during the state of emergency the Contravention Code, which is an organic law. The amendments specifically concerned the procedure and terms for examining infringement cases brought in connection with non-compliance with the measures adopted by the Commission for Exceptional Situations and the Extraordinary Commission for Public Health. In the conditions in which an organic law can be modified only by the Parliament, it is obvious the unconstitutionality, at least partial, of the Disposition no. 4 of 24.03.2020 of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, but unfortunately, the Constitutional Court is not mandated with the right to submit to constitutional review the normative acts adopted by the Commission for Exceptional Situations. Under these conditions, the state is obliged to identify solutions in order not to allow an authority to adopt unconstitutional normative acts that cannot be subject to constitutional review.

scholarly journals The Impact of Transparency in the Fight Against Corruption

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Ardita Shehaj Lafe ◽  
Ledjon Shahini
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Model ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Good Tool ◽  
High Interest ◽  
Contact Transparency ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Transparency and corruption are topics with high interest not only for researchers but especially for politicians, citizens and decision takers. Transparency is seen as an important instrument in the fight against corruption. Transparency and corruption phenomena are considered to be the most difficult to assess due to the subjectivity that characterizes them. For this reason, in this study we will show some results based on citizens perception. The method used to collect information regarding citizens perception is questionnaire and than the data are analyzed through a logistic model. Interesting results came out this research such as people who have been in contact with public institutions during the last months have 5,477 times more opportunities to give bribes compared to those who have not been in contact. Transparency is considered a good tool to fight corruption because based on the model result people who know the meaning of the right to information have 86.3% less chance to give bribes than people who do not know the meaning of the right of information. Whereas people who know the Albanian law on the right to information have 48% less chance of bribing than people who do not know this law. Based on these results it is necessary to raise citizen awareness on the use of the right to information as instrument to fight corruption.

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