Reserved parking places sometimes pop up on roads, all big letters and bright yellow paint, that arouse suspicions among drivers competing for a place to leave their car.

But the spots need not remain shrouded in mystery any more. From now on people will have the right to be told what lies behind them, under the Freedom of Information Act that comes into force today.

This is just an example of how a citizen can use the law to deal with everyday grievances, explained lawyer Michael Zammit Maempel.

Giving another example, he said citizens could ask the planning authority how many building permits have been issued for their street. When it comes to their local council, residents will be given access to more than the council minutes.

And if, for example, a request is made to the local council – such as the query about the reserved parking place – but it falls under the police, the council will now be obliged the forward the request to the relevant entity, he added.

Many government departments, previously invisible in terms of access to information, are now covered by the Freedom of Information Act.

Professor Kevin Aquilina, the Dean of the Faculty of Laws at the University of Malta, said this was an important law that would most be useful to the media.

“It will also empower the fourth estate to be more vigilant of the government’s actions especially when the government tries to hide embarrassing decisions from the public and the media.

“The culture of secrecy very much prevalent till today and even after the entry into force of the Freedom of Information Act will, slowly but surely, start to be dismantled,” he wrote in a recent article for The Times.

Journalists would be able to ask to see policies and inquiry reports that were sometimes kept secret, he said.

The office of Information and Data Protection Commissioner Joseph Ebejer will be the regulator of the law.

Dr Ebejer said this was an important law as it gave all citizens the right to access information that did not constitute personal data.

Dr Zammit Maempel said that, for example, a person on the waiting list for a hip replacement could obtain information about the hospital policy used to decide who was operated first. The person would not, however, be able to ask why a specific person was operated before him – that went against data protection.

The law was approved in Parliament four years ago. Although parts of the Act were introduced in 2009 and 2010, the bulk of the law was frozen until hundreds of government employees could be properly trained to handle public requests for information. Today 39 provisions out of 48, the vast majority, enter into force.

According to Prof. Aquilina, the bulk of information will be accessible. However, he has also criticised the law for setting up various hurdles that make it difficult for citizens and the media to arrive at the truth.

Dr Zammit Maempel said the restrictions were less alarming than they looked. The law exempts certain entities – such as the Office of the Attorney General and the Ombudsman. However, this was because they already had their own system of releasing information.

Any Maltese or EU citizen, who has been living in Malta for five years, can make a request by filling an application and pay a processing fee ranging from €5 and €20.

A reply has to be given within 20 days, although an extension can be applied, and a reason has to be given for refusal.

More information, including the application form, can be obtained from foi.gov.mt.