The No-Nonsense guide to

The Right to Information

The citizens of at least 90 countries and terri-

tories now have laws enabling them to obtain
government records and other information.
Transparency is one indicator of an open and
democratic society, so freedom of information
is crucial. But access can still be problematic.
A freedom of information law in principle
does not guarantee access in practice. So,
what does it mean to have a ‘right to informa-
tion’? Why is it important? What has been its
impact?

F reedom of information, including the right to

access information held by public bodies, is now
recognized as crucial to democracy, good governance,
and full citizenship. It is also a fundamental human
right, protected under international law and, in many
countries, under constitutional law.
Freedom of information gained widespread
recognition during the last 25 years. In this period
national governments, intergovernmental organisa-
tions, and international financial institutions adopted
laws and policies which provide for a right of access to
information held by public bodies. UNESCO’s international symbol of information lit-
The primary source of this right is to be found eracy, designed by Edgar Luy Pérez (Cuba).
in the universally recognized right to freedom of ex-
pression, which includes the right to seek, receive and accountability, and to tackling corruption and abuses
impart information and ideas. In a general sense, it can of power. Today, denying people’s right to information
also be derived from recognition that neither democ- and obstructing the transparency of public bodies is
racy nor the protection of human rights can function held to be fundamentally undemocratic.
without freedom of information. The media’s role in society includes acting as
Equally, the right to freedom of information a watchdog of government and enhancing the free
can only be effective if it is guaranteed by law, and flow of information to the public. This function can
if the ways in which it is to be exercised are set out be undermined not only by government secrecy, which
clearly in legislation or in binding policy statements. denies the media access to information on matters of
Over time, authoritative statements, court decisions, public interest, but also by laws which unduly restrict
and national practices have elaborated certain mini- freedom of expression.
mum standards which legislation and policies must Legal frameworks differ from country to coun-
meet. try, but examples of repressive laws and authoritarian
The right to information is now recognised as practices include licensing of publishing and broad-
inherent to the dignity of all human beings. It is also casting outlets aimed at constraining dissent, criminal
essential to democracy, to informed participation in defamation laws used to silence critical voices, and
electoral and decision-making processes, to public prior censorship. Furthermore, government control
over publicly funded media, particularly national other vulnerable groups.
broadcasters, often prevents these media from report- The Rapporteur emphasized ‘the need for
ing in a fair and balanced manner and best serving the access to information to be guaranteed as a means
public interest. towards securing participation and accountability’. He
urged ‘Governments to deregulate the communications
Background to the right to and media environment to allow free and fair informa-
tion to flow more effectively to civil society.’
information In recent years there has been a shift away
from the historical and commonly understood term
A number of international bodies responsible for ‘freedom of information’ towards the more contem-
promoting and protecting human rights have recog- porary ‘right to information’. In part this followed
nised the fundamental and legal nature of the right to debates about the nature of communication rights in
freedom of information, as well as the need for effec- the information society, but it is also a consequence of
tive legislation to ensure that the right is respected in pressure from those lobbying for access to information
practice. held by public bodies.
In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly All proponents of the right to information,
adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights knowledge, and communication recognize the impor-
(UDHR), in which freedom of information falls under tance of information to maintaining democracy and to
the right to freedom of expression. Article 19 states: full participation in society. Since effective democra-
cies require accountability and good governance, the
‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and public must have:
expression; this right includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive ‘A right to scrutinise the actions of their leaders
and impart information and ideas through any and to engage in full and open debate about those
media and regardless of frontiers.’ actions. They must be able to assess the perfor-
mance of the government and this depends on ac-
In 1966, the UN General Assembly adopted cess to information about the state of the economy,
a legally binding treaty called the International Cov- social systems and other matters of public concern.
