Office of Access to Public Information Approves New Regulations for Transparency in Public Administration

On April 5, 2024, Resolutions 76/2024, 77/2024 and 80/2024 of the Access to Public Information Office (AAIP) were published in the Official Gazette, approving various regulations to guarantee the right of access to public information, citizen participation, and transparency.

1.    Resolution 76/2024. Guidelines Organizing the Transparency and Access to Public Information System 

This Resolution details the components and structural and planning guidelines of the transparency and access to information system at the federal level.

It provides that the jurisdictions of the central, decentralized, and deconcentrated administration with their own financial administrative service incorporate a unit in their structures with powers that allow them to articulate the policies of transparency and access to information with the AAIP.

The Resolution also provides that other obligated entities included in the functional and control scope of the Executive Branch must incorporate a person in charge of transparency policies and a person in charge of access to information, to carry out such functions. 

Furthermore, the technological platform “National Transparency Portal” was developed in compliance with the provisions of the Federal Law on Access to Public Information 27275, to provide services to citizens in a centralized manner.  

2.    Resolution 77/2024. Approval of new documents 

Resolution 77/2024 repeals Provision 1/2019 of the National Directorate of Access to Public Information, which had approved the Instructions for uploading information of Active Transparency so far in force. The Resolution approves these documents:

(i)    “Instructions for complying with Active and Proactive Transparency obligations”

Its use is mandatory for the obligated entities within the functional and control scope of the Executive Branch, except for concessionaires, permit holders and licensees of public services or of the use of the public domain and contractors, providers and service providers under any other contractual form or modality (Law 27275, section 7, subsection i) and of gambling, gaming and betting concessionaires, exploiters, administrators and operators, duly authorized by the competent authority (Law 27275, section 7, subsection q).

This document standardizes criteria and guidelines for publishing active and proactive transparency information to facilitate citizens' quick access to information, and expands the information that the obligated entities must publish in their official web pages.

It also promotes proactive transparency by incorporating guidelines for obligated entities to publish information they consider relevant and of public interest on a voluntary basis, beyond the obligations established in current regulations.

(ii)    “Transparency Policy Monitoring Mechanism”

This document updates the Transparency Index to monitor compliance with active transparency obligations, including proactive transparency obligations. Among other aims, it seeks to establish objective parameters to evaluate compliance with transparency, to make the evaluation criteria transparent, to provide information to citizens to monitor the performance of agencies in terms of transparency, and to build indicators to record the evolution of obligated entities in strengthening their transparency policies based on AAIP’s technical assistance interventions.

(iii)    “Instruments for the promotion of citizen participation”

Among these instruments, the Resolution mentions the Catalog of Participation Spaces and the Federal Directory of Civil Society Organizations with  impact on public policies on transparency. 

This document points out that these instruments contribute to strengthening the participation of citizens and their organizations in public policies, by making useful information available to citizens for them to collaborate and design public policies. 

3.    Resolution 80/2024. Approval of regulations and guiding criteria

Resolution 80/2024 repeals AAIP Resolutions 4/2018, 5/2018, 48/2018, 119/2019, and 268/2019, which until now governed and systematized the provisions applicable to access procedures in three documents: 

(i) “Regulations for the Management of Requests for Public Information” and “Regulations for the Management of Claims for Access to Public Information”

These documents establish the procedure applicable to the actions of the obligated entities to receive and manage requests for public information and the procedure applicable to claims for non-compliance initiated before the AAIP or before the obligated entities.

Among other issues, they provide for:
 
•    the means enabled for submitting requests, 
•    the possibility of uploading requests to the digital platform 24/7,
•    the way to count the 15-working day term to respond to requests,
•    the prevalence of providing answers, whenever possible, by digital means,
•    the possibility of scheduling partial deliveries proportional to the volume of information requested,
•    the rejection of manifestly abusive requests, indicating in which cases the request for access will be considered an abuse of right,
•    the criteria to carry out the public interest test when denying access to information,
•    the way to count the 40-working day term for filing the claim as provided for in section 15 of Law 27275,
•    the regulation of the claim’s admissibility analysis,
•    the possibility of holding a hearing to establish agreements for delivering information,
•    the creation and administration of a Registry of Access to Public Information to systematize and publish the information related to the claims filed within the framework of Law 27275. 

(i)    “Amended Text of the Guiding Criteria and Indicators of Best Practices in the application of Law 27275” 

This document is mandatory for the obligated entities within the functional and control scope of the Executive Branch.

The document establishes nine criteria regarding:
 
•    the determination of the public interest,
•    the public interest versus the validity of other rights or specific regulations,
•    the request for access to public information on one’s own personal data,
•    the distinction of the path of access to public information and the view, 
•    the principle of good faith,
•    the classification and declassification of information,
•    tax benefits,
•    guidelines for good corporate governance of public companies,
•    compliance with Law 27275, section 32, subsection (h) regarding the publication of the Board of Directors' minutes. 

Clearly, implementing measures that tend to organize, strengthen, and guarantee access to public information, citizen participation, and government transparency are essential to consolidate and strengthen democratic institutions.