13 January 2014, Male'; Minister of Foreign Affairs H. E. Ms. Dunya Maumoon has welcomed the enactment of the Right to Information Act (RTIA). President Abdulla Yameen, on 12th January 2014, ratified the RTIA, which was passed by the Parliament on 29thDecember 2013, during the 22nd sitting of its third session
The RTIA, with its underlying objective of holding government bodies to account and establishing means for the administration of such in the most transparent manner, ascertains the right of individual to acquire and receive governmental information and prescribes the limits in the exercise of the right.
Namely, the RTIA expressly stipulates the right of individual to acquire and receive information underthe authority of the government, establishes exclusive circumstances under which such rights are exempted,lays down procedures for balancing public interest against potential harm in the disclosure of information under such circumstances, provides a supporting framework for the dissemination of governmental information on a wide scale, provides the right of individual to ascertain and rectify any information regarding the person held under the authority of the government and provides for the establishment of a regulatory regime in respect of the forgoing matters.
The RTIA also prescribes to establish an Information Officer at every government office and establishes an Information Commissioner's Office to be headed by an Information Commissioner, appointed under the authority of the Parliament.
The RTIA will come into force, six month from the date of its ratification.
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