Right to Information Law

 History of RTI (RTI under different countries)

1. Sweden.

Sweden was the first country in the world which had a law on
freedom of Information as far back as 1766. When the Swedish
Parliament (Riskdog) enacted Freedom of Press Act 1766. This Act
required that official documents should be immediately made
available without any fee to anyone making a request. This Act
subsequently became a part of the Constitution provides that every
Swedish shall have free access to official documents and public
authority must respond promptly on request for open document.
Later on, Freedom of Information Act 1949, Individuals were allowed
to access to official documents held by public authorities. 

2. Australia .

The Federal Freedom of Information Act, 1952, provides access to
documents held by commonwealth agencies. This Act requires
agencies to respond within 30 days. Certain documents such as
those relating to national security, defence, relations with foreign
state, public safety, national economy are excluded from disclosure. 

3. Austria.

Article 20 of Constitution of Austria, 1987, requires government bodies
and public corporations to provide information to public on request. 

4. Canada.

The Access to Information Act 1953, provides Canadian citizens and
other permanent citizens in Canada, the right to apply for and obtain
copies of records held by government institutions and agencies. The
request for Information must be complied within 15 days.

4.FRANCE.

Article 14 of the Declaration of Rights of Man 1789 provided that access to information about the budget be freely available to citizens.

The Access to Administrative Documents Law provided that all French citizens shall have the right to access administrative documents held by the government and public bodies.

5.NEW ZEALAND.

The Official Information Act 1982 of New Zealand mandates that all official information should be made available to the people.

Any citizen or company of New Zealand can demand official information held by public bodies, state-owned enterprises, and bodies which carry out public functions.

6.CHINA.

People’s Republic of China has framed regulations called Open Government Information Regulation, 2007 which provides that citizens have a right to access government information available in the form of documents and records.

However, the exercise of this regulation is subject to certain exceptions.

7.Norway.

Article 105 of the Constitution of 1814 (as amended in 2001) provides that everyone has the right to access the documents of state and of principal administration.

A specific law called the Freedom of Information Act, 1970 was enacted in Norway.

8.South Africa.

Article 32 of South Africa’s Constitution, 1996 contains an express guarantee of access to information.

The South African Parliament passed the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000.

Unique feature of this Act: It allows individuals to demand access to records not only from government bodies but also from private parties where it is necessary to enforce people’s rights.

9.United Kingdom (UK).

After nearly 20 years of campaigning, the Freedom of Information Act was adopted in November 2000.

According to this Act, every citizen has been given a general right of access to information held by public authorities.

It is mandatory for state authorities to respond within a period of 20 working days.

Exemptions – Three Categories.

1. Absolute Exemption.

Most personal information,

Court records,

Information relating to security services,

Information obtained under confidence,

Or information protected under any other law cannot be disclosed.

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