Access to Information Law: Transparency and Efficiency

Researchers, students, professionals, companies, agencies, and institutions constantly use information to build new knowledge, define profiles, or report operational activities. This information may be available to users or may be made available through requests, as regulated by the Access to Information Law (Law No. 12,527 of 2011). An important premise of this Law is transparency, a unique characteristic that demonstrates the importance of disclosing information regarding the actions of private individuals and public entities in the country. Considering our research, transparency is associated with the communication of our data (results), as well as the use of data made available by public agencies to build the regional model of anthropomes. In this article, we will discuss the Access to Information Law, which guided our use of geospatial data (demographic and land use and land cover) and our communication of results. We invite you to journey through the planning process with us. Happy reading.

Access to Information Law – Law No. 12.527/2011

The Access to Information Law (LAI) – Law No. 12,527 – was enacted on November 18, 2011, and came into effect on May 16, 2012. The law regulates the constitutional right of access to public information (Article 5, Chapter XXXIII; Article 37, paragraph 3, item II; Article 2016, paragraph 2 of the Federal Constitution of 1988). The purpose of this law is to guarantee public transparency, access to information, and social control of Public Administration. The LAI establishes rules to guarantee citizens access to public information, promoting transparent and democratic management. Articles 1 and 2 define the scope of application of the LAI, specifying that it applies to:

1. Direct and Indirect Public Administration of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches, in all federative entities (Union, States, Federal District, and Municipalities);

2. Courts of Accounts and Public Prosecutor's Office;

3. Private non-profit entities that receive public funds (limited to the portion of the funds received).

Article 3 establishes the fundamental principles of the Access to Information Law, the same principles that regulate the national public service, namely:

1. Publicity as the rule and secrecy as the exception;

2. Proactive disclosure of public information;

3. Transparent information management; 4. Protection of confidential and personal information; 5. Social control.

To better understand the Law, Article 4 presents the important concepts linked to the Access to Information Law. Below, we list these concepts to broaden the understanding of what this law regulates.

• Information: data, processed or not, that can be used for the production and transmission of knowledge;

• Document: unit of information recording, regardless of the medium (paper, digital, etc.);

• Availability: immediate access to and use of information by the citizen;

• Authenticity: guarantee that the information is true and complete;

• Integrity: guarantee that the information has not been improperly modified;

• Primatureness: original information, without interpretations or alterations.

The Access to Information Law establishes two forms of access to public information. The first format is through active transparency, where the disclosure of information is carried out spontaneously by the Administration through official portals and websites, such as through the transparency portal. The second format of access is through passive transparency, where the provision of information is carried out upon request from the citizen, whether via protocol, ombudsman, e-SIC, among others.

According to Articles 10 and 11 of the Law, requests for access to information can be made by any person, natural or legal, without the need for justification (provided that the data is public or personal). Furthermore, as discussed above, requests can be made in different formats, i.e., electronically, in writing, or in person. Upon receiving a request for access, the receiving body must respond within 20 days, which may be extended by another 10 days, provided there is a plausible justification for the extension. It is worth noting that access to information must be immediate if the information is available. In response to requests for access to information, the Administration, according to Articles 11 and 12, may:

1. Provide the requested information;

2. Indicate where it is available;

3. Deny access, with legal justification (e.g., confidentiality, personal data, non-existence of the data);

4. Forward the request to the competent body.

In case of refusal or omission by the agency to which the request was made, the citizen has the right to an administrative appeal. The first appeal is made to the same agency from which the data was requested. If there is a further refusal, the applicant may appeal to a higher instance.

Another important point of the Law concerns the classification of data according to secrecy. For each type of secrecy, there are specific deadlines for maintaining the secrecy of the information (articles 24 and 25). Below, we present a table summarizing the types of secrecy, the deadlines associated with each, and who can classify information according to the Access to Information Law.

Table 5: Authorities Competent for Information Classification (Art. 27 of Law No. 12.527/2011)

Level of Secrecy	Maximum Restriction Period	Who Can Classify
Top Secret	25 years, renewable once for an equal period (total of up to 50 years)	President Vice-President Ministers of State and authorities with the same prerogatives; Commanders of the Navy, Army, and Air Force; Heads of Permanent Diplomatic and Consular Missions abroad;
Secret	15 years	Authorities mentioned above; Heads of autonomous agencies, foundations, public companies, and mixed-economy companies;
Reserved	5 years	Any administrative authority exercising a management, command, or leadership function, according to the internal regulations of the body or entity.

It is essential that the classification be formalized (Article 28), containing the justification, the identification of the authority, the degree of secrecy, and the restriction period. The access restriction period begins from the date the information was produced, not the date of classification. After this period, the information is automatically declassified and becomes public. The classification can be reviewed at any time (Article 29).

Article 31 defines "personal information" as information related to an identified or identifiable natural person. This information has restricted access for up to 100 years, except: 1. When there is a legal provision or consent from the person; 2. When the information is necessary for judicial or administrative investigation; 3. For the defense of human rights or overriding public interest.

Regarding the responsibility of public bodies, they must: 1. Guarantee access to and dissemination of information of collective interest; 2. Designate authorities to monitor the LAI (Law on Access to Information). 3. Maintain websites with information on budget, expenses, bidding processes, contracts, structure, programs, and goals; 4. Promote training for employees on transparency and confidentiality.

Regarding sanctions, the following are applicable to public servants (Article 32): 1. Unjustifiably denying access; 2. Delaying or incorrectly providing information; 3. Destroying public documents. These sanctions may be: 1. Administrative infraction: subject to disciplinary penalties; 2. Administrative misconduct (Law No. 8.429/92); 3. Civil and criminal liability. Each agency must have an authority to monitor the Access to Information Law. At the federal level, control is exercised by the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU); the CGU acts as an appeals and transparency guidance body.

Final Considerations

With this, we have covered the main concepts and guidelines associated with the Access to Information Law 12.527/2011. In summary, it is worth remembering that access to information is free, except when there are costs associated with reproducing the information. No reason is required for a request for access to information; however, generic or unidentified requests may be denied. Furthermore, personal and confidential information receives different treatment, and confidentiality periods begin from the date the information is classified. Therefore, remember that access to information is your constitutional right and can be exercised, provided it is within the regulatory standards established by law.