Freedom of information : a trend in European law?

Abstract

The aim of the thesis is that of giving a comprehensive understanding of the concept of freedom of information, with particular emphasis on how European States and the European Union have handled the subject through legislation. The first Chapter focuses on why freedom of information is important for a democratic society. Notwithstanding the evident importance of this right in today's society, the European Court of Human Rights had difficulty giving full recognition of the freedom of information as a fundamental right, in particular by recognising the positive obligation on the part of the State to grant access to the official documents in its possession. The ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe will be one important step forward for the 25 European States, once the European Constitution will not only give constitutional status to the basic human rights present in the European Convention on Human Rights but it also includes other political, social and administrative rights including the right to have access to official documents. The relationship between the right to have access to official documents and the right to the protection of personal data is then discussed. Reference is made to the Regulations of the European Union regulating in detail the two rights in view of the fact that the two rights are fully recognised by the European Community, as against the international community. The last section of the first Chapter and the second Chapter set out the legislative development of the concept of freedom of information. The first Chapter gives an overview of the legislation in a number of states, according to the chronological introduction of freedom of information law in the particular State. Chapter Two focuses on three States: Sweden, being the first State to adopt freedom of information law having a constitutional status, the United States which adopted freedom of information at a relatively recent stage, and the United Kingdom, which has a history as a highly secretive society but is in the process of changing this culture to a more open one. Chapter Three is dedicated to the European Union. It shows the struggles in this new supranational organisation with important elements of intergovemmentalism, between the Member States having a relatively long freedom of information tradition and those Member States which try to keep decisions taken as secretative as possible. Similarly to many other areas, the European Court of Justice has been crucial in the development of freedom of information law in the European Union and the landmark cases will be reviewed in order to emphasise the important role played by the European Court of Justice in the proper implementation of the citizen's right to have access to official documents.