BILL OF LAW

FOR TRANSPARENCY AND ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFORMATION

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. - (Object) . – The object of the present law is to regulate transparency in public management and guarantee all citizens full exercise of access to public information which is under the custody, administration or possession of the State.

Article 2. - (Purposes). – The purposes of the present law are:

a)    Ensure transparency in public administration for correct management of public matters. 

b)    Ensure full and effective exercise of the right of every person to access public information generated or in the power of all institutions and entities of the Plurinational State. 

c)    Determine the procedures and mechanisms before public administration for transparency and access to information which is in its power. 

Article 3. - (Area of application and reach).-

I. The present law applies to the four State Bodies, at all levels, to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, Federal Inspector’s Office, Attorney General’s Office, Armed Forces, Bolivian Police and the autonomous territory entities, including the indigenous autonomous entities of rural origin. To public entities, companies and decentralized public institutions, devolved bodies, independent agencies and mixed companies. For the effects of the present Law, the subjects indicated in this paragraph are called public entities.

II. Private persons, individuals or corporate entities, not included in the previous paragraph that have signed contracts with the State or have its authorization for provision of public services are also under obligation. For the effects of the present Law, those indicated in this paragraph are called service providing entities.

III. The provisions of the present Law shall also be applied to the private entities in which the Plurinational State has economic interest and to private entities that receive funds or goods of any origin for obtaining public interest aims or social aims. For the effects of the present Law, those indicated in this paragraph are called private entities.

IV. The provisions of the present Law shall not be restricted to social organizations, social agents or other organizations of civil society of the Plurinational State, which has

 
the willingness of making information known to society which is considered to be of public interest.

Article 4.- (Principles).- The present Law is upheld by the following principles:

a)    Suma Qamaña (Coexisting Well).- Transparency and access to information are instruments that allow Bolivians to participate in the construction of the Plurinational State, so that all may Live Well. 

b)    Public Ethics. – The conduct of the public servant must be regulated by the principles and values established in the Political Constitution of the State. 

c)    Public interest. – All information that is found in public entities and private entities subject to the present Law is of collective interest and therefore of public domain. 

d)    Speed. – The information requested by individuals or corporate entities must be provided in the shortest time possible. 

e)    Accessibility. – The information requested must be granted without any restriction, except in cases specifically established in the present Law. 

f)    Maximum Publicity. – The information generated and conserved in the public entities is of a public character; consequently it may be made known to the population by any reputable means of information and communication. 

g)    Gratuitous. – The information requested by individuals or corporate entities shall be provided without any cost. 

h)    Good Faith. – Access to information must be regulated by the legal provisions in effect and the ethical or moral principles foreseen in the Constitution 

i)    Inclusion – Citizens without any type of discrimination shall have access to all public information, so as to actively participate in building a Plurinational State which brings about the equality of Bolivians. 

CHAPTER II

TRANSPARENCY IN PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

Article 5. - (Transparency in public management). – is an authentic and responsible dialogue between the government and society, which is developed in an ethical and trusting environment to establish commitments directed to achieving general well being and which, as a process, requires political, social and institutional changes.

Article 6. - (Publication of State standards). -

I. All public entities and those that provide services shall publish and disclose by official means all the standards of a general nature they dictate.

 
II. The Plurinational State, in addition to publishing standards, shall promote their disclosure through all means possible, in such a way as to come to those interested and to society in general, for its knowledge, with priority being given to those sectors where access to the means of publicity established in this Law is limited.

Article 7. - (Means of disclosure or publicity). -

I. The means for publishing and disclosing public information includes but is not limited to Internet web portals, printed means, means of mass communication, audiovisual means and all reputable means or resources that allow achieving maximum publicity and public disclosure.

II. The disclosed public information must allow society, its citizens, organizations, social movements and social actors to be able to participate and exercise social control of public management for adequate rendering of accounts from authorities.

