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Freedom of Information (FOI)

Freedom of Information - also known as the public's right to know or administrative transparency - gives citizens access to official information hold by government and other public authorities. In 1766 a Freedom of Information Law (Tryckfrihetsförordningen) was introduced in Sweden-Finland, thanks to a Finn named Anders Chydenius, who fought for democracy, equality, and respect for the human rights. 1888 followed Columbia, 1919 in constitution and 1951 law in Finland (independent 1917) and 1966 in USA.

Since then more than 65 countries adopted such laws. Many countries guarantee FOI in constitutions. The global trends are that FOI is recognized as human right. All countries in Europe have FOI laws or are preparing bills. Nearly all OECD countries and all developed countries recognize Freedom of information. Right2Info.org gives an overview. Transparency was the Word of the Year 2003 and 28. September 2003 the "Right to Know" Day.

14. April 2009: ECHR Application no. 37374/05 by TÁSZ against Hungary recognizes access to public documents as human right.
06. February 2008: Germany should Sign and Ratify the Council of Europe Convention on the Access to Official Documents.
27 November 2008: Council of Europe Convention on the Access to Official Documents (as adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 27 November 2008 at the 1042bis meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)
02. December 2008: Norwegian Foreign Ministry answers.
17. November 2008: Application to Norwegian Foreign Minister to access documents on Convention on Access to Official Documents
Summer 2008: When will the last 5 German states adopt FOI laws?
6. October 2008: European Parliamentarians Call on Council of Europe to Redraft Substandard Convention on Access to Official Documents
02. September 2008: ECHR: FOI is not part of convention: "(T)the court found that they did not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention"
11. August 2008: Letter to Chairman of CoE ministers about Convention on Access to Official Documents.
01. May 2008: Consumer Information Act in force in federation and most states.
10. December 2007: "Recognise My Right" Campaign to support the work of the Council of Europe
15. October 2007: Council of Europe Treaty on Access to Documents. Civil Society Calls for Urgent Action: Draft Convention Fails to Ensure Adequate Protection of Right to Information.
28. August 2007: Council of Europe Treaty on Access to Documents: Civil Society Calls for Urgent Action -- Draft Convention Fails to Ensure Adequate Protection of Right to Information
28. June 2007: ECHR application no. 31583/07 on publication of income and sideline job of MPs.
24. April 2007: China finally approaches freedom of information jurisdiction – Decree on release of government information passed. Snell/Xiao: FOI returns to China.
01. March 2007: Fundamental Rights Agency: Access to Information and other Violations of Human Rights in Germany (E-mail). Answer
2. January 2007: The Public has a Right to Know why the Consumer Information Law was declared unconstitutional.
20. December 2006: International Mechanisms for Promoting Freedom of Expression: JOINT DECLARATION by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE, the OAS and the ACHPR Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression
21. November 2006: What will the Commissioner for Human Rights report on visiting Germany?
16. October 2006: Justice Initiative Intervenes in ECHR Strasbourg Freedom of Information Case: Application no. 11721/04. GERAGUYN KHORHURD PATGAMAVORAKAN AKUMB v. ARMENIA.
08. August 2006: Realization of Freedom of Information failed in 8 German Local States.
01. Aug. 2006: Will the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) promote human rights in Germany? Answer.
05.June 2006: FOI in Germany: Six Months After Implementation: Last slide: Federal government does not favour binding convention
01. June 2006: Will the EU Network of independent experts on fundamental rights promote human rights in Germany? Funding stopped.
16. May 2006: How much uranium is in mineral water?
3. April 2006: Access Info Europe suggests to give a binding convention for access to information.
01. Jan. 2006: Will the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe promote Freedom of information? Petition transmitted to competent committee.
