Freedom of Information International Review: Scope of Bodies Included

The number of international jurisdictions that have adopted freedom of information laws has expanded greatly since the mid-1990s. In the same time period, many countries have seen a transformation in the role of the state and the way public services are delivered.

Scotland enacted its freedom of information legislation in 2002, although it wouldn't be until the beginning of 2005 that the Act came into force. The Act includes provisions that empower the Scottish Ministers to expand its scope as required.

This paper sets out the findings of a review of freedom of information legislation in eleven international jurisdictions, with a particular focus on the scope of bodies included. The laws of the jurisdictions examined are compared with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

The report addresses two main questions:
1) How do other jurisdictions determine which bodies are subject to their FOI law(s)?
2) Which bodies are subject to FOI law(s) in other jurisdictions?