THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 1999

 

Arrangement of Sections

 

PART I

 

PRELIMINARY

 

Section

1.     Short title

2.     Commencement

3.     Object of Act

4.     Interpretation

5.     Non-application of Act

6.     Act binds the State

 

PART II

 

PUBLICATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION

 

7.     Publication of information concerning functions, etc., of public authorities

8.     Certain documents to be available for inspection and purchase

9.     Statement of possession of certain documents to be published

10. Notice requiring to specify a document in the statement

 

PART III

 

RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION

 

11. Right of access

12. Access procedure not to apply to certain documents

13. Requests for access

14. Duty to assist applicants

15. Time-limit for determining requests

16. Giving of access and deletion of exempt information

17. Fees for access to documents

18. Forms of access

19. Deferment of access

20. Repeated requests

21. Requests may be refused in certain areas

22. Decision to be made by authorised person

23. Reasons to be given for deferment or refusal

 

PART IV

 

EXEMPT DOCUMENTS

 

24. Cabinet documents

25. Defence and security documents

26. International relations documents

27. Internal working documents

28. Law enforcement documents

29. Documents affecting legal proceedings or subject to legal professional privilege

30. Documents affecting personal privacy

31. Documents relating to trade secrets

32. Documents containing material obtained in confidence

33. Documents affecting the economy, commercial affairs and certain documents concerning operations of public authorities

34. Documents to which secrecy provisions apply

35. Disclosure of exempt document in the public interest

 

PART V

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

36. Correction of personal information

37. Broadcasting materials

38. Protection against action for defamation

39. Judicial review

40. Report to Parliament

41. Regulations

 

 

SCHEDULE

 

 

 

 

 

Legal Supplement Part A to be "Trinidad and Tobago Gazette", Vol. 38

No. 206, 5th  November, 1999

 

 

Fifth Session Fifth Parliament Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

 

 

REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

 

ACT NO. 26 OF 1999

 

 

 

 

 

[L. S.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT to give members of the public a general right (with exceptions) of access to official documents of public authorities and for matters related thereto.

 

 

 

 

[Assented to 4th November, 1999]

 

 

 

ENACTED by the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago as follows:-

 

 

 

 

 

PART I

PRELIMINARY

 

1.     This Act may be cited as the Freedom of Information Act, 1999.

 

2.     This Act comes into force on such date as is fixed by the President by Proclamation.

 

3.     (1) The object of this Act is to extend the right of members of the public to access to information in the possession of public authorities by -

 

(a)   making available to the public information about the operations of public authorities and, in particular, ensuring that the authorisations, policies, rules and practices affecting members of the public in their dealings with public authorities are readily available to persons affected by those authorisations policies, rules and practices; and

(b)  creating a general right of access to information in documentary form in the possession of public authorities limited only by exceptions and exemptions necessary for the protection of essential public interests and the private and business affairs of persons in respect of whom information is collected and held by public authorities.

 

(2) The provisions of this Act shall be interpreted so as to further the object set out in subsection (1) and any discretion conferred by this Act shall be exercised as far as possible so as to facilitate and promote, promptly and at the lowest reasonable cost, the disclosure of information.

 

4.     In this Act -

 

"applicant" means a person who has made a request in accordance with section 13;

"designated officer", in relation to a pubic authority, means the person referred to in section 7 (1)(a) (vi);

"document" means information recorded in any form, whether printed or on tape or film or by electronic means or otherwise and includes any map, diagram, photograph, film, microfilm, video-tape, sound recording, or machine-readable record or any record which is capable of being produced from a machine-readable record by means of equipment or a programme (or a combination of both) which is used for that purpose by the public authority which holds the record;

"exempt document" means a document referred to in Part IV;

"exempt information" means information the inclusion of which in a document causes the document to be an exempt document;

"Minister" means the Minister of Government to whom responsibility for information is assigned;

"official document" means a document held by a public authority in connection with its functions as such, whether or not it was created by that authority, and whether or not it was created before the commencement of this Act and, for the purposes of this definition, a document is held by a public authority if it is in its possession, custody or power;

