Freedom of information not as it should be

THERE ARE serious problems in the law regarding the freedom to access documents at the Public Records Office (PRO), the House Human Rights Committee heard yesterday.

Speaking after the session, the Justice Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Andys Tryphonides explained that closed documents and archives belong to the PRO, while files that are still open and active are kept at the various state departments and services.

“As legislation stands today, there is access to the documents held at the Public Records Office, but there is no access to archives that are still active; meaning those that are kept in the Departments, Ministries and other Public Services,” said Tryphonides.

He added: “In contrast, public officers are prohibited from publicising documents, which they obtain while executing their duties. Therefore, there is a problem here, which has to do with the freedom of access to public records”.

The Ministry, said Tryphonides, is solely in charge of the PRO, so the matter remains open over how active records should be handled and the issue regulated.

Asked how easy it was to access active records, he said it was a “complicated matter”

“It is not simple and it will be expensive, but also hard to explain the conditions and regulations that need to be made in order for the public to have satisfactory access to the state’s records,” he said.

Tryphonides added that the issue could soon be discussed by the Cabinet and if new regulations needed to be made, the relevant ministry would be given the job.

According to the law now, a period of 30 years needs to have passed in order for the public to have free access to it.

“However, the same law includes provisions, based on which if the period of 30 years hasn’t yet elapsed, a member of the public can request access to a record or document and be given approval, provided it doesn’t raise issues of public safety or other issues, which prevent access,” said Tryphonides.

According to Committee Chairman Sophocles Fyttis of DIKO, the PRO is facing serious problems in serving members of the public who request access to public records. These difficulties are mainly due to the dire conditions of the office building, as well as lack of staff.

These problems, said Fyttis, can be overcome if the government accepts the Committee’s request to immediately release the already-approved budgetary fund of around €1 million, which will help build the new PRO next to the Attorney-general’s offices in Nicosia.

The Committee, he added, is now awaiting replies from the relevant state services before deciding whether to table the issue again in the next couple of months.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

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