The right of access to public information is essential to ensuring transparency in public administration and also constitutes a particularly useful tool for understanding the criteria applied by public authorities in similar cases.
By submitting a request for access to public information, individuals can obtain documentation relating to business activity licences, planning and building permits, administrative files, public contracts, grants, agreements and other actions undertaken by public authorities, without having to justify the reasons for their request or having been involved in the proceedings or actions to which the requested information relates.
However, exercising this right is not always straightforward. On many occasions, public authorities refuse requests for public information or fail to issue a decision within the legally prescribed time limit.
In this context, it is important to bear in mind that neither the total or partial refusal of a request nor the failure of the public authority to respond results in the definitive loss of the right of access to information. In such circumstances, applicants may use the legal mechanisms provided for to defend their rights and, where appropriate, obtain access to the requested information.
In particular, where access to public information is expressly or implicitly refused, applicants may lodge an optional and free-of-charge complaint with the Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno. This procedure allows an independent body, prior to commencing judicial review proceedings before the administrative courts, to examine the public authority’s decision — or its failure to respond — and determine whether the applicant’s right to access the requested information should be recognised.
It should be noted that, where the request has been refused by means of an express decision, the general time limit for lodging the complaint is one month, starting on the day following notification of the decision. By contrast, in accordance with the interpretative criteria established by the Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno, no time limit applies to lodging a complaint where the request has been rejected by virtue of administrative silence.
As regards territorial jurisdiction, the Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno is competent to resolve complaints concerning requests addressed to the General State Administration and its public sector entities, as well as to certain regional and local authorities that have assigned the exercise of this function to the Council. In the Balearic Islands, the Council’s jurisdiction covers complaints relating to requests addressed to the Administration of the Autonomous Community, the island councils, municipal councils and public sector entities dependent on or affiliated with those administrations.
Nevertheless, the right of access to public information is not absolute and is subject to certain legal limitations, including the protection of personal data and the potential impact on various interests protected by law. Consequently, it is essential to assess each case individually in order to determine whether the refusal of access is legally justified and what legal remedies are available to challenge it.
At Araújo & Benetti, we offer our experience in the field of transparency and access to public information, providing specialist legal advice on submitting access requests and lodging complaints in cases where public authorities fail to respond or refuse access to the requested information.
