A first look at the draft bill on Open Government. Transparency, access to information, and rules on conflicts of interest for government employees

Abstract

Objectives: Critical analysis of the draft bill on Open Government with the aim of improving the starting point of the regulatory initiative before it begins its parliamentary process. Methodology: Comparison of the text submitted for public consultation with the debates held within the working subgroup set up within the Open Government Forum for the reform of Law 19/2013 of December 9 on transparency, access to public information, and good governance, and the proposals submitted to the competent ministry. Results: A comparison of the proposals and alternatives included in the draft bill reveals significant shortcomings that must be addressed and resolved before the future bill is approved for submission to Parliament. Conclusions: The initial proposal of the proposing ministry is, to a large extent, disappointing when compared to the positions agreed upon in the Working Subgroup, especially in terms of access to public information and guarantee mechanisms. Neither the judicial protection of the right, which remains the same as in the current law, nor the proposed penalty system will resolve the shortcomings observed during this first decade of application of the legal regulation of transparency.