enant on Civil and Political Rights. Its Article 19 also One of the most effective ways of addressing poor
guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expres- governance, particularly over time, is through
sion in terms very similar to the UDHR: open, informed debate.’1

‘Everyone shall have the right to freedom of Sustainable development also requires people
opinion. Everyone shall have the right to freedom to be able to participate in the decisions that affect
of expression; this right shall include freedom to their lives. They need to be able to access informa-
seek, receive and impart information of all kinds, tion, but also to make their voices heard. Marginalized
regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or people especially are often excluded from these pro-
in print, in the form of art or through any media cesses by geography and/or lack of resources or skills.
of his choice.’ Other groups – including women, people with
disabilities, and people living with HIV and AIDS
In 1993, the UN Commission on Human – are silenced by social structures and cultural tradi-
Rights established the office of the Special Rapporteur tions. Access to information that citizens can use to
on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, part of whose shape political and social agendas and hold their gov-
mandate is to clarify the content of the right to free- ernments to account is, therefore, essential to genuine
dom of opinion and expression. development.
As early as 1995, the Rapporteur noted, ‘The Such participatory information and communi-
right to seek or have access to information is one of cation processes encourage change in political and so-
the most essential elements of freedom of speech and cial behaviour. They contribute significantly to better,
expression.’ Since 1997 the Rapporteur has comment- more transparent and accountable governance, to the
ed on the right to freedom of information in every creation of a dynamic civil society capable of monitor-
annual report. ing government and commerce, and to rapid and more
The April 2009 report to the UN Human equitable economic growth.
Rights Council highlights the social exclusion of In this respect, information is power and, as
people affected by chronic poverty and the marginal- the examples in the blue panels show, it can cut both
ization of people belonging to ethnic minorities and ways.
 Information is power
The Right to Information in India
Who controls information controls power. At the core
India’s Right to Information Act (2005) is one
of democracy is the ability of the people to participate,
of the best known. It gives India citizens access
i.e. to influence leaders and decision-makers through
to records of the Central Government and State
openly expressed public opinion. Studying available
Governments. Under the provisions of the Act, any
options, meaningful public policy discussions and in-
citizen may request information from a ‘public au-
formed political debate, voting in accordance with best
thority’, which is required to reply within 30 days.
interests and beliefs, can only fully take place if there
The following story shows how the Act works,
is open access to a diversity of information sources.
especially in tackling corruption.
Without access to information, citizens cannot
hold their government accountable. Access to informa-
Mahavir is a member of the Thati Baal Panchayat
tion such as annual reports, accounts, and policy or
and his village comes under the Bilangana Devel-
legislative reviews allows for monitoring of govern-
opment Area, District Tehri. The 25-member Baal
ment performance. As the government demonstrates
Panchayat works in the areas of health, education
its accountability, trust in the government grows, cre-
and cleanliness of the village and is assisted by the
ating a healthy relationship between the government
Mount Valley Development Association (MVDA). In
and its citizens.
January 2009, the Baal Panchayat received training
The right to access information is a power-
from the Mountain Children’s Forum and MVDA on
ful tool that allows the most disadvantaged groups of
the ‘Right to Information Act’.
society to become involved in initiatives that directly
affect them. Lack of information blocks that participa-
The group attended a two-day intensive work-
tion by limiting their rights and freedoms and places
shop which culminated in the filing of a number of
them in a position of vulnerability.
RTI applications. The applications have to be filed
Even so, it is generally accepted that it is
by an individual so Mahavir decided to ask the
impossible to have complete freedom of information.
Block Education Department to give him infor-
International and national laws defining the right to
mation about the attendance requirements of a
access public information generally list exceptions to
primary school teacher. The village has a primary
the right. Most commonly these are: to respect the
school and there are 46 children who attend this
rights or reputations of others; to protect national
school. In the last 3 years the teacher was present
security or public order; and to protect public health
for only 10 days a month.
or morals.
