Commonwealth Freedom of Information Principles

01/05/1999

Meeting of Commonwealth Law Ministers Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 3-7 May 1999

The Right to Information
21. Ministers received a set of draft Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Know prepared by an Expert Group in March 1999. They recalled that at their meeting in Barbados in 1980 they emphasised the importance of access by citizens to official information in the promotion of public participation in a democratic governmental process. The benefits which such access can bring include the facilitation of public participation in public affairs, enhancing the accountability of government, providing a powerful aid in the fight against corruption as well as being a key livelihood and development issue. Towards this end Ministers decided to adopt Annex 1 to this communiqué (Commonwealth Freedom of Information Principles). Ministers recommend that the Commonwealth Secretariat promote these Principles and also encourage other Commonwealth groups to consider ways in which they could contribute to the promotion of these principles.

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Annex 1
Commonwealth Freedom of Information Principles
Agreed by the 11th Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting
Trinidad and Tobago, May 1999

1. Member countries should be encouraged to regard Freedom of Information as a legal and enforceable right;
2. There should be a presumption in favour of disclosure and governments should promote a culture of openness;
3. The right of access to information may be subject to limited exemptions, but these should be drawn narrowly;
4. Governments should maintain and preserve records;
5. In principle, decisions to refuse access to records and information should be subject to independent review.

Related:
Commonwealth Model FOI Bill
Commonwealth Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Know
Commonwealth Parliamentarians Call For Greater Access To Information