Milinda for press freedom; Urges UPFA to include Freedom of Information Bill in election manifesto

The newly formed Sri Lanka National Congress party headed by Minister Milinda Moragoda is now urging the ruling UPFA to include the draft legislation on freedom of information in its upcoming presidential and parliamentary election manifesto.

Expressing his views on the draft legislation on the freedom of information Milinda said his “party would advocate that the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) include this in the policy document (Election Manifesto) of the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary General Election.”

“It would be a vital ingredient to ensure the much talked about press freedom in Sri Lanka,” a statement from Milinda’s office said.

Justice and Law Reforms Minister Milinda Moragoda formed his new party last week claiming he wants to help the “country reach its full potential” on all fronts. However, the Sri Lanka National Congress remains a constituent party of the ruling UPFA.

The Sri Lanka National congress believes that access to Information is an “important right of the people, and an essential tool to guarantee good governance,” it said.

“It could also be used to create transparency, and as such would become a critical tool to fight corruption,” it noted.

The Minister also pointed out the importance of educating the rural folk on the significance of this right and the impact it could create on the society at large as an instrument towards bringing about transparency and fighting corruption, it said.

He emphasized that it could help them to reap immense benefits and improve their bargaining power when dealing with various government agencies.

According to the statement, the Minister drew parallels with other countries and said that similar legislation has already been introduced in major democracies such as India and that it has given lot of impetus to the people to obtain necessary information from government agencies hitherto to which they did not have access.

In addition he said that civil society organizations and other interested parties and various political parties should advocate and lobby to make this legislation a reality.

It is important to enact the new law at the earliest possibility, Milinda said however adding that it is equally important to introduce clauses in the said act to prevent “classified” information being leaked out to the general public since national security is a matter that should be handled with utmost care and could not be compromised at any cost.

He said that there is time bound information that could be released for public consumption from time to time.

Minister Moragoda and the Sri Lanka National Congress in particular are of the view that a National movement to lobby for the implementation of the draft legislation is the need of the hour.

He also said that the people have to be vigilant and avail themselves of the right to access official information to make this law more meaningful.

The statement also attached few salient features of the Freedom of Information Bill drafted largely on the lines of Right to Information Act in India, as mentioned below:

Freedom Of Information Bill

Salient Features

• Purpose of introducing the Bill is to foster a culture of transparency and accountability in public authorities.

• Every citizen (which includes a body corporate and unincorporate) to have a right of access to official information in the possession, custody or control of a public authority.

• Provisions of the Bill to prevail notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any written law, other than where a public authority established by a written law is prohibited by such law from disclosing any information, in the performance of its duties.

• Request for access to information shall be denied, where:-

(a) information requested for relates to a matter where a decision by the Government is pending;

(b) disclose of information could be an invasion of personal privacy of any person;

(c) disclosure could cause serious harm to the defence of the State, danger to life or safety of any person or be likely to prejudice Sri Lanka's relations with any State or International Organization;

(d) information relates to assessment or collection of revenue by the Inland Revenue Department;.

(e) disclosure could reveal trade secrets;

(f) information could lead to the disclosure of medical secrets or medical records relating to any person;

(g) information is subject to professional privilege;

(h) disclosure could prejudice the prevention or detection of any crime or the apprehension of or prosecution of offenders;

(i) information relates to an examination conducted by the Department of Examination or a Higher Educational Institution which is required to be kept confidential;

(j) information requested for is information required to be kept confidential due to the existence of a fiduciary relationship.

• Disclosure of information prohibited from being disclosed, is to be an offence.

• Duty of a public authority to maintain and preserve its records in a manner consistent with its operational requirements.

• Duty of the President and of every Minister to publish once in every two years, a report containing particulars relating to the organization, functions, powers and duties assigned to the Ministry concerned and its officers and employees.

• Duty of the President and every Minister to inform the public about the initiation of any project by such Ministry.

• Duty of every public authority to submit to the Commission an Annual Report containing information on requests for information received by such public authority.

• Establishment of the Freedom of Information Commission, its constitution and its powers and duties.

• Every public authority is required to appoint one or more of its officers as Information Officers of such authority.

• Information to be obtained only upon making a request for the same to the Information Officer of the public authority concerned.

• Manner in which official information requested for is to be provided.

• Rejection of a request made for information and its consequences.

• Where information requested for has been supplied by a third party, such third party to be given an opportunity of making his representations prior to the disclosure of such information.

• Protection from actions being filed against Information Officers.

• Right of appeal to the Commission and to the Supreme Court, against any rejection of a request made for access to information

• Certain actions of Information Officers to be an offence under the Bill.

• An employee of a public authority who in certain circumstances release or disclose official information, not to be subjected any punishment or disciplinary action for doing so (i.e. protection of "whistle- Blowers").

• Definition of the expressions "citizen", "official information", "project" and "public authority".

The provisions of the proposed Bill appear to be more or less similar to the provisions found in the Right to Information Act, No. 22 of 2005, of India. An additional clause found in the Indian Act which is not included in the above mentioned Bill is section 24 of the Indian Act, which exempts the application of the Act to certain intelligence and security organizations specified in the Second Schedule of the Act. However there are two provisos to that section which specifies certain circumstances in which information may not be excluded from disclosure, notwithstanding the prohibition imposed by that section. There is also provision made by section 26 of the Indian Act to make available by the appropriate Governments, resources (to the extent of availability) to prepare certain programmes with a view to educate the public on how to exercise the rights contemplated under the Act and to encourage public authorities to participate in the development of such programmes, among other things. There may be few other differences in regard to the details of the provisions found in the Indian Act and the proposed Bill referred to above, that would require a comparison to be made individually between the provisions found in the Indian Act and the proposed Bill, which could be done if adequate time could be given!.

- Asian Tribune -