The Right to Information
The right to access information held by public authorities, subject to narrow and well-defined exceptions to protect certain key interests, is recognised internationally as a fundamental human right. This right, also known as the right to information or RTI, also has several ancillary benefits, including helping to combat corruption, enhance government transparency and accountability, and ensure that public debates are rooted in factual information
CLD has long been engaged in efforts to adopt and strengthen RTI laws, including through engaging with States seeking to adopt their first RTI law and making submissions to legislative and governmental reviews of existing RTI laws. CLD also has several larger projects aimed at assessing and improving respect for this right globally, as detailed below.
Assessing the Strength of Legal Frameworks
CLD’s RTI Rating (rti-rating.org) is the leading global tool for assessing the strength of national legal frameworks for accessing information held by public authorities (or the right to information, RTI). It is widely used by inter-governmental organisations, RTI advocates, reformers, legislators and others.
CLD has also applied the RTI Rating to Canada’s 14 federal, provincial and territorial access laws.
The RTI Rating provides a reliable assessment both of the overall strength of the legal framework and the strengths and weaknesses of the legal framework in seven different categories, namely: Right of Access, Scope, Requesting Procedures, Exceptions and Refusals, Appeals, Sanctions and Protections, and Promotional Measures.
The RTI Rating consists of a set of 61 indicators, each with a range of possible scores typically between 0-2 points, for a possible total of 150 points, a higher score being better. The Indicators are drawn from a wide range of international standards on the right to information, as well as a comparative study of numerous right to information laws from around the world. An Advisory Council of renowned experts on the right to information provided detailed advice to CLD and AIE on the development of the Indicators.
The RTI rating system was launched on Right to Know Day, 28 September 2011 and has been continuously updated since that time so as to include all national RTI laws.
Assessing the Implementation of the Right to Information
Another key priority of CLD’s work has involved evaluating how States implement the Right To Information in practice, a separate question from assessing how strong an RTI legal framework is on paper.
Since first developing the Right to Information Implementation Assessment: Comprehensive Methodology (the RTI Evaluation methodology) in coordination with local partners in Pakistan, CLD has launched a dedicated RTI Evaluation webpage that details the methodology for evaluating RTI implementation, provides resources for assessors and compiles results of completed evaluations of the implementation of RTI. In contrast to the RTI Rating, which focuses on assessing jurisdictions’ legal frameworks for RTI, CLD’s RTI Evaluation methodology instead assesses the adequacy of RTI implementation in practice. Both projects are complementary responses to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 16.10.2, a UN framework for measuring State adoption and implementation of access to information. To download a pamphlet on the methodology, click here.
The RTI Evaluation methodology aims to comprehensively assess the adequacy of implementation of RTI. Others have also sought to develop methodologies in this space. FOIAnet, the leading global network of civil society activists focusing on RTI, has developed a parallel civil society assessment tool for SDG 16.10.2. This relatively simple assessment tool is designed to be able to be applied more easily by civil society groups with limited resources. CLD has applied the Methodology in Canada on multiple occasions. However, it is less comprehensive than CLD’s RTI Evaluation methodology.
