The Official Information Act 1997 () is a Thai act which guarantees the people's right to have full access to government information. It was approved by the Thai National Assembly in July 1997 and entered into application on 8 December 1997.
Background
The constitutions of 1991 and 1997 had already recognised the right to information. The Official Information Act was passed at the same time as the 1997 constitution, and was designed to formally define the conditions of access to information. The Act was the culmination of a period of political reform which started in 1992 with the popular protest in Bangkok against the government of General Suchinda Kraprayoon, and was precipitated by Thailand’s economic crisis in 1997.
At the beginning of the latter, the government perpetuated the tradition of non-disclosure towards the public. When the gravity of the crisis became evident, its lack of credibility, especially after the seriousness of the crisis became apparent, an IMF intervention was welcomed since it was considered as a way to guarantee to the Thai public relevant information on the scope of the crisis and on official actions to limit its consequences.
This chain of events led to the adoption of an official Act in 1997. According to Alexandru Grigorescu, the act was less the result of IMF demands for transparency than a signal by the Thai government that future information it offered would be verifiable.
Thailand was the first country in South East Asia to implement a FOI law.
Legal content and functioning
The Official Information Act guarantees people’s rights regarding official information (defined under section 4 as “information in possession or control of a State agency, whether it is the information relating to the operation of the State or the information relating to a private individual”), including the right to get advice (section 7), to inspect, to request a copy (section 9), and to ask the state to correct or change personal information (section 25).
The law functions essentially through three mechanisms : state agencies (defined under section 4 as “central administration, provincial administration, local administration, State enterprise, Government agency attached to the National Assembly, Court only in respect of the affairs unassociated with the trial and adjudication of cases”) are to publish a list of official information in an official “Government Gazette” (section 7) they are also to make available a list of official information for public inspection (section 9) finally, they are to provide any official information other than that already published in the Gazette or made available for public inspection upon individual request (section 11) The act established the Official Information Board (OIB), the leader of which is to be appointed by the Prime Minister, and which is responsible for the implementation of the act.
Exemptions
A global principle states that state agencies are not to release information unless they are convinced that the request is necessary for the protection of the rights and liberties of an individual person or is beneficial to the public (section 11).
One absolute exemption exists: official information which could harm the interests of the Thai monarchy can never be disclosed (section 14).
Other exemptions exist, although they are not absolute, and thus may or may not be a motive for the prohibition of the disclosure of official information. They are listed under section 15 and include information which may jeopardize the national security or international relations, information which may endanger the life or safety of a person, and medical reports. A Royal Decree can at any time add an element to the list of exemptions.
Appeals
If the disclosure of official information is refused, the requester can, invoking section 18, either file a complaint at the OIB, or appeal through the OIB to the Information Disclosure Tribunal, which is composed of non-civil servants, and they have a total of 15 days to do so after they have received an order prohibiting the disclosure. An appeal to this tribunal is final (except when a further appeal is submitted to the administrative court).