The Codification of the Right of Access to Information in Latin America

Abstract

本文中文版请见: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2555304 Die deutsche Version dieses Artikels findet man unter: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2441581. Русская версия этого текста находится по адресу: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2400069. A versão em português deste artigo está disponível em: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2475425. La versión en español de este artículo está disponible en: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2480732.

From a Latin American comparative perspective, this paper proposes that access to official information, as a fundamental right that can be claimed directly from the Constitution and international conventions, even in the absence of pre-existing (statutory) laws to that purpose, should be guaranteed by independent administrative authorities (quasi-judicial). In the absence of such authorities, the author stresses the importance of a legislative code whose main role would be to reduce the wide leeway (room for interpretation) enjoyed by the public authorities in their decision-making powers and the associated negative effects.

Introduction. (i) Implementation of the right of access to information held by the authorities. (ii) What would be the ideal institutional conditions for an effective procedure of access to information? (iii) To what extent could a legislative code promote the effectiveness of the right to information? (iv) Proposed objectives. 1 Access to information as a fundamental human right. 2 The institutional guarantees in the implementation of the right to access information in the Model Inter-American Law of Access to Public Information. 3 The contribution of codification to the realisation of access to information. 4 Vulnerabilities in the Latin American codes on access to information. Closing considerations.

Keywords: Access to Information, Human Rights, Legislative Codes, Independent Administrative Authorities, Model Inter-American Law of Access to Public Information

JEL Classification: K11, K13, K14, K23, N40