On receipt of the application, the Block Educa-
tion Officer along with an 11-member team visited Nine principles underlying freedom
the village. The teacher was absent on that day of information
and had to be called from his residence. During the
course of questioning it was learnt that not only According to the human rights organization Article
had the teacher not been attending school but 19, nine principles should underpin freedom of infor-
he had not been distributing scholarships to the mation legislation.2
children. Principle 1: Maximum Disclosure. Legislation
should be guided by the principle of maximum disclo-
The Block Education Officer issued an instruction sure, which involves a presumption that all informa-
that the teacher was to distribute the scholarship tion held by public bodies is subject to disclosure, and
money to the children in the month of March and that exceptions apply only in very limited circumstanc-
must attend school every day. es. Exercising the right to access information should
not require undue effort, and the onus should be on
Since then the teacher has been attending the public authority to justify any denials.
school every day, classes are being held regu- Principle 2: Obligation to Publish. Freedom of
larly and finally everyone is learning some- information requires public bodies to do more than
thing new every day. accede to requests for information. They must also ac-
tively publish and disseminate key categories of infor-
Source: January 2009 - http://www.mymoun- mation of significant public interest. These categories
tains.org/workshops/RTI_successStory_tehri.html include operational information, costs, information
on complaints, procedures for public input, and the
content of decisions affecting the public.
Principle 3: Promotion of Open Government. The Right to Information in Guatemala
Legislation needs to make provision for informing
the public about their access rights and promoting a NGO-led right-to-know movements sometimes
culture of openness within the government. As a mini- believe that media coverage will gravitate toward
mum, a law should make provisions for public educa- their cause through kindred laws of attraction. Yet
tion and dissemination of information regarding the little do they realize that the ‘media’ they seek is
right to access information, the scope of information not one lumbering mass, but a loose assortment of
available, and the manner in which the right can be business, journalistic, and technical professionals
exercised. Also, to overcome the culture of secrecy in who may have little or no interest in right-to-know
government, a law should require training for public laws. Hence, ‘the media’ require extensive and
employees, and encourage the adoption of internal targeted courting.
codes on access and openness.
Principle 4: Limited Scope of Exceptions. Re- For example, Guatemala’s right-to-know cam-
quests for information should be met unless the public paign languished for years with only marginal
body shows that the information falls within a narrow media coverage. Finally, the country’s national
category of exceptions, in line with a three-part test: chapter of Transparency International (Acción Ciu-
• The information must relate to a legitimate dadana) assumed leadership of the movement and
aim listed in the law; forged alliances with the owners of leading news
• Disclosure must threaten substantial harm to publications. El Periódico, for example, provided
that aim; and Acción Ciudadana with two free advertising spots
• The harm must be greater than the public in- for every one purchased, and Prensa Libre provided
terest in disclosure. on-demand coverage for congressional discussion
Restrictions that protect government from embarrass- of the law.
ment or exposure of wrongdoing can never be
justified. related sanctions for releasing information on wrong-
Principle 5: Process to Facilitate Access. All doing.
requests for information should be processed quickly
and fairly by individuals within the public bodies What helps and what hinders
responsible for handling requests and complying with
the law. In the case of denial, a procedure for appeal
The introduction of laws on the right to information
to an independent administrative body, and from there
has had considerable impact. The following comes
to the courts, should be established.
from a report published by the Open Society Justice
Principle 6: Costs. The cost of access to infor-
Initiative.3
mation should never be so high as to deter requests.
1. Freedom of Information Laws Make a
Public interest requests should be subject to lower or
Difference: Freedom of information laws have had a
no fees, while higher fees may be charged for commer-
significant, positive impact – the rate of responses to
cial requests.
information requests was nearly three times higher in
Principle 7: Open Meetings. Legislation should
states with such laws.
establish the presumption that all meetings of govern-
2. Requests Are Often Met With Silence: Even
ing bodies are open to the public so that the public is
in countries that have freedom of information laws,
aware of what the authorities are doing, and is able
the government frequently fails to respond to requests
to participate in decision-making processes. Meetings
for information. 56% of the requests made in coun-
may be closed, but only where this can be justified and
tries without freedom of information laws went un-
adequate reasons are provided. To facilitate atten-
answered and 38% of the requests made in countries
dance, adequate notice of meetings should be given.
with freedom of information laws went unanswered.
