Over seventy countries around the world have implemented some form of freedom of information legislation. These laws—also described as open records or (especially in the United States) sunshine laws—set rules on access to information or records held by government bodies.
Sweden's Freedom of the Press Act of 1766 is thought to be the oldest such law.
Many more countries are working towards introducing such laws, and many regions of countries with national legislation have local laws. For example, all states of the US have laws governing access to public documents of state and local taxing entities, in addition to that country's Freedom of Information Act which governs documents in the possession of the federal government.
In general, such laws define a legal process by which government information is available to the public; In many countries there are vague constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information, but usually these are unused where specific legislation to support them does not exist.
A related concept is open meetings legislation, which allows access to government meetings, not just to the records of them. In many countries, privacy or data protection laws may be part of the freedom of information legislation; the concepts are often closely tied together in political discourse.
A basic principle behind most freedom of information legislation is that the burden of proof falls on the body asked for information, not the person asking for it. The requester does not usually have to give an explanation for their request, but if the information is not disclosed a valid reason has to be given.

Some countries with existing legislation
In Albania, the constitution of 1998 guarantees the right of access to information; the legislation supporting this is the Ligj nr. 8503, date 30.6.1999, Per të drejten e informimit per dokument zyrtare (Law no. 8503, dated June 30 1999, On the right to information over the official documents). This requires public authorities to grant any request for an official document.

Albania
The Law on Freedom of Information was unanimously approved by the Parliament on 23 September 2003 and went into force in November 2003.

Armenia
In Australia, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 was passed at the federal level in 1982, applying to all "ministers, departments and public authorities" of the Commonwealth.
There is similar legislation in all states and territories:

Australian Capital Territory, the Freedom of Information Act 1989
New South Wales, the Freedom of Information Act 1989
Northern Territory, the Information Act 2003 Australia
Article 32 of the Constitution was amended in 1993 to include a right of access to documents held by the government.
The constitutional right is implemented on the federal level by the 1994 Law on the right of access to administrative documents held by federal public authorities.

Belgium
In Belize, the Freedom of Information Act was passed in 2000 and is currently in force, though a governmental commission noted that "not much use has been made of the Act".

Belize
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, both federal entities - the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina - passed freedom of information laws in 2001, the Freedom of Access to Information Act for the Republika Srpska and Freedom of Access to Information Act for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina respectively. As such, though there is no single national-level law, the whole of the country is covered.

Bosnia and Herzegovina
In Bulgaria, the Access to Public Information Act was passed in 2000, following a 1996 recommendation from the Constitutional Court to implement such a law.

Bulgaria
In Canada, the Access to Information Act allows citizens to demand records from federal bodies. This is enforced by the Information Commissioner of Canada. There is also a complementary Privacy Act, introduced in 1983. The purpose of the Privacy Act is to extend the present laws of Canada that protect the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by a federal government institution and that provide individuals with a right of access to that information. It is a Crown copyright. Complaints for possible violations of the Act may be reported to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
The various provinces and territories of Canada also have legislation governing access to government information; in many cases, this is also the provincial privacy legislation. For example, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies to the province of Ontario's provincial ministries and agencies, boards and most commissions, as well as community colleges and district health councils. In Quebec the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information governs access to government information.

Canada
In Chile, there is a constitutional provision for the freedom of information, but an Access to Public Information law (Ley de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información) is yet to be ratified by Parliament. The right provided by the Constitution is regulated in the articles 11 (bis and ter) of Law N° 19,653, which modified Law N° 18,575. In it, it is stated that administrative activities in the agencies of the public administration and documents of organizations that work with them are public. The public can request information with the following requirements: it has to be in a written matter and it does not have to be information already available to the public. Information has to be delivered in 48 hours. It is foreseen that the legislation to be introduced in the future will be largely modelled on the UK's Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Chile
In Colombia, the constitution gives a right of access to public information, and the Ley 57 de 1985 Por la cual se ordena la publicidad de los actos y documentos oficiales (Law 57 of 1985, for the ordering of the official publicity of the acts and documents) implements this, giving the right of access to documents que reposen en las oficinas públicas - which reside in the public offices. - Also there is a Law called "estatuto anticorrupción Ley 190 de 1995" or anticorruption act. The 51st Article oblies public offices to list in visible area all the contracts and purchases every month. It is slowly becoming to effect.

