Strengthen the legislative framework governing access to information

Access to Information 

1/1/2017-30/11/2018

Ministry of Culture

Status quo or problem addressed by the commitment

The National Human Rights Plan clearly emphasized the importance of amending and enacting the Access to Information Law. The plan recognizes that the current legal framework (issued in 2007) suffers from certain imbalances while the operational plan of the National Integrity System contains a commitment to review the legislation related to the protection of the right to access information. In addition, the Jordanian Government accepted a number of the Human Rights Universal Periodic Review recommendations in 2013 which stipulated the importance of revising the regulatory environment governing the right to access information. The enforcement of the law suffers from a general lack of associated procedures to the law. Furthermore, the current law is not the only legal tool that deals with access to information issues. As a result, there are technical and administrative difficulties related to the management of information across various public sector institutions.

Main objective

Harmonize national legislation and policies concerning the right to access information with international standards and best practices.

Brief description of commitment

Review the legislative system, identify existing problems in the practices and management of information systems and propose a bundle of legislative and procedural amendments.

OGP challenge addressed by the commitment

Strengthen the overall credibility of government’s performance and increase access to information in the context of encouraging a climate of public freedom.