Principle 8: Disclosure Takes Precedence.
3. Transitional Countries Outperformed Estab-
Other legislation should be interpreted in a manner
lished Democracies: One of the study’s most striking
that renders it consistent with the disclosure require-
findings is that countries transitioning to democratic
ments of legislation. In particular, in case of a conflict
rule provided a higher percentage of information in
between the freedom of information law and a secrecy
response to requests than did two mature democracies.
law, the former should prevail.
Armenia, Bulgaria, Peru, Mexico, and Romania pro-
Principle 9: Protection for Whistleblow-
duced more frequent and higher-quality responses than
ers. Legislation should include provisions protecting
France or Spain. However, this does not mean that the
individuals from legal, administrative or employment-
governments of France and Spain are less transparent
overall. France makes significant amounts of informa- tory behaviour by government personnel toward the
tion available in published reports and on government persons who requested the information.
websites, so the failure to respond to requests did not Furthermore, the study found that, where the
always mean the information was unavailable to the same request was submitted twice and yielded non-
public. compliant responses, the noncompliance manifested
4. Civil Society Involvement Helps: Countries itself in different ways. In contrast, where government
where civil society movements were active in the pro- bodies surveyed were generally compliant with ac-
cesses of drafting, adopting, and implementing access cess to information laws and principles, the way they
to information laws had a better response rate. responded to requests for information tended to be
5. Discrimination Plays a Role: People from uniform.
excluded or vulnerable groups – namely, racial, ethnic, 8. Written Refusals Are Rare or Lack Legiti-
religious, or socio-economic groups routinely subject- mate Grounds: In instances where government bodies
ed to discrimination – tended to receive fewer respons- refused to provide the information requested, they
es than persons who presented themselves as journal- almost never put their refusals in writing. The study
ists, representatives of NGOs, or business persons. showed that, in countries with freedom of information
6. European Countries More Responsive: laws, government bodies made written refusals to pro-
Europe, where freedom of information laws have been vide requested information 5% of the time and that, in
more widespread and longstanding than elsewhere, countries without freedom of information laws, only
saw a greater percentage of responses than did Latin 2% of the time.
American and African countries. This is because access Of the written refusals that were received, ap-
to information has developed in different regions dur- proximately 40% cited reasons recognized as legiti-
ing different periods as civil movements responding, mate under international and regional law for refusing
for example, to human rights violations and corrup- the requests for information. But approximately 60%
tion gained momentum. of the written refusals cited reasons not recognized as
7. Inconsistent Reponses: The study found legitimate under international and regional law.
that, where pairs of identical requests submitted by
different people were presented to government bodies, Civil society and the media
the responses received were inconsistent 57% of the
time. This was the case even in countries where gov-
A World Bank Institute report stresses the importance
ernment bodies responded most frequently to requests.
of civil society’s involvement in drafting access to
In many cases, the inconsistency reflected discrimina-
information laws.4 Taking the example of Zimbabwe,
where an access to information and privacy law was
The Right to Information in Uganda introduced in 2002, it identifies exemptions and re-
strictions that rendered the law virtually meaningless.
In 2009 Uganda carried out drilling for oil in the The report argues that civil society organiza-
East Africa Rift, but contracts between the govern- tions (CSOs) need to ensure adequate provisions in or-
ment and oil companies remained secret. Tullow der to hold governments to account for promises made
Oil and Heritage Oil companies explored 15 wells in regarding legislation, to raise public awareness of the
the lake Albertine basin of Uganda with 100% suc- importance of access to information, and to promote
cess rate. However, the Ugandan government has the concept of access in ways that can be readily and
refused to disclose the production sharing agree- easily understood. CSOs can also research the infor-
ments they signed in 2001, saying there are confi- mation needs and perceptions of citizens, contribute
dentiality clauses barring parties from disclosing it. to the shape of legislation, campaign for its effective
implementation, and monitor its enforcement.
