The Freedom of Information Act remains a dead letter after more than two years, with the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry justifying the delay in implementation because of “a laborious and complex exercise” to train civil servants.

“All public sector institutions are going through an administrative process that will prepare them to be adequately equipped to implement the provisions of this law in the most effective manner,” a ministry spokesman said when contacted.

The law was enacted by Parliament in December 2008 and, according to Kevin Aquilina, who heads the University of Malta’s Media, Communications and Technology Law Department, it remains a dead letter unless crucial provisions come into force.

It is up to the Justice and Home Affairs Minister to publish the relevant legal notices that will allow the media and the public to seek and obtain information held by the public administration.

“In theory, we can say we have a Freedom of Information Act in Malta but in practice we really do not have it,” Prof. Aquilina wrote in The Times earlier this month.

The ministry has defended the delay, insisting the exercise to make the necessary administrative changes was “laborious and complex” and required intensive training of a large number of public officials.

The spokesman said the change also required a considerable investment in information systems that would eventually benefit the public’s experience.

Among others, a code of practice and guideline documents for public authorities has to be draft­ed, a dedicated website set up and Freedom of Information officers identified in all departments.

The spokesman said training sessions for Freedom of Information officers had been ongoing since March and were at an advanced stage.

“It is the government’s intention to bring into effect the Freedom of Information Act in full after it is satisfied this process has been completely finalised,” the ministry said.

The spokesman gave no deadline as to when the exercise would be ready to enable all provisions of the law to come into force. For Prof. Aquilina, the government should ensure they are brought into effect in “a timely” manner.

See also:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110506/opinion/Full-force-of-freedom-of-information.363861

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.