| Egypt: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Public Access to Information | ||
| Indicators | Score | |
| 12 | Do citizens have a legal right of access to information? | 33 |
| 13 | Is the right of access to information effective? | 5 |
Indicator and sub-Indicator Details
| 12 | 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. | ||||||||
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Comments: There are several laws that deprive citizens of the right of access to government information and basic government records. For example, the law no. 35/1960 for establishing and organizing the central system for public mobilization and statistics prohibits publishing any piece of information or records related to the government, and in case of violating this rule the system brings a lawsuit against the persons who committed that crime, and the sentence can mean prisontime. In addition, the criminal proceedings law no. 150/1950 and its amendments, law no. 313/1956 amended by law no. 14/1967 concerning the armed force, law of the general intelligence no. 100/1971 amended by law no. 1/198, publications law no. 20/1936 amended by law no. 97/1992, law no. 121/1975 concerning documents amended by law no. 125/1983, and law no. 256/1954 are all laws that restrict citizens' right of access to government information and basic government records. References: Nejad Al-Boraiy, Egyptian Views Regarding Corruption a paper about the report of the Transparency organization, Center for Political Research, Cairo University, 2004.
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| 12b: In law, citizens have a right of appeal if access to a basic government record is denied. | ||||||||
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Comments: The constitution shields all works and decisions by the administration from judicial censorship. The government abolished litigation and appeals processes included in previous laws which allowed the citizens to appeal against denied access to basic government records. Even if some laws allow for this, administrative agencies are not effective in their proceedings against the administrative department that denies the access to information. References: The Egyptian Constitution, article 68; Nejad Al-Boraiy, Egyptian Views Regarding Corruption a paper about the report of the Transparency organization, Center for Political Research, Cairo University, 2004.
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| 12c: In law, there is an established institutional mechanism through which citizens can request government records. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, there is no mechanism through which citizens can request government records. References: Nejad Al-Boraiy, Egyptian Views Regarding Corruption a paper about the report of the Transparency organization, Center for Political Research, Cairo University, 2004.
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| 13 | Is the right of access to information effective? | |||||||
| 13a: In practice, citizens receive responses to access to information requests within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, citizens do not receive responses to access to information requests within a reasonable time period. References: Several media reports Interviews with CSOs' leaders
Peer Review Comments: There are some ministries that allow public access to information, but only after payment of the necessary costs. One such agency is the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
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| 13b: In practice, citizens can use the access to information mechanism at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, citizens cannot use the access to information mechanism at a reasonable cost. References: The law organizing joint stock media companies.
Peer Review Comments: People can get information and data, but only after paying a lot of money or by getting an annual subscription.
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| 13c: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to access to information requests within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, citizens cannot resolve appeals to access to information requests within a reasonable time period. References: Interviews with CSOs' representatives Media reports
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| 13d: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to information requests at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, citizens cannot resolve appeals to information requests at a reasonable cost. References: Several media reports Interviews with CSOs' representatives
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| 13e: In practice, the government gives reasons for denying an information request. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, the government does not give reasons for denying an information request. References: Several media reports Interviews with CSOs' representatives
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