file requests by the public. F@ The e#periences of the various states studied in this report show ongoing problems occurred in the absence of awareness among public to the new access to information laws and of the right to request information from public bodies. Intensive legal education and freedom of information campaigns need to be underta%en to raise awareness amongst the population and stimulate filing of requests. F7 Improve 'overnment fficiency and Information anagementA n access to Information law is not only a weapon to e#pose corruption, but it can also avoid it by the highlighting poor administration regarding how public funds will be spent. new access to information regime can also help improve internal efficiency and information management in administrations unused to such levels of accountability, even from internal supervision organs.F; hen a new ccess to Information /aw has been adopted particularly during the subsequent C to 7; month implementation period, it is necessary to consider improvements to the current administrative infrastructure 8including IT systems, web6portals, filing systems, records and procedures: and internal information management systems. F< 2repare adequately for implementation of a new lawA The time between the adoption of an access law and when it enters into force should be utilized wisely. In particular this period 8which is normally C67; months: provides ample time to train public servants and hold awareness6raising campaigns for the public, business associations, civil society organizations, and "ournalists.
EXCLUSION INSTITUTIONS
69 Iid a 64 70 Iid a 68 71 %:=$rdan!r=ui%#r#%an=in=>iv#>%ru=%>ri 72 Iid a 68 73 %:ria=vin#>ma=aGin#riar#vi#$2009"v#m#r#n=d67>69d 19
The RTI ct administers that few sensible information can be restrained from the citizensJ if the public representatives in possession of the acquaintance feel that the same is li%ely to imperil either state or national interests or to infringe the undisclosed facts of trade. These e#clusions are primarily found in, in !ection and !ection E of the RTI ct. (owever, contrary to the famous conception, !ection F8E: is not an e#ception. F> !ection gives certain needed e#emptions, which are sub"ects of 2ublic Interest. (ere, the "urisdiction of public in absorb the information, should consider whether there is ma"or public interest in curbing the information or conferring out the information 8commonly called6 counteracting the affection of public or herein loo%ed as the individual=s Interest . stonishingly, the Right to information ;@@? flounders to give anywhere the connotation of =public authority=.F? 2ublic uthority is not seen e#plained in any of opportunity of information law. Interest of public, in middling precedence’s, may hold the fundamental idea while ma%ing the decision of whether the information is to come out of the closet or withheld. 2ublic emphasis, in the idea of the !upreme -ourt of India has been provided by form of guidance’s of !upreme -ourt for preserving a 2I/, 7EE and also in cases as of , ! 2 'upta v. 2resident of India, !tate of 'u"aratv irzapur oti Mureshi Masab PamatN others, or in Panta Dal v. 3(! -houdhary.FC
+urther detailing the e#clusions laid down in !ection of Right to information ;@@?, the reduction that all the competent e#emptions can further be buttoned down into threeA a. -lass #emptions !ection G7H 8b:, 8e:, 8f:, and 8i: embodies these e#emptions. In these cases, the public authority may not manifest any harm but simply might show that the information is discharged under the above6specified clauses.FF b. 2re"udice based #emptions
74 +KSS, $a inrum#na in dra$in= %# a#nin %# ui d#mand r a Ri=% Inrmain, ##ia in Ra?a%an
75 Riu Sarin, '%# R'I d#a# a%# n , 'im# India, 17 +a 2006, +umai diin 76 Iid a 75 20
The degree of pre"udice is not detailed, so any level of pre"udice might disagree. (owever, less symbolic the pre"udice is shown to be, the bigger the chance of the public interest lowering in favour of divulgation of the information in the question. hether pre"udice prevails is a matter of fact to be predetermined. !ection 87: 8a:, 8c:, 8d:, 8g:, 8h:, and 8": involves these e#onerations. c.Time /imited #emptions !ection G of the RTI =@? directs that the intelligence and security systems cannot come to the recognition of this act. It also ma%es an assurance to the effect that any information provided by such departments to the 'overnment too would be away from the scope of the relevancy of this act. These organizations are sought to be specified in !econd !chedule of the RTI =@?, which has a detailed list of 7 different agencies. (owever, the !ection gives a proviso to stop the basic aim of the act from being infringed by declaring that accusations of corruptions and violations of human rights can=t be left under this act. Thus, this section can be said to be
77 Sriniva +ad%av, '%# Ri=% Inrmain and Pui In#r# > * Prim#r, R'I +anua, +ar% 2007
78 Iid a 77 79 Iid a 77 80 Iid a 77 81 'im# India, F>R*@ Jia u#in r##van# Jia S#r# *, 28 S# 2007
21
the heart of the spirit of democracy as it caters for information to the public, but at the same time, puts a certain limit in place over the same.
IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSITIONAL DEMOCRACY THROUGH RTI
nticipate administrative reformsA 2arties involved in drafting the law need to ta%e into consideration the public administration’s capacity for the new legislation. )therwise, a law may be created that is e#cellent for citizens but leaves the administration incapable of providing proper services and with a considerably reduced capacity to deliver.; +or e#ample, standardizing the classification of internal documents and the proactive publication of certain classes of information such as budgets and annual reports can greatly help in preparing the administration for answering the most common information requests.<
!anctions for secretive institutionsA !anctions should penalize the institutions that have failed to respond to requests for information. long with the heads of these agencies to avoid the possibility of individual, lower ran% civil servants being penalized & the burden of responsibility should rest with those with the power to ma%e a change. >
Retrospective actionA ny new access to information legislation and policies should include a clause that entitles requestors to obtain access to copies of information contained in official documents that originated before the adoption of the access to information law. ?
82 Iid a 74 83 %:$$$aunivain-aL20mdiaL20?urna@I"'R L202010L20*R'ICS*ri#L206d 84 Iid a 56 22
!pecifying which private bodies are coveredA !ome freedom of information laws also oblige private entities to provide information, particularly where these private bodies receive public funds, perform a public function or hold information that is necessary for the defence of other rights, such as the right to education or health or participation in public life. To ensure clarity on which bodies are bound to respond to requests for information, they should either be named within the law or the law should specify the criteria to be applied when determining when a public body has an obligation to respond and which of the information it holds must be made public.
+air feesA ccess to information regimes usually establishes fees for obtaining copies of the information requested. )n ccess to )fficial Documents and many national laws establish that the fees charged may only be for the actual costs incurred by the public authority, such as the cost6 price of photocopying the document requested. TI laws should establish that information may be viewed free of chargeJ it is also the norm that where information is delivered electronically, such as by e6mail, it be free of charge. here charge fees for providing information they should adhere to these standards. C
2roactive transparencyA It is increasingly common to find that access to information laws contain provisions requiring public bodies and private bodies to the e#tent that the law covers them & to ma%e certain types of information available proactively, such as by posting the information on websites or having printed reports available in the reception of the institution. !uch proactive transparency can be a source of very important information for anti6corruption activists. +or e#ample, activities of the state with reference to public procurement can be made available automatically 8on the Internet and in the national gazette or similar publication:, which means that everyone has an equal opportunity to %now about upcoming tenders and about contracts that were awarded.F !uch measures are needed to overcome traditions of %eeping business6 related information secret, even where the so6called 9business secrecy5 relates to the
85 %:$$$udmd#m#aRi=%>'>Inrmain>*>419015%m 86 MRi=% Inrmain and -d -v#rnan# Ra?ir Sin=% 87 %:$$$iid#%ir=in%rn#$iid$nad"%rRiR'I>2008d 23
spending of the ta#payers money as part of public6private partnerships and service contracts.
Independent oversight is essentialA #perience has shown that where Information -ommissioners or )mbudspersons handle the implementation of access to information laws, they can ma%e a positive contribution to building a new culture of openness within a government. E !uch officials should have independence of mandate and budget and those appointed to the post should have relevant e#perience and be selected by a public process, with an opportunity for civil society organizations to ma%e submissions related to the qualifications of the candidates. E@
)versight is also essentialA $odies such as Information -ommissioners and official persons do, however, need to be monitored to determine their effectiveness in promoting implementation. E7
CONCLUSION
RTI is efficacious machinery that can convey symbolic social benefits. It can furnish substantial bedding to democracy and endorse good governance, by capacitating the citizen’s endowment to latch on effectively and grip government officials accountable. Rather than only catering information, RTI ct in most of the countries has conveyed to be an impressive watchdog certifying all those coming in purview of the ct to wor% in congruence with orders, rules and regulations, without any aberration. )n the other hand, rigorous implementation of this law craves only political will but also progressive civil societies, RTI activists and some Democratic visages, such as reverence for the rule of law. 2resently, the RTI ct in India is passing through a determined "uncture, much more needs to be done to grease the wheels of growth and development. -ommon protest against the absence of
88 MRi=% Inrmain and -d -v#rnan# Ra?ir Sin=% 89 Iid a 68 90 %:$$$iid#%ir=in%rn#$iid$nad"%rRiR'I>2008d 91 Iid a 68 24
implementation of this law solo is inadequateJ one needs to strengthen this leadership ta%en, for the law to sprout in full bloom. The above analysis shows that while the position of the RTI shows to be adequate in solitude, its communication with constitutional law doctrines emblazons principled strains. )ne might loc% horns that these doctrinal dilemmas are e#amples of old wine in a new bottle’ and that they have left no stone unturned since time age6old. (owever, given the rare nature of the RTI, the essential place it has come to immerse and its broadening coverage, it would only be down to earth to draw to close that the RTI management must find e#clusive e#planations to these age6old quandaries. )ne solution might be to give a wide number of prudence to the 2ublic Information )fficers selected under the ct. (owever, as our commentary has shown, that too c an be precarious.
