| Jordan: 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? | 75 |
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: References: Law to guarantee the right of access to information #47/2007: Article 17: [ LINK ].
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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: References: Law to guarantee the right of access to information #47/2007: Article 17, [ LINK ].
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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: This law constitutes the so-called Information Council, which has the following jurisdiction: to ensure that the information is provided to applicants if confined within this law; to consider complaints from applicants who are requesting access to information; and to resolve such complaints in accordance with the instructions. References: Law to guarantee the right of access to information #47/2007: Articles 3, 4, [ LINK ].
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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: The law stipulates that the time of the acceptance or denial of requests for access should not exceed 30 days from the request; a denial of access is to be given with clearly spelled-out reasons. References: Interview with Mr. Maamoon Altalhouny, the Information Commissioner, Jan. 8, 2009, the National Library. Law to guarantee the right of access to information #47/2007: Article 9-c, [ LINK ].
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| 13b: In practice, citizens can use the access to information mechanism at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: Anyone who requests information pays the cost of photocopying. References: Interview with Mr. Maamoon Altalhouny, the Information Commissioner, Jan. 8, 2009, the National Library. Law to guarantee the right of access to information #47/2007: Article 11-a [ LINK ].
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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: References: Interview with Mr. Maamoon Altalhouny, the Information Commissioner, Jan. 8, 2009, the National Library.
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| 13d: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to information requests at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Interview with Mr. Maamoon Altalhouny, the Information Commissioner, Jan. 8, 2009, the National Library.
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| 13e: In practice, the government gives reasons for denying an information request. | ||||||||
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Comments: There is wide room for the government to deny most applications for information requests, which is based on laws that limit the right to access government information. One of these laws is the law for preserving government secrets and documents. This very much weakens the effect of the law which guarantees the right to access information. Many other denials are not justified. References: Interview with Mr. Maamoon Altalhouny, the Information Commissioner, Jan. 8, 2009, the National Library. Law of preserving government secrets and documents #50/1971.
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