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Nearly sixty countries around the world have implemented some form of freedom of information legislation, which sets rules on governmental secrecy. Over forty more countries are working towards introducing such laws.
Countries with existing legislation
Australia
In Australia, the Freedom of Information Act was passed at the federal level in 1982, followed later by equivalent legislation in the states and territories.
Canada
In Canada, the Access to Information Act allows citizens to demand records from federal bodies. This is enforced by the Information Commissioner of Canada. There is also a complimentary Privacy Act, introduced in 1983. The purpose of the Privacy Act is to extend the present laws of Canada that protect the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by a government institution and that provide individuals with a right of access to that information. It is a Crown copyright. Complaints for possible violations of the Act may be reported to the privacy commissioner of Canada.
Provinces and territories of Canada may also have legislation governing access to government information. The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies to the province of Ontario's provincial ministries and agencies, boards and most commissions, as well as community colleges and district health councils. In Quebec the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information governs access to government information.
Germany
In Germany there are four "Bundesländer" with an "Informations-Freiheits-Gesetz", see [1] (http://www.jurawiki.de/InformationsFreiheit)
Ireland
The Irish Freedom of Information Act came into effect in April, 1998. The Act has led to a sea-change in the relationship between the citizen, journalists, Government departments and public bodies. There are very few restrictions on the information that can be made public. A notable feature is the presumption that anything not restricted by the Act is accessible. In this regard it is a much more liberal Act than the proposed UK Act, which has not yet been implemented. Decisions of public bodies in relation to requests for information may be reviewed by the Information Commissioner.
Sweden
In Sweden, the fundamental law of 1766 concerning Freedom of Press granted public access to government documents. It is thus a fundamental part of the Swedish Constitution. In Swedish this is known as Offentlighetsprincipen (The Principle of Publicity), and has been valid since.
United Kingdom
Main article: Freedom of Information Act (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom there was traditionally no 'right to know' on behalf of the public. Regulation and control of the Executive was traditionally carried out by Committees of the House of Commons and House of Lords. However, as part of their 1997 election manifesto the Labour Party promised to bring in a freedom of information act.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 fully came into force on 1 January 2005 (following its step-by-step introduction for different authorities since 2000) and creates a general right of access, on request, to information held by public authorities (Schedule 1 to the Act sets out a long list of the authorities covered by the Act). However, there are numerous exemptions. Some of these are absolute; some are qualified, which means that the public authority has to decide whether the public interest in disclosing the relevant information outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemption. The Information Commissioner, and the Office of the Information Commissioner, will oversee the operation of the Act, when it comes into force.
Two features of the UK Freedom of Information Act deserve special mention, as they differ from the position in many other countries. One such feature is that requests by individuals for access to their own personal information will fall outside the Act, and will continue to be dealt with under the Data Protection Act 1998. The second feature is that there is no procedure whereby third parties can challenge a decision by a public authority to disclose information: for instance, if a commercial organisation provides information to a public authority, and the authority discloses that information in response to a FOI Act request, the commercial organisation has no right of appeal against that decision. By contrast, "reverse FOI" applications of this type are common in the US.
United States
Main article: Freedom of Information Act (United States)
In the United States the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments have been signed by President Bill Clinton on October 2, 1996 following the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966 and went into effect the following year.
The FOIA applies only to federal agencies. Some of the states have enacted similar statutes to require disclosures by agencies of the state and of local governments, such as the Freedom of Information Law in New York (sections 84-90 of the Public Officers Law (http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/foil2.htm)).
Countries with pending legislation
See also
External links
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