Since 2002, September 28 has been internationally celebrated as the Freedom of Information Day. The Public Defender of Georgia has been speaking about the challenges in terms of the implementation of this fundamental and important right for years in the annual parliamentary reports.

The right of access to public information is protected by the Constitution of Georgia and ensures both transparency of public institutions and accountability to the public. In addition, realization of the right of access to information represents a prerequisite for the protection of many other rights.

According to the Public Defender, the main obstacle to the proper realization of the right of access to public information is the outdated legislation and, inter alia, the absence of an institution that would ensure effective oversight of the realization of the right.[1] The current legislative space does not allow for the effective protection of the right in a short period of time, while the lengthy consideration of a case in a judicial body deprives public information of its basic value, which may be decisive for the person concerned.

In order to eliminate these shortcomings, the Public Defender of Georgia considers it important to implement relevant legislative changes in a timely manner, as well as to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (June 18, 2009), according to which (Article 8), an applicant, whose request for an official document has been denied, shall always have access to an expeditious and inexpensive review procedure.

[1] 2020 Report of the Public Defender of Georgia, pp. 250-252.