INTERNATIONAL FOI LAWS

Freedom of information is a global phenomenon these days. We’ve assembled links to FOI laws, academic studies and news of note from all over the world here.

FOI advocates all over the globe are creating advocacy groups just like the ones who created NFOIC, so no matter where you live, get involved!

Check out the latest reports from The Carter Center's International Conference on the Right to Public Information.

We will continue to update this information and appreciate any ideas you have in regard to additional content.

Please contact us at foi@missouri.edu with any recommendations.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

-- Article 19, UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

GLOBAL SURVEY

We have some catching up to do in regard to adding to this list, so please bear with us as we work on updating this page.

However, the folks at freedominfo.org provide some of the most up-to-date and comprehensive information you can find regarding the state of access to information in countries across the globe, examining existing laws and prevailing practice, with links to relevant sites in each country.

AUSTRALIA - BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA -

BULGARIA - CANADA -

EUROPEAN UNION - FINLAND - FRANCE -

GERMANY - HONG KONG - INDIA -

IRELAND - ISRAEL - JAMAICA - JAPAN -

KAZAKHSTAN - KENYA - KYRGYZSTAN - LATVIA -

MEXICO - NEW ZEALAND - NIGERIA -

POLAND - ROMANIA - SCOTLAND -

SOUTH AFRICA - SWEDEN - TAJIKISTAN -

TURKMENISTAN - UGANDA - UNITED KINGDOM -

UZBEKISTAN - WALES

AUSTRALIA

• Freedom of Information Homepage (Contains "FOI Reveiw," An Australian Journal)
• Freedom of Information Act of 1989
• Australia's Freedom of Information Guide

Australia's provincial acts:

• Tasmania's Freedom of Information Act of 1991
• Queensland's Freedom of Information Officer

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BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

• Freedom of Access to Information Act for Bosnnia and Herzegovina
• The Nato Review -- A background story on media freedom in Bosnia
• The Center for Free Access to Information (CSpi) for Bosnia and Herzegovina

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BULGARIA

• Access to Public Information Act (text)
• Access to Information Programme (AIP) Foundation

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CANADA

• Access to Information Act
• Online database for searching Access to Information Act
• British Columbia access laws
• The B.C. Journalists Committee for Freedom of Information
• JournalismNet Canada has a broad range of resources about Canadian and U.S. Freedom of Information laws.
• The Canadian Access and Privacy Association
• Canadian Newspaper Association FOI Audit

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EUROPEAN UNION

• European Union Code of Conduct

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FINLAND

• Act on the Openness of Government Activities

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FRANCE

• Commission d'accès aux documents administratif

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GERMANY

• Information page about Germany's FOI Act

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HONG KONG

• Access to Government Information home pages of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

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INDIA

• Freedom of Information Bill (pdf file/3.3 MB) from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
• Right to Information in India
• Press Council of India

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IRELAND

• Ireland's Freedom of Information Act
• Office of the Information Commissioner

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ISRAEL

• Freedom of Information Law, 5758-1998

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JAMAICA

• Access to Information Act of 2002

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JAPAN

• Japanese FOI -- from Freedom of Information in Asia
• Japanese Government Information: New Rules for Access -- from The National Security Archive
• Main Points of the Law Concerning Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs

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KAZAKHSTAN

Summary of Kazakhstan's Constitutional Guarntees of Freedom of Information (extracted from the Constitution):

• Article 18

  3. Governmental organs, social associations, officials, and mass media are obligated to provide every citizen with the opportunity to become acquainted with documents, decisions, and sources of information affecting her or his rights and interests.

• Article 20

  1. Freedom of speech and creativity are guaranteed. Censorship is not allowed. 2. Every person has the right freely to receive and disseminate information in any manner not prohibited by law. A list of information constituting the state secrets of the Republic of Kazakstan is determined by law. 3. Not permitted is propaganda and agitation for violent change in the constitutional system, violation of the territorial integrity of the Republic, undermining state security, war, social, racial, ethnic, religious, class, or tribal superiority, or cults of cruelty and violence.

• Article 39

  1. Rights and freedoms of the person and citizen may be limited only by law and only to the degree necessary in order to defend the constitutional system and protect the social order, the rights and freedoms of the person, and the health and morality of the population. 2. Any actions capable of violating inter-ethnic harmony are recognized as anti-constitutional. 3. Limitation of the rights and freedoms of citizens for political reasons is not permitted in any form. The rights and freedoms anticipated in Articles 10, 11, 13-15, paragraph 1 of Article 16, Article 17, Article 19, Article 22, and paragraph 2 of Article 26 of the Constitution are not subject under any circumstances to limitation.

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KENYA

• MEMORANDUM on Kenya’s Freedom of Information Bill -- pdf file/528 KB

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KYRGYZSTAN

• MEMORANDUM on the draft Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Access to Information -- pdf file/398 KB from ARTICLE 19

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LATVIA

• Lativa's Freedom of Information Law -- Word document
• An overview of Latvia's Freedom of Information Law

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MEXICO

• Freedom of Information in Mexico -- from the National Security Archive
• FOI documents transalated -- from freedominfo.org

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NEW ZEALAND

• Official Information Acts (1982-1995) by Parliamentary Counsel
• Analysis by New Zealand Law Reform Commission -- pdf file/584 KB

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NIGERIA

• The Federal Republic of Nigeria's Freedom of Information Bill HB22. The bill was enacted in 1999.

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POLAND

• Law on Access to Public Information -- Word document.

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ROMANIA

• Law on the Free Access to the Information of Public Interest

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SCOTLAND

• About Scotland's Freedom of Information Act -- from Scottish Government's site

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SOUTH AFRICA

• Promotion of Access to Information law -- pdf file/899 KB
• Aanalysis of the law and its impact -- from the South African Freedom of Expression Institute

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SWEDEN

• Text of Sweden's Freedom of the Press Act. Sweden's first Freedom of the Press Act was introduced as early as 1766.

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TAJIKISTAN

• Tajikistan's Constitution
• The Law of The Republic of Tajikistan On the Press and Other Mass Media -- opening in a new window

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TURKMENISTAN

• Constitution of Turkmenistan
• Constitution of Turkmenistan (Extracts)

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UGANDA

• MEMORANDUM on the Ugandan Access to Information Bill, 2004 (Bill No. 7) -- from ARTICLE 19 (pdf file/208 KB)

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UNITED KINGDOM

• The Freedom of Information Act 2000
• UK Freedom of Information Blog
• The Campaign for Freedom of Information

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UZBEKISTAN

• Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan -- including FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES, BASIC HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS, FREEDOMS AND DUTIES, etc.

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WALES

• CODE OF PRACTICE ON PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION
• Freedom of Information Act 2000

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• National Freedom of Information Coalition
• Missouri School of Journalism
• 101 A Reynolds Journalism Institute
• University of Missouri
• Columbia, MO 65211
• Phone -- 573.882.5736
• Fax -- 573.884.6204
• daviscn@missouri.edu