| Turkey: 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: In 2004, citizens were entitled to use the right to access to information. However, the total number of applications has only tripled since then. In other words, this right has not been widely exercised by the citizens as of yet. There are also restrictions that cover a variety of reasons including "state confidentiality," "commercial secrets" and "individual privacy." References: Law No. 4982 on Access to Information, Article 4: [ LINK ] Regulation on the Principles and Procedures for the Implementation of Law on Access to Information Articles 27-39: [ LINK ] Annual General Reports on Access to Information: [ 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: If the relevant authority rejects the application for a government record on the ground of the restrictions stated in Article 16 (state confidential) and Article 17 (economic interest of the country) the applicant can appeal to the Evaluation Board of Access to Information (which is part of the Prime Ministry) within 15 days following the submission of the relevant authority's decision. The Board makes its final decision on the application within 30 days. Then the applicant has the right to appeal to the Administrative Court. References: Law No. 4982 on Access to Information, Article 13: [ LINK ] Regulation on the Principles and Procedures for the Implementation of Law on Access to Information Article 24: [ 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: Access to Information Units are established in every public office with sufficient personnel. The application procedure is described by the Regulation on the Principles and Procedure Relating to the Application of the Law on Access to Information. References: Law 4982 on Access to Information, Article 4, [ LINK ] Regulation on the Principles and Procedures for the Implementation of Law on Access to Information, [ 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: There is no scholarly research on the practices of access to information in public offices in Turkey. According to the Regulation, it may take almost 30 days to obtain the requested information (Article 20). However, the annual reports on access to information and our observations at ministerial level public institutions indicate that it takes at least two months to obtain a piece of information. The 2007 Report on access to information underlines that although there 9 percent increase in the total number of applications (versus a 38 percent increase in 2006), about 80 percent of total applications (939,920) was responded to. In 2006, the increase in the total number of applications from the previous year was 38 percent with 86 percent of 864,616 applications being responded to. No information is available about how long it took on average to respond to the applications. However, it is clear that not all applications were responded to during the course of the relevant year. In other words, the implementation of the law has not been satisfactory. References: Annual General Reports on Access to Information, [ LINK ] Arzu Kilic and Dicle Eroglu, Association of Informatics of Turkey, May 2008.
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| 13b: In practice, citizens can use the access to information mechanism at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: According to Article 22 of the relevant Regulation, the public authorities determine an annual proportional fee for obtaining information, such as photocopying costs, etc. Some information can also be provided online at no cost. According to the Circular, the base fee for a black and white photocopy per page is 50 new kurus (2006 prices, US$0.30 cents at current exchange rate) and 100 new kurus for a color photocopy. (One "new" kuru is equal to 1/100th of a Turkish lira.) These fees shall be determined annually in terms of the revaluation rate. Currently, the cost of a black and white photocopy is about 35 cent. References: General Circular on Fee for Access to Information and Document: [ LINK ] 0&sourceXmlSearch=bilgi%20edinme Arzu Kilic and Dicle Eroglu, Association of Informatics of Turkey, May 2008.
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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 2007, a total of 554 out of 1,119 applicants who appealed to the board for a resolution also appealed to the administrative court. There is no available information about the duration of appeal requests. References: 2007 General Report on Access to Information: [ LINK ] Arzu Kilic and Dicle Eroglu, Association of Informatics of Turkey, May 2008.
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| 13d: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to information requests at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: Appeal costs do not constitute a financial burden. Judicial fees are also affordable. References: Fees for opening a suit, [ LINK ] Konu=738&DocumentIndex=avhukuk/harclarkanunu2007.htm Aydin Gulan, Law School, Istanbul, September 2008.
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| 13e: In practice, the government gives reasons for denying an information request. | ||||||||
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Comments: In 2007, only 0.8 percent of 939,920 requests were rejected on the basis of business confidentiality or state secrets. In such cases, no other details are usually provided regarding the reasons for rejecting the requests. References: 2007 General Report on Access to Information, [ LINK ] Aydin Gulan, Law School, Istanbul, September 2008.
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