APPLYING THE LAW

Handling Appeals: Hearings

It is essential to ensure that the Information Commission remains easily accessible to the public and does not turn into another overly legal forum which is dominated by lawyers. In other countries, most Information Commissions discourage the use of lawyers because the whole raison d'etre of the Commission is that it is a quick, speedy, simple forum which can be easily utilised by any member of the public, not just those who can afford sophisticated legal representation. Although the Commission does have the powers of a civil court under Section 18(3) of the Central Act, nonetheless, the Commission is not supposed to operate like a court.

The Information Commission should make it clear to parties that there will be no advantage in bringing a lawyer to proceedings because the Information Commission staff will anyway fill in any gaps in research resulting from a lack of legal representation. In the event that officials nonetheless engage legal counsel, the Information Commission, as an openness champion, should be alert to ensure that arguments in favour of disclosure are not overlooked simply because the complainant did not use a lawyer.

Appeals procedures - including procedures for how hearings are conducted - should be developed to favour maximum accessibility by all members of the public, including the illiterate and those who are outside urban centers. In this context, consideration will need to be given to whether regional Information Commission offices need to be established and/or whether Commissioners need to conduct roving tours on a periodic basis to facilitate hearings.

Please click on the link to the Central RTI Act to read the detailed provisions contained in the law. Please click on the link to CHRI's State RTI pages to find out more about relevant rules and implementation in your specific State.