Colombia
In Croatia, the Zakon O Pravu Na Pristup Informacijama (Act on the Right of Access to Information) of 2003 extends to all public authorities.

Croatia
In the Czech Republic, the Zákon č. 106/1999 Sb., o svobodném přístupu k informacím (Act No. 106/1999 Coll. on Free Access to Information) covers the "state agencies, territorial self-administration authorities and public institutions managing public funds" as well as any body authorised by the law to reach legal decisions relating to the public sector, to the extend of such authorisation.

Czech Republic
In Denmark, the Access to Public Administration Files Act of 1985 applies to most public agencies, and an unusual clause extends coverage to most private or public energy suppliers.

Denmark
Hipólito Mejía approved Ley No.200-04 - Ley General de Libre Acceso a la Información Pública (Law number 200-04 - Law on Access to Information) on 28 July 2004, which allows public access to information from the government and private organizations that receive public money to conduct state business. Rough drafts and projects that are not part of an administrative procedure are not included.

Dominican Republic
In Ecuador, the Transparency and Access to Information Law of 2004 declares that the right of access to information is guaranteed by the state.

Ecuador
In Estonia, the Public Information Act of 2000 extends to all "holders of information", which is clarified as being all government and local government bodies, legal persons in public law and legal persons in private law if they are performing public duties (providing health, education etc).

Estonia

Main article: Freedom of information legislation in the European Union European Union
In Finland, the Laki yleisten asiakirjain julkisuudesta 9.2.1951/83 (Act on the Openness of General Documents of 1951) established the openness of all records and documents in the possession of officials of the state, municipalities, and registered religious communities. Exceptions to the basic principle could only be made by law, or by an executive order for specific enumerated reasons such as national security. The openness of unsigned draft documents was not mandated, but up to the consideration of the public official. This weakness of the law was removed when the law was revised in the 1990s. The revised law, the Laki viranomaisten toiminnan julkisuudesta 21.5.1999/621 (Act on the Openness of Government Activities of 1999), also extended the principle of openness to corporations that perform legally mandated public duties, such as pension funds and public utilities, and to computer documents.

Finland

Main article: Freedom of information in France France
In Georgia, the General Administrative Code contains a Law on Freedom of Information.

Georgia
In Germany, the federal government passed a freedom of information law in 2005. Six of the sixteen Bundesländer - Berlin, Brandenburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Bremen - have approved individual "Informations-Freiheits-Gesetze" (Freedom of Information laws).

Germany
In Greece, article 16 (Right to Access Administrative Documents — Δικαίωμα γνώσης διοικητικών εγγράφων) of Law 1599/1986 (State-citizenry Relationship — Σχέσεις Κράτους-πολίτη) introduced the right of all citizens to read most administrative documents. This right is now codified as article 5 (Access to documents — Πρόσβαση σε έγγραφα) of the Administrative Procedural Code (Κώδικας Διοικητικής Διαδικασίας), Law 2690/1999. Under this article, citizens have a right to know the content of administrative documents. Administrative documents are defined as those produced by public sector entities, such as reports, studies, minutes, statistical data, circulars, instructions, responses, consultatory responses, and decisions. In addition, citizens with a legitimate interest may also access private documents stored by public services. The right cannot be exercised if the document concerns the private or family lives of others, or if the document's confidentiality is safeguarded by specific legal provisions. Furthermore, the public body can refuse access if the document refers to discussions in the Cabinet, or if accessing the document can seriously hamper criminal or administrative violation investigations carried out by judicial, police, or military authorities.
Citizens may study the documents at the place where they are archived, or they may obtain a copy at their own cost. Access to one's own medical data is provided with the help of a doctor. Access to documents should take into account whether they be covered by copyright, patent, or trade secret regulations.
In addition, Law 3448/2006, on the reuse of public sector information, harmonizes the national laws with the requirements on the European Union Directive 2003/98/EC.

