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IPYS, ARTICLE 19 FILE BRIEF ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION CASE

Five civil society organisations, including the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) and ARTICLE 19, have filed an amicus curiae brief with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, urging it to rule that the American Convention on Human Rights guarantees the right to access information held by public bodies.

This week, the Court is holding a hearing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the case "Marcel Claude Reyes and Others v. Chile". Claude Reyes and two colleagues are challenging Chilean court rulings that have denied them the right to obtain information from the government about a controversial logging project known as the Condor River project. The environmental activist had requested information about the environmental record of Trillium Ltd, the U.S. company backing the project.

IPYS and ARTICLE 19, along with the Open Society Institute Justice Initiative, Libertad de Información Mexico, Asociación Civil (LIMAC) and Access Info Europe, argue in their brief that the Convention - to which Chile is a signatory - guarantees citizens the right to access information held by public authorities.

In its 27-year history, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has never ruled on whether the Convention provides for the right to access government-held information. If it rules in favour of Claude Reyes, Chile will have to change its laws to reflect that right. Other countries in the region that have signed the Convention will also need to re-assess their laws.

A decision on the case is expected in three to four months.

The brief is available at: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/cases/inter-american-court-claude-v.-chile.pdf

Visit:
- ARTICLE 19: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/press/inter-american-court-a19-foi-amicus-brief.pdf
- IPYS: http://www.ipys.org
- OSI Justice Initiative: http://www.justiceinitiative.org/
- Inter-American Court of Human Rights: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/
- American Convention on Human Rights: http://www.cidh.oas.org/Basicos/basic3.htm
- The Public's Right to Know: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/standards/righttoknow.pdf