The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has affirmed that there is a general right of access to information held by government. This is the first such ruling from an international tribunal, reports the human rights organization Access Info Europe.
The Inter-American Court's decision in the case of Claude Reyes and others vs. Chile, was released today and finds Chile in violation of the right of access to state-held information. The case dates from a request made in 1998 by three environmental activists about a controversial logging project.
The Human Rights Court's decision makes clear that to give full effect to this right, States must adopt legal and other provisions that ensure effective exercise of the right to information as well as define limited exemptions to be applied in ways that will cause minimum restriction of the right. The Court further required the Chilean state to train public officials on the right to information and the international standards for exemptions.
For a copy of the Spanish version of the decision and summary of key points in English, see http://www.access-info.org/
[Source: Access Info Europe]
