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Media and Elections

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What laws, if any, guarantee freedom of access to public information for representatives of the media?

total countries/territories: 178
Disclaimer: This section of Comparative Data is not being updated. Users should be aware that data may be inaccurate. If you find inaccuracies, please contact the ACE facilitators.
Andorra Afghanistan Albania a Angola Argentina American Samoa Australia a Aruba Azerbaijan Art. 47 I. Everyone has the freedom of thought and speech. II. Nobody may be forced to identify or refuse his or her ideas and principles. Art. 50 I. Everyone has the right to legally seek, receive, pass, prepare and disseminate information. II. The freedom of mass media is guaranteed. State censorship of mass media, including print media, is forbidden. Bosnia and Herzegovina L Barbados Bangladesh Belgium Bulgaria a Bahrain a Burundi Benin a Bermuda Bolivia Brazil Bahamas Botswana Belarus a Belize Congo (Kinshasa), Democratic Republic of the Central African Republic Congo (Brazzaville) Switzerland Côte d'Ivoire Cook Islands Chile Cameroon Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Cape Verde Cyprus Czech Republic a Germany Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing and pictures and to inform himself without hindrance from generally accessible sources. Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship. Djibouti a Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic Algeria a Ecuador Estonia Egypt a Eritrea a Spain Ethiopia Fiji Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Micronesia, Federated States of France United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Grenada Georgia Everyone has the right to be familiarised with information about him/her, or other information, or an official document that exists in public institutions in accordance with the procedures established by law, unless this information or document contains commercial or professional secrets, or is acknowledged as a state secret by law or in accordance with the procedures established by law as necessary in a democratic society to ensure national security or public safety or to protect the interests of legal proceedings. French Guiana Ghana a Gambia a Guinea Guadeloupe Guatemala Guam Guinea-Bissau Guyana Hong Kong Honduras Croatia a Hungary a Indonesia Ireland a India Iraq Iran, Islamic Republic of Iceland Italy A 2005 Unified Code on Communications ("Testo unico della radiotelevisione"). The Communications Regulatory Authority (Agcom) monitors its implementation. Jamaica Jordan The constitution guarantees freedoms of speech and expression, but press laws contain vague clauses that restrict media activity in practice. Japan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Cambodia Kiribati Whereas every person in Kiribati is entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, that is to say, the right, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed or sex, but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest. Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, and for the purposes of this section the said freedom includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and information without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference and freedom from interference with his correspondence. Saint Kitts and Nevis Except with his or her own consent, a person shall not be hindered in the enjoyment of his or her freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and information without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference (whether the communication is to the public generally or to any person or class of persons) and freedom from interference with his or her correspondence. Korea, Republic of Cayman Islands Kazakhstan The Constitution of Kazakhstan guarantees the right of everyone to freely receive and disseminate information. Lebanon a Saint Lucia Liechtenstein a Sri Lanka Liberia a Lesotho The government generally respects freedoms of speech and the press. Although press freedom is not directly mentioned, the constitution guarantees freedom of expression and informational exchange. However, multiple laws, including the Sedition Proclamation (No. 44 of 1938) and the Internal Security (General) Act of 1984, prohibit criticism of the government, provide penalties for seditious libel, and endanger reporters’ ability to protect the confidentiality of their sources. The 1967 Official Secrets Act and the 2005 Public Service Act prohibit civil servants from disclosing information, limiting the transparency of government institutions and making it difficult for journalists to conduct investigations. The government has recently improved its disclosure practices, but access to information remains impeded, and the procedure for requesting it is unclear. After 13 years of discussions between the government and media professionals, a package of media reforms came close to passing in 2010, but the cabinet decided to refer the proposed policies back to the Ministry of Communications rather than send them to Parliament for approval. The reforms would depoliticize government-owned media outlets, eliminate “national security” statutes that allow government censorship, and move many slander and libel cases from the courts to an arbitration system. Despite three drafts by the ministry, the reforms had not been sent back to Parliament by the end of 2012. There were no reports that the government used the restrictive laws to control the media during the year. Lithuania a Luxembourg Latvia a Morocco a Moldova, Republic of a Montenegro Constitution, Art. 51: Everyone shall have the right to access information held by the state authorities and organizations exercising public authority. Madagascar a Marshall Islands Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of a Mali a Martinique Mauritania Malta Mauritius Maldives Malawi Malaysia P Mozambique Namibia New Caledonia Niger Nigeria Nicaragua Netherlands Norway Nepal Niue New Zealand Panama Peru French Polynesia Papua New Guinea Philippines a Pakistan Poland Act on Access to Public Information. 6 September, 2001. Puerto Rico Palestine a Portugal Palau Paraguay Réunion Romania a Russian Federation Federal Law "On Providing Access to Information on the Activities of Government Bodies and Bodies of Local Self-Government", No. 8-FZ, February 9, 2009 Rwanda Solomon Islands Seychelles a Sudan a Sweden Singapore Saint Helena Slovenia a Slovakia a Sierra Leone a San Marino Senegal Somalia a Sao Tome and Principe El Salvador Swaziland Chad Togo a Thailand Tajikistan Timor-Leste Tunisia a Turkey a Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Taiwan Tanzania, United Republic of a Ukraine a Uganda a Uruguay Uzbekistan Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Venezuela Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna Samoa Yemen a Mayotte South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe

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