[Passed] 

Freedom of Information Act

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Proposal for A-39: The Freedom of Information Act

Link to Library of Parliament page:
https://parliament.slugov.com/Freedom_of...mation_Act


Article 1. Operators and Actions
Section 1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Act, the following are hereby defined:

Clause 1. A “Petitioner” is an individual nation which officially requests government information through the procedures outlined in this Act.
Clause 2. A “Request” is an official request or appeal from a Petitioner in the form of an application to the designated government official that government Record(s) be made available to them.
Clause 3. A “Record” is official or unofficial government information that has been intentionally or unintentionally compiled or recorded, and may be the subject of the Request.
Clause 4. An “Official” is an elected or appointed government officer who has been designated to handle FOIA requests on behalf of the government or by this Act.
Clause 5. “Information” is qualitative or quantitative data which may be of interest to the requesting Petitioner and be the subject of the FOIA request.
Clause 6. An “Exemption” is a legal reason claimed by the designated government official in which access to the requested information can be legally denied as outlined in Article 2, Section 1 of this Act.
Clause 7. A “Denial of Request” occurs when the designated government official claims one or more exemptions as outlined in this Act, and denies the Petitioner access to the information detailed in their Request.
Clause 8. An “Appeal” is a formal request by the Petitioner to the Court of Justice to review the regional government's denial of their Request and pass down judgement on its legality.
Clause 9. A “Judicial Override” occurs when the Court of Justice determines in its proceedings that the government's claim of exemption in relation to its rejection of an FOIA Request was not valid, and that the information detailed in the Request should therefore be released to the Petitioner.

Article 2. Administration
Section 1. Executive Responsibility
The administration of Freedom of Information requests will be handled by the World Assembly Delegate or any Cabinet member who has been so designated by the Delegate. This information must be made public to the Open Parliament.

Section 2. Role Delegation
The Delegate or otherwise designated government official is responsible for conferring with other Cabinet members and intelligence officials to determine if the requested information meets any of the previously mentioned exemptions.

Section 3. Time Constraints
All FOIA Requests must be approved - and all requested information released to the Petitioner - or denied by a maximum of 14 days from its submission to the designated government official by telegram or by private message on any regional communication platform.

Section 4. Request Form
To appropriately submit an FOIA Request Form, the Petitioner must fill out and submit the following to the World Assembly Delegate or otherwise designated government official:

Personal Information
Nation Name: __________________
Residency Status: __________________
Are you a current government official?: __________________

Requested Information
Relevant Ministry or Agency: __________________
Time Period of Requested Information: __________________
Information Type: __________________
Information/Record(s) Being Requested: __________________

Section 5. Form Incompletion
Failure to complete an FOIA Request Form will result in the denial of the Request.

Section 6. Expedition of Request
Special expediting of an FOIA Request may be asked of the Court of Justice, but is subject to their discretion upon the request’s feasibility and inclusion of valid reasoning.

Article 3. Exemptions
Section 1. Exempt Information
The following exemptions provide a legal basis for denial of an FOIA Request. The government may deny a request if:

Clause 1. The divulgence of the requested information may create regional security challenges which will threaten the stability or continuance of the region.
Clause 2. The divulgence of the requested information contains personal identifying and/or sensitive information including but not limited to:
a. Real name
b. Location
c. Voting records otherwise kept anonymous by law
d. Bar exam information that would violate provisions established by law
e. Medical information and/or otherwise sensitive information provided exclusively within sensitive discussion channels
Clause 3. The divulgence of the requested information will put legal intelligence-gathering methods and/or officials at risk due to a clandestine nature of the operation and/or operators, or if it can be shown that doing so would lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of future legal intelligence-gathering operations using the methods which would be exposed.
Clause 4. The divulgence of the requested information can be proven to disrupt current legal investigations, be they criminal or civil in nature.
Clause 5. The divulgence of the requested information will lead to the identity of an anonymous source of a criminal or civil investigation or trial being revealed.
Clause 6. The divulgence of the requested information will deny an individual their right to due process under the law. This includes information that was explicitly barred from entering trial proceedings because of this nature.
Clause 7. The scope of the requested information is unreasonably broad and would place an exceptional burden on the official tasked with fulfilling such a request.

Section 2. Providing Exemptions
Clause 1. The World Assembly Delegate or otherwise designated government official must provide the requesting Petitioner the reason for which their Request was denied.
Clause 2. The Petitioner may appeal to the Court of Justice in order to reverse this exemption through a Judicial Override.
Clause 3. The designated government official must provide its reasoning for use of the exemption before the Court. The hearing before the Court is closed to the public.
Clause 4. The Court may then uphold the government's decision, or reverse it.
Clause 5. The Court of Justice holds the final legal authority concerning FOIA Requests.
The Federal Republic of Aeoa | Աեոայի Դաշնային Հանրապետություն
Ambassador to the International Democratic Union
Registrar of the Court of Justice
Member of the Bar of the Court of Justice
(This post was last modified: 12-14-2020, 02:14 AM by Courelli.)
Great work! Effective and simple FOIA scheme, and the language is straight to the point. Will be voting in favor. Smile
(This post was last modified: 12-07-2020, 02:10 AM by Anaaxes.)
Also voting for! A great addition to the annals of our laws, and a leap forward for public accountability.
ραμελικί κομμούνα | commune of ramelia
με τα χέρια μας όλη η μιγιάνα θα είναι ελεύθερη!

twenty-second world assembly delegate | eleventh and fifteenth speaker of the union | seventh chancellor
coauthor of the constitution
The Freedom of Information Act has passed by a vote of 13 yea, 0 nay, 0 abstain.
THE REPUBLIC OF COURELLI
recall how often in human history the saint and the rebel have been the same person

12th, 15th, & 18th Delegate of the Social Liberal Union
Fleet Admiral of The Red Fleet



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