10. Dec. 2005: Petition EU Parliament: Suggestion to start consultations with German parliaments.
14. Nov. 2005: Human Rights for Citizens and Patients and Securing Freedom of Information in Constitution.
11. Nov. 2005: Complaint to ECHR. 8 March 2006: The Court will deal with the case as soon as possible.
19. Oct. 2005: Complaint to UN Petition team.
07. Sep. 2005: Petition to add access to public information to constitution.
18. Aug. 2005: Will Constitutional Court take International Law and Human Rights into account?
30. July 2005: When will FOI be realized in local states?
08. July 2005: Bundesrat approves FOI law. The Federal Data Protection Commissioner will become also Commissioner for Freedom of Information.
03. June 2005: Parliament Bundestag approved FOI law. Will Senate (Bundesrat) correct this?
01. June 2005: Hillbilly CSU Zeitlmann says FOI law is harmful and unnecessary.
30. June 2005: Defending violations of privacy more important for press then Freedom of information?
11. May 2005: Parliamentary Reading of FOIA cancelled.
14. Mar. 2005: Hearing: German Parliament about a FOI draft law.
15. Dec. 2004: Germany's ruling coalition gets serious about freedom of information.
13. Dec. 2004: Complaint to OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). Answer.
28. Sep. 2004: Who supports Access to Information for Germany?
06. Nov. 2004: In my opinion Germany must be sentenced: Info to EU Commission.
19. Oct. 2004: It is possible to force access to documents by court case? Question of access is not even admissable.
28. Sep. 2004: What can one expect from international organisations e.g. UN, EU, CoE, OSCE?
02. Mar. 2004:German NGOs publish their own FOI draft law.
27. Feb. 2004: EU directive on FOI for Germany? Liberation from Nazi law on Legal Advice? False report to UN?
06. Feb. 2004: Will the administrative court promote Freedom of Information? Cost of case € 770.- for 15 copies
21. Dec. 2003: Petition on Human Rights Violations in Germany: Invitation of the Human Rights Commissioner. Survey.
13. Dec. 2003: 68th Anniversary of Nazi Law on Legal Advice.
18. Nov. 2003: Info to Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. Answer.
22. Oct. 2003: Germany violates Human rights, but makes false reports.
23. June 2003: Swedish solution for Freedom of Information in Germany?
24. Feb. 2003: Will chancellor Schröder promote Freedom of Information?
17. Jan. 2003: Why failed Freedom of Information in Germany?
23. June 2002: Result: I was enthusiastic one year ago, because Germany had the chance to catch up with the international development. Who is responsible for that this chance was wasted?
29. May 02: Would a web site www.article19.de help?
22. May 02: EU COM (2002) 247: Communication from the Commission - A project for the European Union: 1.2 The Union must build up an EU-wide area of freedom, security and justice. Europe-Now.org
08.05.02: Will chancellor candidate Stoiber promote Freedom of Information?
06.05.02: Constitutional Complaint: Freedom of Information for Germany. No right to a fair answer.
01.05.02: Mexico Adopts Freedom of Information Law.
27.04.02: Letter to EU Convention. Answer.
26.04.02: New Corruption Measure Not Expected to Cause Much Pain. By Eva Busse. FAZ
24.04.02: Land Baden-Württemberg votes against freedom of information.
18.04.02: Letter to the President of the EU Commission. Answer of the Commission. Courrier du Citoyen. EU did not stress me
18.04.02: Complaint to Centre for Human Rights of the United Nations (copy to Bundestag (German parliament) and Landtag)
16.02.02: Letter to EU Council: Councils answer to Communication (93) 191. My confirmation of recept.
06.01.02: Letter to Council of Europe
02.01.02: To attract additional interest to freedom of information (described in my German page) this page was created to try to gain support of the European institutions and the European public.
27.12.01: Petition to the European Parliament. Addition 7. July 2002. Admission and conclusion: Improving the protection of the rights and interests of citizens of the Member States of the Union is listed in Article 2 as an objective of the Union. (see page 7/173 doc. A5-0318/2000).
20.12.01: Petition to German Parliament
23.06.01: The German ministry of internal affairs invited citizens to participate in an Internet Discussions. I welcome the plans of a freedom of information law for Germany, a chance to catch up with the international development.