Greece
In March 1995 the Hong Kong Government introduced a Code on Access to Information to serve as a formal framework for the provision of information by government agencies. The Code has extended to the whole of the Government with effect from 23 December 1996. The Code applies to government departments.

Hong Kong
In Hungary, the Act on the Protection of Personal Data and Public Access to Data of Public Interest extends a right of access to all data of public interest, defined as any information processed by a body performing a governmental function. Complaints and contested applications may be appealed to the Data Protection Commissioner.

Hungary
In Iceland the Information Act (Upplysingalög) Act no. 50/1996 gives access to public information.

Iceland
The Indian Right to Information Act (RTI Act) was introduced to the Indian Parliament in July 2000. It came into effect on 12 Oct 2005. Under this law the information has become a fundamental right of the citizen

India
In Ireland the Freedom of Information Act While this information would not often be released, and sometimes only under the thirty year rule, the fact that government ministers now do not annotate and sign documents creates the concerns that while government is open it is not accountable as to who did or saw what or how decision making process works.

Ireland
In Israel, the Freedom of Information Law, 5758-1998, supported by the Freedom of Information regulations, 5759-1999, controls freedom of information. It defines the bodies subject to the legislation by a set of listed categories - essentially, most public bodies - and provides for the government to publish a list of all affected bodies. However, this list does not seem to have been made publicly available, if indeed it was ever compiled.
Many public bodies are not obliged to follow the law, which limits the potential for use by the public. Currently, the freedom of information regime in Israel is unusual in that it is the only country where public universities and colleges are not subject to the legislation on a national basis; the justice minister, however, has looked into extending the law to cover these institutions.

Israel
Chapter V of Law No. 241 of 7 August 1990 provides for access to administrative documents. However, the right to access is limited. The law states that those requesting information must have a 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. 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.

Italy
In Jamaica, the relevant legislation is the Access to Information Act, 2002.

Jamaica
In Japan, "Law Concerning Access to Information Held by Administrative Organs"(行政機関の保有する情報の公開に関する法律) was promulgated in 1999. The law was enforced in 2001.
In many local governments, it establishes the regulations about information disclosure(情報公開条例) from the latter half of 1980's.

Japan
The Constitution of Latvia states: "Article 104. Everyone has the right to address submissions to State or local government institutions and to receive a materially responsive reply."
The Law on Freedom of Information was signed into law by the State President in November 1998 and has been amended a number of times recently. Any person can ask for information in "any technically feasible form" without having to show a reason. The request can be oral or written. Bodies must respond in 15 days.

Macedonia
The Constitution was amended in 1977 to include a right of freedom of information. Article 6 says in part, "the right of information shall be guaranteed by the state." The Supreme Court made a number of decisions further enhancing that right.
The Federal Law of Transparency and Access to Public Government Information was unanimously approved by Parliament in April 2002 and signed by President Fox in June 2002. It went into effect in June 2003.

Mexico
A freedom of information law was passed in Montenegro late in 2005, after a process of several years.

Montenegro
Article 110 of the Constitution states: "In the exercise of their duties government bodies shall observe the principle of transparency in accordance with rules to be prescribed by Act of Parliament."
Freedom of information legislation was first adopted in 1978. The Government Information (Public Access) Act (WOB) replaced the original law in 1991. Under the Act, any person can demand information related to an administrative matter if it is contained in documents held by public authorities or companies carrying out work for a public authority. The request can either be written or oral. The authority has two weeks to respond.

Netherlands
In New Zealand, the relevant legislation is the Official Information Act 1982. This implemented a general policy of openness regarding official documents and replaced the Official Secrets Act.

New Zealand
The Freedom of Information Act

Norway
President Pervez Musharraf promulgated the Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 in October 2002. The law allows any citizen access to public records held by a public body of the federal government including ministries, departments, boards, councils, courts and tribunals. It does not apply to government owned corporations or provincial governments. The bodies must respond within 21 days.

