Seven Key Problems Remain in Draft
European Convention on Access to Official Documents

ARTICLE 19, Access Info and Open Society Justice Initiative are deeply concerned that the current version of the draft European Convention on Access to Official Documents fails to guarantee a full right of access to information.

The three organisations call on the Steering Committee for Human Rights, which will consider the draft text of the Convention on 26th March, to address these concerns and to reform the treaty accordingly to ensure that it provides genuine guarantees for the right of access to information.

Following the final drafting session of the Group of Specialists in Strasbourg on 12-15 February 2008, the three organisations have identified seven main problems to the draft Convention:
1. Failure to include a clear opening guarantee of the right of access to official documents and the principle of publicity.
2. Failure to include information held by legislative bodies under the scope of the right of access to official documents;
3. Failure to include information held by judicial bodies under the scope of the right of access to official documents;
4. Failure to extend the right of access to official documents to private bodies that exercise public functions or operate with public funds;
5. Absence of a requirement that states set statutory maximum time-limits within which requests must be processed;
6. Absence of a guarantee that when requests for information are denied, the requestor will have access to an appeals body which has the power to order public authorities to disclose official documents;
7. Failure to define which provisions of the Convention may or may not be subject to reservations.

Access Info Europe, ARTICLE 19 and the Open Society Justice Initiative are seriously concerned that the proposed draft of the future Convention still sets standards that fall below prevailing law and practice in Council of Europe member states, and is below the standards of other international instruments in this area.

For instance, the Aarhus Convention on Access to Environmental Information, guarantees a right to “information” (rather than the more limited concept of “documents”), establishes maximum time-frames for responding to information requests, and requires a binding appeals mechanism.

The European Union’s Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on regarding Public Access to European Parliament, Council and Commission Documents also apply to the legislative branch (European Parliament) – an essential requirement if the public is to participate in decision-making and know what laws and rules are being developed.

Comparative study of laws in the Council of Europe region confirms that most of the legal regimes of member states establish a broad definition of access to information and almost always apply to the legislative branch of government.

One recent survey found that out of 26 European countries, relevant legislation in 22 of those countries refers to access to information rather than documents. Of these 26 countries, 21 grant a right of access to information held by the legislative branch, and others have specific legislation on publicity of legislative acts.
 

NOTES TO EDITORS

For more information, please contact
• Helen Darbishire, Executive Director, Access Info Europe
+ 34 667 685 319 helen@access-info.org 
• Sejal Parmar, Senior Legal Officer, ARTICLE 19,
+ 44 20 7239 1192 sejal@article19.org
• Darian Pavli, Legal Officer, Open Society Justice Initiative
+ 1 646 247 4504 dpavli@justiceinitiative.org