Country Index

Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Council of Europe, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Eritrea, Estonia, European Union, Finland, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (FYROM), Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Nigeria, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, The Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Trinidad und Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan.

Global Trends

The global trends on the right to information are investigated by ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression. Considering both laws and constitutions FOI is widely recognized as human right. Right2Info.org gives an overview. FOI is based on

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights given by UN.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights includes FOI in Article 19.
Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights includes the right to seek information. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights Confirms Right of Access to Government Information 19. September 2006 in case Marcel Claude REYES et al. v. Chile Case No. 12.108:.
Article 9 of the African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights includes freedom of information. The Organization of African Unity is working on a Convention on Combating Corruption.
The Commonwealth promotes FOI since 1980. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative campaigns the Right to Information.
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights includes Freedom of opinon and Freedom of Information. In 1981 the Council of Europe gave "Recommendation No. R (81) 19" on the access to information held by public authorities. A new Recommendation Rec(2002)2 was adopted 2002. 10. July 2006 the ECHR decides in case Sdruženi Jihoceské Matky v. Czech Republic, Application no. 19101/03 that Access to information is admissible. 11. April 2006 the ECHR decides in case GERAGUYN KHORHURD PATGAMAVORAKAN AKUMB v. ARMENIA Application no. 11721/04 to communicate the freedom to reveive information to Armenia.
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights gives a right of access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

FOI in constitutions

right2know.org gives an overview on constitutional protection of the right to information: In Sweden - with longest tradition - FOI is found in the Constitution (Chapter 2, Article 1 (2)). The constitutions of many other countries i. e. Albania (Art. 23), Belarus (Art. 34), Belgium (Art. 32), Bulgaria (Art. 41), Croatia (only for journalists: Art. 38), Czech Republic (Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms: Art. 17), Estonia (Art. 44), Finland (Constitution, Section 12), Georgia (Art. 41), Hungary (Art. 61), Lithuania (Art. 25), Macedonia (Art. 16), Moldavia (Art. 34), Netherlands (Art. 110), Poland (Art. 61), Portugal (Art. 268), Rumania (Art. 31), Russian Federation (Art. 29), Slovenia (Art. 39), Slovakia (Art. 26), Spain (Art. 105 b), Argentina (Art. 43), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi (Art. 37), Mongolia (Art. 16, 17), Mozambique (Art. 74), Nepal (Art. 16), Panama (Art. 42,43,44), the Philippines (Art. III, Sec. 7), Peru (Art. 200(3)), the Republic of South Africa (sec. 16), Tanzania (Art. 18(2)), Tajikistan, Thailand (Sec. 58), and Turkmenistan (26) all guarantee the right to access information held by the State.

FOI in Europe with map

Organization	Name with Link	Translation
Parliamentary Assembly, 1979	Parliamentary Assembly, Recommendation 854 (1979) on access by the public to government records and freedom of information	German
Council of Europe, 1981	"Recommendation No. R (81) 19" on the access to information held by public authorities
Parliamentary Assembly, 1986	Recommendation 1037 (1986). On Data Protection and Freedom of Information
EU, 1997 (Amsterdam)	Treaty establishing the European Community (signed in Rome on 25 March 1957), consolidated version: Article 255 http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/de/treaties/dat/amsterdam.html	German
UNECE, 1998	United Nations Economic Commission for Europe: Environmental Matters: The Aarhus Convention: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/acig.htm
EU, 2000	Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, (2000/C 364/01): http://www.europarl.eu.int/charter/default_en.htm	German
Council of Europe, 2002	Recommendation Rec(2002)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on access to official documents: http://cm.coe.int/stat/E/Public/2002/adopted_texts/recommendations/2002r2.htm	German
European Court for Human Rights, 2006	Rechtssache Sdruženi Jihoceské Matky gegen Tschechische Republik, Antrag Nr. 19101/03 vom 10. Juli 2006: http://merlin.obs.coe.int/iris/2006/9/article1	German
Council of Europe, 2006	Binding Convention. CDDH: Project 2004/DG2/74 “Guaranteeing the right of the public to have access to official documents”: http://home.broadpark.no/~wkeim/files/project_2004dg274.htm	German
Council of Europe, 27. November 2008	Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 27 November 2008 at the 1042bis meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)	English

The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights gives a right of access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
FOI laws came first to Scandinavia (Sweden (1766), Finland, Norway, Denmark and Island), then to English speaking countries (USA (1966), Ireland und England (UK)) and at last to German speaking countries (Austria (1986), Switzerland und Germany).

