2004 freedominfo.org Global Survey Results - France
Text from the freedominfo.org Global Survey: Freedom of Information and Access to Government Records Around the World, by David Banisar (updated 12 May 2004)

Article 14 of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man called for access to information about the budget to be made freely available: "All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put." (1)

The 1978 Law on Access to Administrative Documents provides for a right to access by all persons to administrative documents held by public bodies. (2) These documents include "files, reports, studies, records, minutes, statistics, orders, instructions, ministerial circulars, memoranda or replies containing an interpretation of positive law or a description of administrative procedures, recommendations, forecasts and decisions originating from the State, territorial authorities, public institutions or from public or private-law organizations managing a public service." They can be in any form. Documents handed over are subject to copyright rules and cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes. Public bodies must respond in one month.

Proceedings of the parliamentary assemblies, recommendations issued by the Conseil d'État and administrative jurisdictions, documents of the State Audit Office, documents regarding the investigation of complaints referred to the Ombudsman of the Republic and documents prior to the drafting of the health-organization accreditation report are excluded from the definition of administrative documents. Documents that are "instrumental in an administrative decision until the latter has been taken" are not available until the decision is made.

There are also mandatory exemptions for documents that would harm the secrecy of the proceedings of the government and proper authorities coming under the executive power; national defense secrecy; the conduct of France's foreign policy; the State's security, public safety and security of individuals; the currency and public credit; the proper conduct of proceedings begun before jurisdictions or of operations preliminary to such proceedings, unless authorization is given by the authority concerned; actions by the proper services to detect tax and customs offences; or secrets protected by the law. Documents that would harm personal privacy, trade or manufacturing secrets, pass a value judgment on an individual, or show behavior of an individual can only be given to the person principally involved.

The Commission d'accèss aux documents administratifs (CADA) is charged with oversight. (3) It can mediate disputes and issue recommendations but its decisions are not binding. A complaint must be decided by the CADA before it can be appealed to an administrative court. It handled over 5,000 requests in 2002. On average, 50 percent of its recommendations are for the body to release the information that it is withholding (50.7 % in 2002). The bodies refuse to follow the advice in less than 10 percent of the cases. (4) The CADA also issued opinions in 379 cases under a 2002 law that allows for individuals to access their medical records without needing it to be sent to a doctor first. (5)

France signed the Aarhus Convention in June 1998 and ratified and implemented it in July 2002. It included a declaration that "The French Government will see to the dissemination of relevant information for the protection of the environment while, at the same time, ensuring protection of industrial and commercial secrets, with reference to established legal practice applicable in France." The European Commission brought an action against France in the European Court of Justice for failing to implement the 1990 EU Environmental Directive, determining that the 1978 act was not adequate in providing environmental information. The ECJ ruled in June 2003 that the French government had failed to adequately implement the directive. (6)

A 1998 law sets rules on classification of national security information. (7) The Commission consultative du secret de la défense nationale (CCSDN) gives advice on the declassification and release of national security information in court cases. The advice is published in the Official Journal. (8)

The 1978 Data Protection Act allows individuals to obtain and correct files that contain personal information about themselves from public and private bodies. (9) The law was amended in 2003 to implement the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive. It is enforced by the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL). (10)

The 1979 Law on Archives makes files held in the archives public after thirty years. (11) Files containing information relating to individuals' medical or personal life, international relations and national security can be kept closed for varying times up to 150 years. Following the enactment of the 2000 law, the CADA can give opinions on the release of withheld documents in the archives. It made 44 recommendations in 2001 and 36 recommendations in 2002. In 2002, it recommended release of documents in 29 cases but its opinion was only followed in nine of the cases.

A 2002 law allows for former adoptees and wards of the state to access their records and find out the names of their parents, relatives and their medical conditions. (12) It created a new commission, the Conseil national pour l'accès aux origines personnelles (CNAOP) to enforce the act. Prior to the formation of the CNAOP in August 2002, the CADA issued 132 opinions.

Notes

1. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/rightsof.htm

2. Loi no. 78-753 du 17 juillet 1978 de la liberté d'accès au documents administratifs; Loi no 79-587 du juillet 1979 relative à la motivation des actes administratifs et à l'amélioration des relations entre l'administration et le public. Amended by Loi n°2000-321 du 12 avril 2000 relative aux droits des citoyens dans leurs relations avec les administrations (J.O. du 13 avril 2000). http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/texteconsolide/PPEAV.htm English version: http://www.cada.fr/uk/center2.htm

3. Homepage: http://www.cada.fr/

4. Council of Europe, Responses to the Questionnaire on National Practices in Terms of Access to Official Documents - France, Sem-AC(2002)002 Bil, 18 November 2002, p.155.

5. Loi No. 2002-303 de 4 mars 2002 relative aux droits des maladies et a la qualité du system de la santé public

6. Commission of the European Communities v French Republic, Case C-233/00. Decision of 26 June 2003. Available at http://www.curia.eu.int/

7. Loi no 98-567 du 8 juillet 1998 instituant une Commission consultative du secret de la défense nationale, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=DEFX9700140L See Rapport 2001 de la Commission consultative du secret de la défense nationale, http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/brp/notices/014000754.shtml

8. For a copy of decisions, see http://www.reseauvoltaire.net/rubrique387.html

9. Loi du 6 janvier 1978 modifiée relative à l'informatique, aux fichiers et aux libertés après adoption en par le Sénat du projet de loi de transposition, http://www.bild.net/dataprFr.htm

10. Home Page: http://www.cnil.fr/

11. Loi n° 79-18 du 3 janvier 1979, Loi sur les archives. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/texteconsolide/PPEAY.htm

12. Loi no 2002-93 du 22 janvier 2002 relative à l'accès aux origines des personnes adoptées et pupilles de l'Etat. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=MESX0205318L. For information, see http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/ARBO/10050203-NXFAM749.html. Dossier législatif: http://www.senat.fr/dossierleg/pjl00-352.html