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2009 Assessment

Azerbaijan: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Azerbaijan: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Public Access to Information
Indicators		Score
12	Do citizens have a legal right of access to information?	100
13	Is the right of access to information effective?	46

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Do citizens have a legal right of access to information?

12a: In law, citizens have a right of access to government information and basic government records.

Score:

YES

Comments: Article 50 of the Constitution ensures freedom of information. Article 29 of the Law on Access to Information stipulates that citizens have the right to access government information and basic government records. State bodies should provide this information unless it is restricted. Article 10 of the Law on Freedom of Information states the list of restricted information.

References: The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan; The Law on Freedom of Information; The Law on Access to Information [ LINK ]

12b: In law, citizens have a right of appeal if access to a basic government record is denied.

Score:

YES

References: The Law on Freedom of Information [ LINK ]

12c: In law, there is an established institutional mechanism through which citizens can request government records.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no centralized institution available through which citizens can request government records. However, Under Article 30 of the Law on Freedom of Information, public information should be disclosed on the Internet, in media, official publications, libraries, public information centers, and other available public places. Furthermore, under paragraphs 10-16 of the Plan of Action on Implementation of the National Strategy for Increasing Transparency and Combating Corruption for 2007-2011, specific departments within agencies that are in charge of access to information should be improved, hot-lines should be established, all public information and reports should be available on the internet, and internet services should be provided to the public, etc.

References: Public Relations departments within governmental agencies or hot-lines/electronic request system; The Law on Freedom of Information [ LINK ]; The Plan of Action on Implementation of the National Strategy for Increasing Transparency and Combating Corruption (2007-2011) [ LINK ]

Is the right of access to information effective?

13a: In practice, citizens receive responses to access to information requests within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Despite the fact that the law generally requires seven working days to respond to citizens' requests, in practice this provision is not always implemented. If the request is sent from a well-known local or international organization, a reasonable time requirement is more likely to be respected. In other cases it can take more than a month to get a response, or there can be no response at all. According to the survey held by the Media Rights Institute, from January 2008 to April 2009, 359 information requests were sent to different agencies. 109 were answered whereas 250 were not answered at all. It should be noted that 63 out of 109 granted information requests were answered within seven days, while other 46 ones were answered after seven days. It is worth noting that many ministries established hot-line services where citizens can either call or write. For instance, the State Social Protection Fund's hot-line number is 190, the State Customs Committee's hot-line number is 192, the State Committee on Property Issues' hot-line number is 193, Ministry of Taxes' hot-line number is 195, the Ministry of Economic Development's hot-line number is 195-2, etc. By calling these hot-lines, citizens can get direct and quick answers to their questions. Besides, the majority of agencies created an online application system or placed contact information on their websites.

References: 1) 2008 Report of the Commission for Combating Corruption on Implementation of the National Strategy (2007-2011) for Increasing Transparency and Combating Corruption [ LINK ] 2) Media Rights Institute, Report on Freedom of information, May 15, 2009 [ LINK ] 3) Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Report on The Functioning of Democratic Institutions in Azerbaijan, June 6, 2008 [ LINK ] 4) Freedom House, Nations in Transitions, Report on Azerbaijan, 2008 [ LINK ] 5) GRECO (Group of States against Corruption) Compliance Report on Azerbaijan, 2008 [ LINK ] 6) Interview with Zeynal Mammadli, Professor at Baku State University, Journalism Department/media expert, September 2009

Peer Review Comments: Sometimes state agencies discriminate citizens in terms of status of inquirer. If the inquirer is famous or a media representative, the state agency responds in most cases. However, if the inquirer is an individual, state agencies generally don't respond.

13b: In practice, citizens can use the access to information mechanism at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Under Article 26 of the Law on Access to Information, public records are free to all citizens. Furthermore, records are free in case the requester reads the information, or rewrites it by hands or copies it by using his/her own technical means, or in other cases where no technical help is provided to him/her. The list of records which is available to the public for payment should be defined. However, this provision is not implemented yet because an Information Ombudsman has not been appointed. It is worth noting that many ministries established hot-line services where citizens can either call or write. For instance, the State Social Protection Fund's hot-line number is 190, the State Customs Committee's hot-line number is 192, the State Committee on Property Issues' hot-line number is 193, Ministry of Taxes' hot-line number is 195, the Ministry of Economic Development's hot-line number is 195-2, etc. By calling these hot-lines, citizens can get direct and quick answers to their questions. Besides, the majority of agencies created an online application system or placed contact information on their websites, which are free.

13c: In practice, responses to information requests are of high quality.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Responses to information requests typically address the requestor\'s questions in full and are not redacted or edited to remove sensitive information. <p>50 Score Criteria: Information requests are sometimes met with sufficient responses, but responses to information requests may be vague or overly general when sensitive information is sought. <p>0 Score Criteria: The government rarely or never replies to information requests with meaningful responses. If and when responses are issued, they are so overly general or heavily redacted as to render them useless.$

Comments: Information requests are sometimes met with sufficient responses, but responses to information requests may be vague or overly general when sensitive information is sought. For instance, according to the Survey held by the Media Rights Institute, from January 2008 to April 2009, 359 information requests were sent to different agencies. 109 were answered, whereas 250 were not answered at all. It should be noted that 52 out of 109 granted information requests were of high quality, whereas 52 were partially answered. The studies show that by calling hot-lines one can get more accurate and complete information.

13d: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to access to information requests within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Under Article 12 of the Law on Freedom of Information, there is a formal process of appeal for rejected information requests to the higher body, or the Commissioner on Information matters, or to the court. Under Article 57.1 of the Law on Obtaining Information, the Commissioner on Information Matters (Information Ombudsman) should have been established in Azerbaijan within six months from the date the Law became effective, i.e. Sept. 30, 2005. Although about 4 years have passed, the Commissioner has not been appointed yet. Therefore, there is no centralized agency yet. Appeals to the higher body are available; however, in practice, it is not an effective mechanism. Thus only through courts can citizens get decisions within a reasonable time period.

13e: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to information requests at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Rejected information requests can be appealed to a higher body, or the Commissioner on Information matters, or to the court. Appeals to a higher body and the Commissioner are free by law. However, there is no implementing mechanism and therefore, in these cases, citizens appeal directly to courts. Under Article 57.1 of the Law on Obtaining Information, the Commissioner on Information Matters (Information Ombudsman) should have been established in Azerbaijan within 6 months from the date the Law became effective, i.e. Sept. 30, 2005. Although about 4 years passed, the Commissioner has not been appointed yet. Therefore, there is no centralized agency yet, and in this regard efficiency cannot be evaluated. As to courts, state fees and legal council fees are generally considered an affordable option to middle class citizens seeking to challenge a denied or unsatisfactory access to information request.

13f: In practice, the government gives reasons for denying an information request.

Score:

100

Comments: The government does not regularly give reasons for denying an information request to the requester or the reasons given may be vague or difficult to obtain. For instance, according to the survey held by the Media Rights Institute, from January 2008 to April 2009, 359 information requests were sent to different agencies. 109 were answered whereas 250 were not answered at all. No reasons were given for denying information requests.