"personal information" means information about an individual, including -

 

(a)   information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex or marital or family status of the individual;

(b)  information relating to the education or the medical, psychiatric, psychological, criminal or employment history of the individual or information relating to financial transactions in which the individual has been involved;

(c)   any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual;

(d)  the address, telephone number, fingerprints or blood type of the individual;

(e)   the personal opinions or views of the individual except where they relate to another individual;

(f)    correspondence sent to a public authority by the individual that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature, and replies to that correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence;

(g)   the views or opinions of another individual about the individual; and

(h)   the individual's name where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the individual;

 

"prescribed" means prescribed by the Minister by regulations made under section 41;

"public authority" means -

(a)   Parliament, a Joint Select Committee of Parliament or a committee of either House of Parliament;

(b)  subject to section 5(2), the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Industrial Court, the Tax Appeal Board or a court of summary jurisdiction;

(c)  the Cabinet as constituted under the Constitution;

(d)  a Ministry or a department or division of a Ministry;

(e)   the Tobago House of Assembly, the Executive Council of the Tobago House of Assembly or a division of the Tobago House of Assembly;

(f)    a municipal corporation established under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1990;

(g)  a regional health authority established under the Regional Health Authorities Act, 1994;

(h)  a statutory body, responsibility for which is assigned to a  Minster of Government;

(i)     a company incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago which is owned or controlled by the State;

(j)     a Service Commission established under the Constitution or other written law; or

(k)  a body corporate or unincorporated entity -

 

(I)               in relation to any function which it exercises on behalf of the State;

(II)            which is established by virtue of the President's prerogative, by a Minister of Government in his capacity as such or by another public authority; or

(III)         which is supported, directly or indirectly, by Government funds and over which Government is in a position to exercise control;

 

"responsible Minister", in relation to a public authority means -

 

(a)   the Minister of Government to whom responsibility for the public authority is assigned; or

(b)  such Minister of Government as the President may, by Order, declare to be the responsible Minister of the public authority for the purposes of this Act;

 

"Tobago House of Assembly" means the Tobago House of Assembly established under the Constitution.

5.     (1) This Act does not apply to -

 

(a)   the President;

(b)  a commission of inquiry issued by the President; or

(c)  such public authority or function of a public authority as the President may, by Order subject to negative resolution of Parliament, determine.

 

(2) For the purposes of this Act -

 

(a)   in relation to its or his judicial functions, a court or the holder of a judicial office or other office pertaining to a court in his capacity as the holder of that office, shall not be regarded as a public authority;

(b)  a registry or other office of Court Administration, and the staff of such a registry or other office of Court Administration in their capacity as members of that staff in relation to those matters which relate to Court administration, shall be regarded as part of a public authority.

 

6.     This Act binds the State.

 

PART II

PUBLICATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION

 

7.     (1) a PUBLIC AUTHORITY SHALL, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE minister -

 

(a)   cause to be published in the Gazette and in a daily newspaper circulating in Trinidad and Tobago as soon as practicable after the commencement of this Act -

 

(I)               a statement setting out the particulars of the organisation and functions of the public authority, indicating, as far as practicable, the decision-making powers and other powers affecting members of the public that are involved in those functions and particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with, or representation by, members of the public in relation to the formulation of policy in, or the administration of, the public authority;

(II)            a statement of the categories of documents that are maintained in the possession of the public authority;

(III)         a statement of the material that has been prepared by the public authority under this Part for publication or inspection by members of the public, and the places at which as person may inspect or obtain that material;

(IV)         a statement listing the literature available by way of subscription services;

(V)            a statement of the procedure to be followed by a person when a request for access to a document is made to a public authority;

(VI)         a statement specifying the officer responsible within each public authority for the initial receipt of, and action upon, notices under section 10, requests for access to documents under section 13 and applications under section 36;

(VII)      a statement listing all boards, councils, committees and other bodies constituted by two or more persons, that are part of, or that have been established for the purpose of advising, the public authority, and whose meetings are open to the public, or the minutes of whose meetings are available for public inspection;

(VIII)   if the public authority maintains a library or reading room that is available for public use, a statement of that fact including details of the address and hours of opening of the library or reading room; and

 

(b)  during the year commencing on 1st January next following the publication, in respect of a public authority, of the statements under paragraph (a) that are the statements first published under that paragraph, and during each succeeding year, cause to be published in the Gazette and in a daily newspaper circulating in Trinidad and Tobago statements bringing up to date the information contained in the previous statements.

