حق المواطن في الوصول إلى المعلومة

Abstract

The right to access to information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone of all freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated The right to access public informationis the right of every person to know: to have access to the information he or she needs to make free choices and to live an autonomous life. The right to access information held by the State is regulated in several International Human Rights Treaties establishing the right of every person to freedom of opinion and expression,including the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. Its practical application underpins two distinctive principles of a democratic republican system of government: the publicity of acts and the transparency of public administration. In this context, information is a tool of democratic control over State institutions, intimately linked to the concept of participatory democracy and respect for fundamental rights. Freedom of expression and information corresponds the obligation of the state to refrain from actions which obstruct it. To the right of access to information corresponds the obligation of the state to provide for the access by law. Increasingly, the obligation of governments to take positive steps to ensure that people are able to exercise their fundamental rights is being asserted. Governments are obliged to provide not only information that must be given upon request, but also information that must be made publicly available without the need for request, including information that would enable the protection and exercise of political rights