But, according to article 41 of the 1995 Consti- The report highlights the complex but vital
tution of Uganda, citizens have a right to infor- role of the media. In some cases media organizations
mation in the hands of the government unless are indifferent or opposed to access to information
an exception is shown. Ugandan activists have because they fear loss of media freedom or the under-
petitioned the Uganda High Court to compel the mining of privileged information networks. Where the
government to make public the contents of the media can be mobilized, however – as they were in
agreement in line with Ugandan legislation. The Mexico (in part) and the United Kingdom – the impact
later Access to Information Act 2005 obliges the of their campaigning can be very significant.
government to respect citizens’ right to The International Federation of Journalists
information. recently added its voice to the debate:
 ‘The experience of freedom of information cam- 2. Global Trends on the Right to Information: A Survey of South
paigns around the world is sweet and sour, with Asia. London: Article 19, Commonwealth Human Rights
Initiative, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Centre for
the taste of success being followed quickly by re- Policy Alternatives (2001).
sistance from political and official institutions that
are constructing bureaucratic obstacles to limit 3. Transparency & Silence A Survey of Access to Information
transparency. The campaign... has only been partly Laws and Practices in Fourteen Countries. New York: Open
won. Some countries have yet to take the first steps Society Institute (2006). http://www.soros.org/initiatives/
justice/focus/foi/articles_publications/publications/transpar-
and among those that have, new battles have to be
ency_20060928
fought to keep them on track.’5
4. Exploring the Role of Civil Society in the Formulation and
Civil society and the media can work together Adoption of Access to Information Laws: The Cases of Bul-
for greater accountability and to strengthen the right garia, India, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom,
to information in practice. by Andrew Puddephatt. Washington: The International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank (2009).

Further information 5. To Tell You the Truth: The Ethical Journalism Initiative, by
Aidan White. Brussels: IFJ (2008), p. 121.
The Freedom of Information Advocates Network
(http://foiadvocates.net/) is an international informa-
tion-sharing network of organizations and individuals This No-Nonsense Guide is a resource compiled
working to promote the right of access to information. by Philip Lee and published by the World Associa-
Members of FOIAnet are civil society organizations tion for Christian Communication (2009).
with active programmes to promote the right to know.
FOIAnet also runs a discussion list for news
and debate on the right of access to information; there The World Association for Christian Communication
are currently over 400 people on this list, including (WACC)
CSO representatives and lawyers, academics, informa- promotes communication for social change. It be-
lieves that communication is a basic human right that
tion commissioners and others with a specialised inter-
defines people’s common humanity, strengthens cul-
est in the right to information. The network launched tures, enables participation, and creates
and promotes International Right to Know Day which community.
takes place on 28 September of every year.
WACC’s key concerns are media diversity, equal and
http://www.freedominfo.org/ provides country by affordable access to communication and knowledge,
country breakdown of the state of freedom of infor- media and gender justice, and the relationship between
mation across the world. communication and power. It tackles these through
advocacy, education, training, and the creation and
http://www.right2info.org/ brings together information sharing of knowledge.
on the legal frameworks for the right to information
WACC is responsible for the Centre for Communica-
from more than 80 countries, organized and analyzed
tion Rights portal – a source of documents and materi-
by topic.
als about all aspects of communication rights.
Visit: www.centreforcommunicationrights.org
http://www.wobbing.eu/ brings together news and
country updates on the right of freedom of informa- WACC, 308 Main Street, Toronto, Ontario M4C 4X7,
tion in Europe. Country laws can be found in the Canada
country breakdown sections. n
WACC, 71 Lambeth Walk, London SE11 6DX,
Notes United Kingdom
1. The Right to Information in Latin America: A Comparative
Legal Survey, by Toby Mendel. Quito: UNESCO (2009), p. 4. www.waccglobal.org