 

(2) Nothing in this section requires the publication of exempt information.

(3) Where a public authority is created on or after the commencement of this Act, the public authority shall comply with subsection (1), as soon as practicable after its creation.

(4) Where a statement has not been published in accordance with subsection (1), the Minister shall promptly give reasons, to be published in the Gazette, for the failure to publish.

 

8.     (1) This section applies to documents that are provided by a public authority for the use or guidance of the public authority or its officers -

 

(a)   in making decisions or recommendations, or in providing advice to persons outside the public authority, with respect to rights, privileges, benefits, obligations, penalties or other detriments, being -

 

(I)               documents containing interpretations or particulars of written laws or schemes administered by the public authority, not being particulars contained in another written law; or

(II)            manuals, rules or procedure, statements of policy, records of decisions, letters of advice to persons outside the public authority, or similar documents containing rules, policies, guidelines, practices or precedents; and

 

(b)  in enforcing written laws or schemes administered by the public authority where a member of the public might be directly affected by that enforcement, being documents containing information on the procedures to be employed or the objectives to be pursued in the enforcement of, the written laws or schemes.

 

(2) A public authority shall -

 

(a)   as soon as practicable after the commencement of this Act -

 

(I)               cause copies of all documents to which this section applies in respect of the public authority to be made available for inspection and for purchase by members of the public; and

(II)            with the approval of the Minister, cause to be published in the Gazette and in a daily newspaper circulating in Trinidad and Tobago, a statement (which may be in the form of an index) specifying the documents that are, at the time of preparation of ht statement, so available and the place or places where copies may be inspected and may be purchased; and

 

(c)  during twelve months after the publication of the first statement under paragraph (a) and thereafter at intervals of twelve months, with the approval of the Minister cause to be published in the Gazette and in a daily Trinidad newspaper circulating in Trinidad and Tobago, statements bringing up to date the information contained in the previous statement or statements.

 

(3) This section does not require a document of the kind referred to in subsection (1) containing exempt information to be made available in accordance with subsection (2), but, if such document is not so made available, the public authority shall, except impracticable, cause to be prepared a corresponding document, altered only to the extent necessary to exclude the exempt information, and cause the document so prepared to be dealt with in accordance with subsection (2).

 

(4) A document from which exempt information has been excluded in accordance with subsection (3) shall indicate, to the extent practicable without exempt information being disclosed, the nature of the information excluded.

 

(5) Notwithstanding that a document of the kind referred to in subsection (1) is an exempt document, if the fact of the existence of that document can be published in accordance with subsection (2)(a)(II) without exempt information being disclosed, the public authority shall cause that fact to be published.

 

(6) A public authority that comes into existence on or after the commencement of this Act shall comply -

 

(a)   with the provisions of subsection (2)(a) as soon as practicable after the day on which it came into existence and not later than twelve months after that day; and

(b)  with the provisions of subsection (2)(b) as if the reference to "first publication" in that subsection were a reference to first publication in compliance with this subsection.

 

(9) (1) This section applies, in respect of a public authority, to any document that is -

 

(a)   a report, or a statement containing the advice or recommendations, of a body or entity established within the public authority;

(b)  a report, or statement containing the advice or recommendations, of a body or entity established outside the public authority by or under a written law, or by a Minister of Government or other public authority for the purpose of submitting a report or reports, providing advise or making recommendations to the public authority or to the responsible Minister of that public authority;

(c)  a report, or a statement containing the advice or recommendations, of an inter-departmental Committee whose membership includes an officer of the public authority;

(d)  a report, or a statement containing the advice or recommendations, of a committee established within the public authority to submit a report, provide advice or make recommendations tot h responsible Minister of that public authority or to another officer of the public authority who is not a member committee;

