Freedom of Information Guidebook

The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has released the second edition of the manual entitled “Freedom of Information – a Guide for Public Institutions”. With the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the programme Good Governance in Georgia (G3), the guidebook was developed to provide civil servants, journalists, organisations and other stakeholders with relevant theoretical knowledge, as well as practical guidance, on how to interpret and apply legislation regulating the access to public information in Georgia. It can thus be useful for both professionals who request and who provide information.

The guidebook presents legal documents and articles on freedom of expression which are applicable in the country, taken from the European Convention of Human Rights (to which Georgia is a party), the Georgian Constitution and the General Administrative Code of Georgia. The relevant concepts are explained in depth and exemplified, and the guidebook also contextualises the scope of the articles, providing clear examples of their applicability. Precisely because of this more practical approach, the guide can be handy also for non-jurists who are not used to consulting legal sources.

In its final sections, the guide explains the grounds on which freedom of expression can be restricted, and how to apply a proportionality test to assess whether access to information or the protection of privacy should be given priority. In its second edition, the “Freedom of Information Guidebook” includes new sections on personal data protection and proactive disclosure of public information.

Written by Paata Turava, Levan Avalishvili and Sergi Jorbenadze, the guidebook is available in English, Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani, thus being a valuable resource for professionals from all the region of the South Caucasus who go work in Georgia.