Annex 3: Freedom of Information – Review of Impact and Effectiveness of Transparency and Accountability Initiatives

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Calland
Keyword(s):  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Accountability Initiatives ◽  
Transparency And Accountability

Freedom of Information Law and Its Application in Indonesia: A Preliminary Assessment

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Butt
Keyword(s):  
Public Information ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
New Order ◽  
Preliminary Assessment ◽  
Government Transparency ◽  
The Future ◽  
Information Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
Transparency And Accountability ◽  
Public Bodies

AbstractIn 2008, Indonesia introduced its first “freedom of information” statute – Law 14 of 2008 on Disclosure of Public Information (the “FOI Law” or the “Law”) – which became fully operational in 2010. The FOI Law is an important component of the government transparency and accountability mechanisms established after Soeharto and his authoritarian “New Order” government fell in 1998. This article assesses the extent to which the FOI Law has been effective in requiring public bodies to disclose “public” information that they would rather keep within their ranks. More time is needed for these reforms to take hold. However, this article, which provides the first academic analysis of the freedom of information reforms “in practice”, shows that Indonesia’s central Information Commission and the courts have, with two important exceptions, applied the FOI Law in favour of information-seekers, thereby providing some reason for optimism for the future of this reform.

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