(e)   a report (including a report concerning the results of studies, surveys or tests) prepared for the public authority by a scientific or technical expert, whether employed within the public authority or not, including a report expressing the opinion of such an expert on scientific or technical matters;

(f)    a report prepared for the public authority by a consultant who was paid for preparing the report;

(g)  a report prepared within the public authority and containing the results of studies, surveys or tests carried out for the purpose of assessing, or making recommendations on, the feasibility of establishing a new or proposed Government policy, programme or project;

(h)  a report on the performance or efficiency of the public authority, or of an office, division or branch of the public authority, whether the report is of a general nature or concerns a particular policy, programme or project administered by the public authority;

(i)     a report containing final plans or proposals for the re-organisation of the functions of the public authority, the establishment of a new policy, programme or project to be administered by the public authority, or the alteration of an existing policy programme or project administered by the public authority, whether or not the plans or proposals are subject to approval by an officer of the public authority, another public authority, the responsible Minister of the public authority or Cabinet;

(j)     a statement prepared within the public authority and containing policy directions for the drafting of legislation;

(k)  a report of a test carried out within the public authority on a product for the purpose of purchasing equipment;

(l)     an environmental impact statement prepared within the public authority; and

(m)                       a valuation report prepared for the public authority by a valuator, whether or not the valuator is an officer of the public authority.

 

(2) A public authority shall, with the approval of the Minister -

 

(a)   cause to be published in the Gazette and in a daily newspaper circulating in Trinidad and Tobago as soon as practicable after the commencement of this Act, a statement (which may take the form of an index) specifying the documents to which this section applies which have been created since the date of commencement of this Act and are in the possession of the public authority;

(b)  within twelve months after publication of the statement required under paragraph (a) and thereafter at intervals of twelve months, cause to be published in the Gazette and in a daily newspaper circulating in Trinidad and Tobago, statements brining up to date the information contained in the previous statement or statements. 

 

(3) This section does not require a document of the kind referred to in subsection (1) containing exempt information to be referred to in a statement published in accordance with subsection (2)(a), if the fact of the existence of the document cannot be referred to in the statement without exempt information being disclosed.    

 

(4) A public authority that comes into existence on or after the commencement of this Act shall comply -

 

(a)   with the provisions of subsection (2)(a) as soon as practicable after the day on which the public authority comes into existence and not later than twelve months after that day; and

(b)  with the provisions of subsection (2)(b) as if the reference to "first publication" in that subsection were a reference to first publication in compliance with this subsection.        

 

10. (1) A person may serve upon a public authority a notice in writing stating that, in the opinion of the person a statement published by the public authority under section 8(2)(a) or (b) or section 9(2)(a) or (b) does not specify a document as described in section 8(1) or 9(1) that was required to be specified in the statement.

 

(2) The public authority shall -

 

(a)   make a decision within twenty-one days of receiving a notice and publish the decision in relation to the document referred to in subsection (1), no later than seven days thereafter in the Gazette;

(b)  cause the person to be given notice in writing of its decision.

 

(3) Where the decision is adverse to the person's claim, the notice shall -

 

(a)   state the findings on any material questions of fact, referring to the material on which those findings were based, and the reasons for the decision; and

(b)  inform the person of his right to apply to the High Court for judicial review of the decision and the time within which the application for review is required to be made.

 

PART III

RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION

 

11.

(1)   Notwithstanding any law to the contrary and subject to the provisions of this act, it shall be the right of every person to obtain access to an official document.

(2)   Nothing in this Act shall prevent a public authority from -

 

 

(a)   giving access to documents or information;

(b)  amending documents,

 

other than as required by this Act where it has the discretion to do so or where it is required to do so by any written law or order of a court.

 

12. A person is not entitled to obtain, in accordance with the procedure provided for in this Part, access to -

(a)   a document which contains information that is open to public access, as part of a public register or otherwise, in accordance with another written law, where that access is subject to a fee or other charge;

(b)  a document which contains information that is available for purchase by the public in accordance with arrangements made by a public authority;

(c)  a document that is available for public inspection in a registry maintained by the Registrar General or other public authority;

(d)  a document which is stored for preservation or safe custody, being a document which is a duplicate of a document of a public authority.

