Advancing the right to access information held by public authorities or the right to information (RTI) is
a major focus area for the Centre for Law and Democracy, which has established itself as a leading
actor working to advance this right globally.
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 Implementation of the Right to Information
A key priority globally is the need to evaluate how States implement the right to information in practice.
Since first developing the Right to Information Implementation Assessment: Comprehensive Methodology (i.e. the RTI Evaluation Methodology) in coordination with local partners in Pakistan, CLD has launched a dedicated RTI Evaluation webpage that details this methodology for evaluating RTI implementation, provides resources for assessors and displays the results of evaluations completed in several countries. To download a pamphlet on the methodology, click here.
In contrast to the RTI Rating, which focuses on assessing the strength of jurisdictions’ legal frameworks for RTI on paper, CLD’s RTI Evaluation Methodology instead assesses how well RTI laws are being implemented in practice. Both projects are complementary responses to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 16.10.2, which measures the adoption and implementation of access to information laws.
CLD’s RTI Evaluation Methodology uses seven assessment tools to evaluate RTI implementation across four different assessment areas. The first area, Central Measures, looks at the performance of the oversight body, while the other three, namely Institutional Measures, Proactive Disclosure and Reactive Disclosure, focus on the performance of public authorities. For the purpose of the assessment exercises, a sample of at least 10 public authorities are selected for assessment.
