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Advancing the frontiers of the right to information Other Information: Goal: Access Info’s third strategic activity area aims to contribute to advancing the definition of the right at the European level and internationally in order that more information falls within the reach of the right to know and can be accessed by the public. Needs addressed: 1. Some areas of public activity which impact directly on the daily lives of people are still not fully accountable because the right of access to information does not apply to the relevant institutions or because the information they hold is classified or subject to broadly interpreted exceptions. 2. People still need access to information of relevance in their daily lives but which lies outside the reach of national access to information laws. This includes information about the totality of public activity and spending of public funds, including information about public services which have been outsourced to private bodies, information from parliaments and the courts. 3. There is a need for the right of access to information to apply to inter-governmental and supranational bodies if they are to become fully accountable and open to public participation in decision-making. 4. There is a need to ensure that all information held by public bodies, including information held in databases, is in principle accessible by the public. 5. The application of exceptions to the right of access to information is often over-broad, excluding access to information which should be in the public domain. 6. There is therefore a need for further investigation, collection of best practices, know how exchange between experts, and standard-setting to address these grey areas. 7. The public needs to have direct access to relevant and timely information from public bodies without the burden of filing information requests and the delays caused by waiting for answers. There is therefore a need to advocate for and achieve increased levels of proactive publication. Specific work strategies: research and policy development, leading and engaging in regional and international debate on the right of access to information. Results we aim to achieve: Improved definition of the nature, scope and functioning of the right of access to information. Expansion of the scope of the right to other bodies and sectors. Advancement of common standards and principles on access to information. In addition to the projects listed ... project in this activity area are sometimes short-term or micro-projects in which we react to a particular threat or opportunity, making statements, undertaking legal analysis, and other campaign actions in defence of the right to know. We will also respond to opportunities for standard-setting by engaging with other experts in development of a set of standards or issuing a statement in response to a particularly regressive or progressive move by a government. For all these issues, Access Info aims not only to propose standards ourselves but to engage with policy makers, political leaders, civil society, academics and the media and to stimulate debate. Our policy and position papers and our website will be designed to broaden discussion about the nature and scope of the right of access to information. Objective(s):
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