FOI laws in other European countries are collected here. Germany still lacks Freedom of Information in 8 of 16 states as nearly the only major country in Europe.

Links to other sites on Freedom of Information

Informationsfreheitsgesetze in aller Welt

www.freedominfo.org the online network of freedom of information advocates with information about Germany.
Access Info Europe is a human rights organization dedicated to promoting the right of access to information in Europe and contributing to the development of this right globally.
http://right2info.org/
www.justiceinitiative.org collected FOI Laws around the World.
Freedom of information around the world collected from Privacy International is found here: http://www.privacyinternational.org/foi/ with map.
Society for Freedom of Information in Germany earlier Bertelsmann Stiftung.
Organisations and laws on Freedom of information: http://links.foilaw.net by Professor Alasdair Roberts.
Freedom of Information in the European Union and Elsewhere of Christoph Sobotta: http://user.uni-frankfurt.de/~sobotta/FOI.htm.
Access to Information Arab World: http://www.arabaccess.org/ offers an overview of resources.
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union: Policy paper on Freedom of Information
University of Missouri: The Freedom of Information Centre: International Freedom of Information Resources: http://foi.missouri.edu/internationalfoi/index.html
International Journalists' Network: Search Media Laws (Choose Category: Freedom of Information)
FOI in China: http://foichina.blogspot.com/

Support Freedom of Information for European Institutions: Call for an "Open Europe" (Statewatch)

Freedom of Information came 1766 to Sweden, 1919 to Finland, 1966 to den USA, 1970 to Norway and 1985 to Denmark In 1981 the Council of Europe gave "Recommendation No. R (81) 19" on the access to information held by public authorities. A new Recommendation Rec(2002)2 was adopted 2002. Both EU and nearly all countries in the EU and Europe adopted such laws. However citizen rights vary and there are no minimum standards. In order to keep up with the international development freedom of information should be strengthened in EU member states. Here is a petition to the European Parliament.

Support Freedom of Information, by the following call of Statewatch (click here):
I/We support the call to EU institutions for a democratic and accountable "Open Europe" on access to documents.

Support FOI by E-Mail to the Federal Government in Germany

Freedom of Information came 1919 to Finland, 1949 to Sweden, 1966 to den USA, 1970 to Norway and 1985 to Denmark. In 1981 the Council of Europe gave "Recommendation No. R (81) 19" on the access to information held by public authorities. Germany is the only country in the EU without such a law. In order to keep up with the international development freedom of information should also be adopted in Germany.

Support the German Freedom of Information Law, by the following E-Mail to the German Government (click here):
I support the call to the German Government for a democratic and accountable Freedom of Information Law on access to public documents.
(You may change the text according to your needs).

Support FOI by E-Mail to the Federal States (=Bundesländer) in Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany is the only country in the EU without FOI. But 8 of 16 federal local states (Bundesländer) Brandenburg, Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saarland, Hamburg, Thuringia and Rheinland-Pfalz have adopted FOI. Opposition parties in the states of Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt have suggested FOI laws. Unfortunately parliaments in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and Saxony have voted against FOI laws.

Support the Freedom of Information Laws in the states of: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt with the following E-Mail:
I support the call to the German Local State (Bundesland) Government for a democratic and accountable Freedom of Information Law on access to public documents.
(This E-Mails is send to the parties governing the state, with a copy to the opposition suggesting the FOI law. You may change the text according to your needs).

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Visitor No. since 2. January 2002

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