This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk brief was produced in response to a query from one of Transparency International’s national chapters. The Anti-Corruption Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International and funded by the European Union.
Query
Could you please provide information on how other countries regulate proactive transparency in state owned enterprises?
Purpose
The government will amend the access to information law and the chapter wants to ensure that state owned enterprises are included.
Content
1. Access to information and proactive disclosure
2. Are state owned enterprises (SOEs) covered by access to information laws?
3. Examples of proactive disclosure for SOEs
4. References
Summary
State owned enterprises (SOEs) may have a significant impact on a country’s economic and social development, and access to information regarding their activities is instrumental to ensuring citizens know how public money is managed.
SOEs are increasingly included among the entities required to proactively and passively provide access to information to citizens. This is the case in laws that have recently been enacted or amended in Brazil, Estonia and Spain. However, the type and level of information required to be published will vary from country to country and there is no agreed good practice. Proactive disclosure often includes information on organisational structure, salaries and job descriptions, budgets and expenditures, and public procurement processes, including the publication of contracts, among others.
In order to ensure that all relevant information is made available to the public, attention should also be paid to the exceptions put forward to the law as well as to potential contradictory provisions in dedicated laws.
Authors
Maíra Martini, Transparency International, [email protected]Reviewers
Marie Chêne, Transparency InternationalRobin Hodess, PhD., Transparency InternationalDate
31/01/2014
