The Right to Information from the Procedural Standpoint (Judicial and Non-Judicial)

Abstract

The author takes a general descriptive approach to the system of jurisdictional review of decisions concerning access to official information in Latin America, with the aim of enabling a future comparative administrative law study on information access in the People’s Republic of China. The first two topics are related to an overview of the right to information access in Latin America and the corresponding laws, with imprecise rules that lead to behavior by the administrative authorities that is subject to review of dubious effectiveness, so that the authorities are verging on a state of immunity incompatible with the Rule of Law. The third part is about the developments in Latin America up to the present day, jurisdictional review (judicial and non-judicial) of administrative decisions not only in terms of their formal legality but, above all, their substantive legality, i.e., a review of the content of the administrative decisions, including the discretionary administrative powers and margin of administrative appreciation. The fourth topic, the due process clause, influenced by the USA, is discussed in the context of Latin American information access law, in comparison with the Continental European tradition of administrative law. The fifth and final point concerns the models of jurisdictional review of decisions on information access within the sphere of the OAS (Organization of American States) and Latin American countries. Among other conclusions, the author states that the search for an effective information access system that does not necessarily depend on opting for a model already established in Brazil, Latin America, the USA or Europe; what is of fundamental importance is to provide the interested parties with access to a fair trial guaranteeing their right to information access except in cases in which secrecy is necessary and justified according to the international human rights criteria.