 

13. (1) A person who wishes to obtain access to an official document shall make a request in the form set out in the Schedule, to the relevant public authority for access to the document.

(2)  A request shall identify the official document, or provide sufficient information to enable the designated officer of the public authority, or an employee of the public authority who is familiar with the relevant documents, to identify the document with reasonable effort.

(3)   A request may specify in which of the forms described in section 18 the applicant wishes to be given access.

(4)   Subject to section 21, a request under this section may be made for access to all records of a particular description or all records relating to a particular subject.

(5)   An application for access to an official document held by a public authority referred to in section 4(j)(i) or (iii) shall be made to the responsible Minister.

 

14. (1) A public authority shall take reasonable steps to assist any person who -

(a)   wishes to make a request under section 13; or

(b)  has made a request which does not comply with the requirements of section 13 (2),

 

to make a request in a manner which complies with that section.

 

(2) Where a request in writing is made to a public authority for access to an official document, the public authority shall not refuse to comply with the request on the ground that the request does not comply with section 13(2), without first giving the applicant a reasonable opportunity of consultation with the public authority with a view to the making of a request in a form that does comply with that section.

(3)  Without prejudice to section 21, a public authority shall take reasonable steps to assist any person in the exercise of any other right under this Act.

 

15. A public authority shall take reasonable steps to enable an applicant to be notified of the approval or refusal of his request as soon as practicable but in any case not later than thirty days after the day on which the request is duly made.

 

16. (1) Subject to this Act, where -

(a)   a request is duly made by an applicant to a public authority for access to an official document;

(b)  the request is approved by the public authority and

(c)  any fee prescribed under section 17 that is required to be paid before access is granted has been paid,

 

the public authority shall forthwith give the applicant access to the official document.

 

(2) Where -

(a)   a decision is made not to grant a request for access to a document on the ground that it is an exempt document;

(b)  it is practicable for the public authority to grant access to a copy of the document with such deletions a to make the copy not an exempt document; and

(c)  it appears from the request, or the applicant subsequently indicates, that the applicant would wish to have access to such a copy,

 

the public authority shall give the applicant access to such a copy of the document.

 

17. (1) No fee shall be charged by a public authority for the making of a request for access to an official document.

 

(2) Where access to an official document is to be given in the form of printed copies, or copies in some other form, such as on tape, disk, film or other material, the applicant shall pay the prescribed fee.

(3)  Notwithstanding subsection (2), where a public authority fails to comply with section 15, any access to official documents to which the applicant is entitled pursuant to his request shall be provided free of charge.

(4)  Notwithstanding subsection (2), where a public authority fails, to give an applicant access to an official document within seven working days of the payment of the relevant fee pursuant to section 16(1)[c], the applicant shall, in addition to access to the official document requested, be entitled to a refund of the fee paid.

(5)  The fees payable by the applicant shall be commensurate with the cost incurred in making documents available.

 

18. (1) Where a document to which access is required to be under this Act is held by a public authority in printed form, the public authority shall give access to it by supplying a copy of it to the applicant or, if the applicant so requests, by making it available to the applicant for inspection.

 

(2) Where a document to which access is required to be given under this Act is held by a public authority other than in printed form, the pubic authority shall, if the applicant so requests, give access to it -

(a)   by supplying a copy of it to the applicant;

(b)  in the case of a document that is an article or thing from which sounds or visual images are capable of being reproduced, by making arrangements for the applicant to hear or view those sounds or visual images;

(c)  in the case of a document by which words are recorded in a manner in which they are capable of being reproduced in the form of sound or in which words are contained in the form of shorthand writing or in codified form, by supplying a printed transcript of the words recorded or contained in the document.

 

(3) Subject to this section and to section 16(2), where the applicant has requested access in a particular form, access shall be given in that form.

 

(4)  If the form of access requested by the applicant -

(a)   would inter