HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Chapter V of Law No. 241 of 7 August 1990 provides for access to administrative documents.(1) However, the right to access is limited. The law states that those requesting information must have an legal interest. The 1992 regulations require "a personal concrete interest to safeguard in legally relevant situations." The courts have ruled that this includes the right of environmental groups and local councilors to demand information on behalf of those they represent. It was amended in 2005.(2) The revision appears to adopt the court rulings and relax the interest somewhat to allow access when an individual can show they represent a more general public interest. Documents include "any graphic, photographic, cinematic, electromagnetic or other representation of the contents of acts, including internal acts, produced by public administrations or used for purposes of administrative activity." The law applies to "administrative bodies of the state, including special and autonomous bodies, public entities and the providers of public services, as well as guarantee and supervisory authorities." Requests can be written or oral. Public bodies must respond within 30 days but they can delay release if this would "prevent or severely impede the performance of administrative action." Information relating to state secrets, fiscal procedures, development of policy, and relating to rights of third parties is excluded. Information relating to national defense, international relations monetary policy, public order and prevention of crime, personal privacy and professional secrets can be withheld but must be given when it is necessary to defend their legal interest. The 1992 regulations require that non-disclosure must generally be justified in terms of "concrete damage" to the public interest, but they also state that access may be denied if there is specific, identified damage to national security and defense or international relations; if there is a danger of damaging monetary and foreign exchange policy; and if they relate to the enforcement of laws and the privacy and confidentiality of individuals, legal persons, groups, enterprises and associations. Appeals can be made to a regional administrative court. The decision of the court can be appealed to the Council of State. Government bodies are required to publish "all directives, programs, rules, instructions, circulars and all acts concerning the organizations, functions, or purposes of a public administrative body." Each body must keep a database of information requests, which is linked to a national database. A decree to implement the EU Directive on the re-use and commercial exploitation of public sector information (2003/98/EC) was adopted in January 2006.(3) The Commission on Access to Administrative Documents under the Office of the Prime Minister monitors the workings of the law.(4) The Commission reviews the regulations of the bodies, comments on related legislation, issues an annual report and can request all documents except those subject to state secrecy. It is also tasked with operating and analyzing the general databank of information requests. In its 2004 report, it noted that some bodies had not adopted required regulations and there was still difficulty with the culture of transparency in public administration. It issued 84 opinions in 2004.(5) Law 142/90 on local authorities gives rights to access administrative documents for public participation in local administration. Italy signed the Aarhus Convention in 1998 and ratified it in 2001. Under Law 349/86, any citizen has a right of access to information related to the environment held by the Ministry of the Environment. The courts have ruled that environmental information is broadly defined.(6) A 1997 decree implements the 1990 EU environmental information directive and does not require a specific interest.(7) It is currently under review to make it compatible with EU Legislation. In July 2005, the European Commission announced that it was taking legal action against Italy and six other countries for failing to implement the 2003 EU Directive on access to environmental information.(8) The European Court of Human Rights ruled in the 1998 case of Guerra v Italy that governments had an obligation to inform citizens of risks from a chemical factory under Article 8 (protecting privacy and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which Italy failed to do.(9) Law 24 of October 1977 sets rules on state and official secrets.(10) The Criminal Code prohibits the disclosure of state secrets and other information which is forbidden from being published.(11) The Central Security Office in the intelligence service (CESIS) enforces protection of state secrets. Under the Data Protection Code individuals can access records containing personal information about themselves held by public and private bodies.(12) It is enforced by the Garante.(13) 2004 freedominfo.org Global Survey Results - Italy   NOTES Law No. 241 of 7 August 1990. (not current) Legge 11 febbraio 2005, n. 15 "Modifiche ed integrazioni alla legge 7 agosto 1990, n. 241, concernenti norme generali sull'azione amministrativa" http://www.parlamento.it/leggi/05015l.htm Dectro LEGISLATIVO 24 gennaio 2006, n. 36, "Attuazione della direttiva 2003/98/ce relativa al riutilizzo di documenti nel settore pubblico". http://www.cnipa.gov.it/site/_files/riusodatipub.pdf Homepage: http://www.governo.it/Presidenza/ACCESSO/index.html Relazione per l'anno 2004 della Commissione per l'accesso ai documenti amministrativi sulla trasparenza dell'attività della pubblica amministrazione See Hallo, Access to Environmental Information in Europe: Italy (Kluwer Law 1996). Decreto legislativo del 24/02/1997 n. 39, Attuazione della direttiva 90/313/CEE, concernente la libertà di accesso alle informazioni in materia di ambiente, Supplemento ordinario alla Gazzetta Ufficiale Serie generale, n.54, del 06/03/1997, p 3. European Commission, Public access to environmental information: Commission takes legal action against seven Member States, 11 July 2005. Case of Guerra and Others v. Italy (116/1996/735/932), 19 February 1998. http://www.eel.nl/cases/ECHR/guerra.htm Legge 24 ottobre 1977, n. 801 Istituzione e ordinamento dei servizi per le informazioni e?la sicurezza e disciplina del segreto di Stato. Criminal Code §§261-263. Personal Data Protection Code, Legislative Decree no. 196 of 30 June 2003. http://www.garanteprivacy.it/garante/document?ID=311066 Homepage: http://www.garanteprivacy.it/