Access to Public Information
Dotcom Trading 121 (PTY) Ltd v. King
South Africa
Lachezar Lisicov (Desant daily) v. President of Bulgaria
Closed Expands Expression
Key Details
- Mode of Expression
Public Documents, Public Speech - Date of Decision
November 11, 2010 - Outcome
Access to Information Granted - Case Number
5159/2010, ACSC, Second division, 37th panel
- Region & Country
Bulgaria, Europe and Central Asia
- Judicial Body
Administrative Court - Type of Law
Administrative Law - Themes
Access to Public Information - Tags
Head of State / Government, Minutes, Mute refusal
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Case Analysis
Case Summary and Outcome
The Administrative Court of Sofia in Bulgaria held that the Access to Public Information Act extends to private meetings between government officials, and ordered that minutes of a meeting between the Presidents of Bulgaria and Russia must be disclosed to a journalist who had sought the information relating to the meeting.
This case analysis was contributed by Right2Info.org.
Facts
In April 2010, Lachezar Lisicov, a Bulgarian newspaper journalist, requested the minutes of the January 18, 2008 private meeting held between the President of Bulgaria and President of Russia. The Bulgarian President’s administration did not disclose the information within the required time of 14 days established by the law. With the assistance of the Access to Information Program (AIP), Lisicov filed a complaint before the Administrative Court, alleging that the mute refusal was unlawful as the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) requires the public authority to issue an explicit decision on the request.
Decision Overview
The central issue before the Administrative Court was whether the government’s refusal to provide the requested information was permissible.
The Court ruled that the requested information is public information under article 2(1) of the APIA because it concerns the activities of the President in foreign policy, and as such the APIA is applicable. The Court noted that, based on the Regulation on the Implementation of State Protocol Act, private meetings are not excluded from the general obligation to make and keep records. Though the meeting was between only the two presidents and not attended by others, it was still an official meeting and the fact that the conversation was between the two heads of state was insufficient to consider it confidential. Further, the Court held that even if it were confidential, the President’s administration should have provided an explicit refusal to disclose the information.
The Court ordered the administration to disclose the requested information.
Decision Direction
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Decision Direction indicates whether the decision expands or contracts expression based on an analysis of the case.
Expands Expression
Global Perspective
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Global Perspective demonstrates how the court’s decision was influenced by standards from one or many regions.
Table of Authorities
National standards, law or jurisprudence
Case Significance
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Official Case Documents
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