Are there any Limitations?
The right of access to information is not an absolute right because governments can withhold information for the protection of other rights and legitimate interests. These legitimate exceptions to the principle of publicity should be fully stated in the country’s access to information law. For example, to release all information about an ongoing police criminal enquiry might harm the possibility that the police will catch the suspect. After the enquiry is finished, however, the information can be released without it causing any harm. These are some instances of legitimate exceptions that comply with international standards:
- Protection of national security and defense of the state
- Protection of criminal investigations
- Protection of privacy and other legitimate private interests
- Protection of legitimate commercial secrets
To justify withholding information, public bodies must demonstrate that the harm caused to a predefined interest is greater that the public interest in releasing the information. This means that public bodies must apply a public interest test before refusing to release any document. Further to this, if there is a request for documents that prove a violation of human rights, public bodies cannot refuse access on any legitimate grounds.
If only some of the information contained in a document falls under the scope of the exceptions, then the rest of the information should be made available, perhaps by blacking out or electronically removing the sensitive information. This is known as “partial access”.