Pakistan
In Paraguay, a law protects habeas data, meaning that any citizen can request a copy of publicly or privately held information relating to him, and request that any inaccurate data found be destroyed . This has been primarily used by former dissidents after the fall of the lengthy dictatorship (1954-1989) of Alfredo Stroessner. In 2005, efforts have been made to add transparency to purchases made by the Government, with a system that publishes bids on the Web, as well as the resulting purchases.

Paraguay
Article 61 of the Constitution provides for the right to information and mandates that Parliament enact a law setting out this right.
The Law on Access to Public Information was approved in September 2001 and went into effect in January 2002.(The Act allows anyone to demand access to public information, public data and public assets held by public bodies, private bodies that exercise public tasks, trade unions and political parties. The requests can be oral or written. The bodies must respond within 14 days.

Poland
Article 34 of the Constitution provides for a right of access to information.
The Law of the Republic of Moldova on Access to Information was approved by Parliament in May 2000 and went into force in August 2000. Under the law, citizens and residents of Moldova can demand information from state institutions, organizations financed by the public budget and individuals and legal entities that provide public services and hold official information.

Republic of Moldova
Since 2001 there is one law on Freedom of Information and one on transparent decision making processes in public administration (a sunshine law).

Romania
In Serbia, the Access to Public Information Act gives access to documents of public authorities.

Serbia
Slovenia passed the Access to Public Information Act in March 2003.

Slovenia
South Africa passed the Promotion of Access to Information Act on 2 February 2000. It is intended "To give effect to the constitutional right of access to any information held by the State and any information that is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights"; the right of access to privately held information is an interesting feature, as most freedom of information laws only cover governmental bodies.

South Africa
The Constitutional Court ruled in 1989 that there is a constitutional right to information "as an aspect of the right of freedom of expression and specific implementing legislation to define the contours of the right was not a prerequisite to its enforcement."
The Act on Disclosure of Information by Public Agencies was enacted in 1996 and went into effect in January 1998. It allows citizens to demand information held by public agencies.

South Korea
In Sweden, the Freedom of the Press Act of 1766 granted public access to government documents. It thus became an integral part of the Swedish Constitution, and the first ever piece of freedom of information legislation in the modern sense. In Swedish this is known as Offentlighetsprincipen (The Principle of Public Access), and has been valid since.
The Principle of Public Access means that the general public are to be guaranteed an unimpeded view of activities pursued by the government and local authorities; all documents handled by the authorities are public unless legislation explicitly and specifically states otherwise, and even then each request for potentially sensitive information must be handled individually, and a refusal is subject to appeal. Further, the constitution grants the Right to Inform, meaning that even some (most) types of secret information may be passed on to the press or other media without risk of criminal charges. Instead, investigation of the informer's identity is a criminal offense.

Sweden
In Thailand, the relevant legislation is the Official Information Act of 1997.

Thailand
In Trinidad and Tobago, the relevant legislation is the Freedom of Information Act, 1999.

Trinidad and Tobago
"Turkish Law on the Right to Information" (Bilgi Edinme Hakkı Kanunu) was signed on October 24th, 2003 and it came into effect 6 months later on April 24th, 2004.

Turkey
The 1996 Constitution does not include a specific general right of access to information but contains a general right of freedom of collect and disseminate information and rights of access to personal and environmental information.
The 1992 Law on Information is a general information policy framework law that includes a citizen's a right to access information. The law allows citizens and legal entities to request access to official documents. The request can be oral or written. The government body must respond in 10 calendar days and provide the information within a month unless provided by law.

Ukraine

Main article: Freedom of information in the United Kingdom United Kingdom

Main article: Freedom of information in the United States United States
In Zimbabwe, the Access to Information and Privacy Act (AIPPA) was signed by President Mugabe in February 2002.

Countries with pending legislation
France • India • United Kingdom (UK-wide; Scotland) • United States Other states

ARTICLE 19
International Freedom of Expression Exchange
Open government
Secrecy
Transparency (humanities) (Metaphor name, also related to politics)
Wikileaks