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Section 11 If any person making a request for any official information other than the official information already published in the Royal Gazette or already made available for public inspection or already made available for public studies under Section 26 and such request makes a reasonably apprehensible mention of the intended information, the responsible State agency shall provide it to such person within a reasonable period of time, unless the request is made for an excessive amount or frequently without reasonable cause. If any official information is in a condition which can be easily damaged, the State agency may request for an extension of the period for its provision or may provide copies thereof in any such condition as to avoid damage thereto. The official information provided by the State agency under paragraph one must be the information already subsisting in the condition ready for distribution without requiring new preparation, analysis, classification, compilation or creation, unless it is the case of transformation into a document from the information recorded in the visual or sound recording system, computer system or any other system as determined by the Board. If the State agency is of the opinion that the request is not for the benefit of trade and is necessary for the protection of the rights and liberties of such person or is beneficial to the public, the State agency may provide such information. The provisions of paragraph three shall not prevent the State agency from creating new official information available to the person making the request if it is consistent with the usual powers and duties of such State agency. The provisions of Section 9 paragraph two, paragraph three and paragraph four shall apply mutatis mutandis to the provision of the information under this Section.
The interpretation of the wording “within a reasonable time”
According to the Board’s resolutions dated 2nd July 2004 and the Council of Ministers’ resolution dated 28th December 2004, the wording “within a reasonable time”, applicable to the State agencies, is defined to mean:
1. If the information is readily in control of the State agency and available, the State agency shall have to furnish to the person so
requesting such information without delay or within the date of receipt of such request; or
2. If the number of material of information is insufficient or the State agency cannot make available at once, the State agency shall
have to proceed within 15 days from the date of receipt of such request and shall have to notify the person making such request. |