BIBLOGRAPHY
RTI A -(//*'! T) I2/I*TTI)* & + //RD DR0/ RTI 22/I-TI)*! *D D-I!I)* MI*' & -(RI! RI/0 !1--!!+1/ 22R)-( T) RTI & RP3R* RTI -T I* I*DI +1T1R & !(R0!MR
REFERENCES
7: -ua "amia, NIm#m#nain Ri=% Inrmain a : * %a#n=# =v#rnm#nO ;: Rani, RK, NRi=% Inrmain a, 2005: ?#iv#, %a#n=# and u==#inO
25
<: Ri=% Inrmain: +a#r !# =d =v#rnan#O, Er r#r #nd adminiraiv# r#rm mmiin, .un#, 2006 >: 'ra!in= %# r=r# ri=% inrmain in 12 a#, arid=#d v#rin a#O, ndu#d PRI*, in *u=u, 2006 ?: S#!%ar, C%andra, NRi=% inrmain in r#n=%#nin= ariiar d#mraO, -a m#dia ?urna C: .%nn, @ Rnad, PH#nr, N'$ard d#mrai d##nraiGain: *ra%# rmin= =d =v#rnan#O F: Rdri=u#, C%armin# and Su=%, P#a, NIndiaM ri=% inrmain mv#m#n ma!# a r#a!%ru=%O, ri=% inrmain r=ramm#, mmn$#a% %uman ri=% iniiaiv# : N'%# R'I a, 2005 r#mm#nd#d r#r, CIC E: Siva!umar, C, N'%# Ri=% Inrmain a: 2005 P#r#iv#> rai#>iu#O, I.+AS v1, iu#2, .un# 2011 7@: N-uid# n Ri=% inrmain a, 2005, -v#rnm#n India, +inir #rnn#, ui =ri#van# #nin, D#arm#n #rnn# and rainin=,O "r% ! "#$ D#%i, 5 , 2009 77: NRi=% Inrmain #m$#rin= iiG#n, *nnua r#r (2011>12), CIC 7;: -ua, RK, NSm# ai a# r#dur# and niuin adminirain und#r R'I aO
26
<: Ri=% Inrmain: +a#r !# =d =v#rnan#O, Er r#r #nd adminiraiv# r#rm mmiin, .un#, 2006 >: 'ra!in= %# r=r# ri=% inrmain in 12 a#, arid=#d v#rin a#O, ndu#d PRI*, in *u=u, 2006 ?: S#!%ar, C%andra, NRi=% inrmain in r#n=%#nin= ariiar d#mraO, -a m#dia ?urna C: .%nn, @ Rnad, PH#nr, N'$ard d#mrai d##nraiGain: *ra%# rmin= =d =v#rnan#O F: Rdri=u#, C%armin# and Su=%, P#a, NIndiaM ri=% inrmain mv#m#n ma!# a r#a!%ru=%O, ri=% inrmain r=ramm#, mmn$#a% %uman ri=% iniiaiv# : N'%# R'I a, 2005 r#mm#nd#d r#r, CIC E: Siva!umar, C, N'%# Ri=% Inrmain a: 2005 P#r#iv#> rai#>iu#O, I.+AS v1, iu#2, .un# 2011 7@: N-uid# n Ri=% inrmain a, 2005, -v#rnm#n India, +inir #rnn#, ui =ri#van# #nin, D#arm#n #rnn# and rainin=,O "r% ! "#$ D#%i, 5 , 2009 77: NRi=% Inrmain #m$#rin= iiG#n, *nnua r#r (2011>12), CIC 7;: -ua, RK, NSm# ai a# r#dur# and niuin adminirain und#r R'I aO
26