Article 8. - (Minimum content of a web portal). -

I. Public and private entities that provide services indicated in paragraphs I and II of article 3, through their official web portals, shall publish and make disclosure of at least the following information:

a)    General data of the entity: name of the entity or institution, supreme authority, organizational chart, mission, vision, ends and purposes, domicile, telephone numbers, fax, institutional e-mail and address of the web portal. 

b)    Public servants or personnel: list of authorities and of dependent personnel, in all their levels and hierarchies, manner of hiring, salary scale and remuneration by position. 

c)    Planning: National Plans, Sectorial Plans, Strategic Planning, Institutional Planning Annual Operating Program (scheduled, performed and management results) and projects in progress and investments. 

d)    Financial and budgetary information: institutional budget, budgetary execution, with details of profits, expenses, financing and the operating results, in conformity with the budgetary classifiers in effect; management balance; management report; report of the results of trips abroad of authorities; research work; report of public rendering of accounts; and auditing reports and their results, as well as the measures assumed. 

e)    Information regarding hiring: list of suppliers, call notice for acquisition of goods and services, list of all companies and people contracted, assignments made and contracts signed and follow-up reports on execution of contracts. 

f)    Legal framework: Political Constitution of the State, laws, supreme decrees and other standards in the sector, regulations and resolutions of the entity which are of public interest, manual of functions, procedural forms, flow of processes (those responsible and times), and drafts of bills of Law and other regulatory proposals of the entity. 

 
g)    Proceedings: legal proceedings, arbitration, administrative and tax assessments in which the entity participates, indicating the causes or motives, amount, parts of the proceeding and stage they are in. 

h)    Unit of Transparency or its equivalent: with information regarding the Action Plan, activities, results, information regarding rendering of accounts, social actors, addresses for contact, complaint form, procedures for formulating a request for information and for challenging its refusal and a simple guide regarding its document maintenance systems, the types and forms of information under its control, in addition to statistical data regarding requests for access to information. 

II.    The portals, the official web sites must indicate in a permanent way the dates of updating the minimal information contained in the web portal, in the terms established by this Law and regulations. 

III. The Supreme Executive Authorities of the public entities and the entities that provide services shall designate the one responsible for creation, maintenance and updating of the minimum information of the web portal. Lack of compliance to this obligation shall create liability.

IV. In addition to publishing the minimum required information indicated in the present article on their web portals, they must publish and disclose all additional information they consider necessary so as to encourage proactive transparency.

V. All Web portals must respect the plurinational aspect and, insofar as possible, they must be published in the Quechua, Aymara and/or Guarani language, or in other languages recognized in the State.

VI. Likewise, when applicable, it must publish information related to projects, activities, operations, purchases or other information related to indigenous people of rural origin.

Article 9. - (Public Records and Files). – It is the responsibility of public entities, and of private entities that provide public services, to create, maintain and manage files of public information, in accordance with the Law.

Article 10. - (Transparency in Public Contracting). – The State, by means of the State Contracting Information System, shall publish and disclose specific information and data regarding all the procedures of contracting of goods and services undertaken by public entities.

The minimum information to be published in matters of public contracting shall be: record of suppliers, the plan of contracting and consultants, the call notices, assignments and contracts signed, the amounts of the contracts, the penalties and sanctions and final cost, as may be the case, and all that information that permits publicity and transparency of the proceedings of public contracting.

Likewise, all information that has been sent to the Federal Inspector’s Office regarding direct contracting shall be published.

Article 11. - (Federal Inspector’s Office). – The Federal Inspector’s Office shall publish and disclose at least the following information:

1.    The opinion or results of audits performed on public entities; as well as recommendations for measures to be adopted. 
2.    The results of any type of audit concluded in the financial year of each one of the public entities. 
3.    The Sworn Statements of Assets and Income, in accordance with regulations. 
4.    Reports and evaluations of supervision and control over public entities. 

5.    Reports of social impact and development of national and sectorial policies. 

6.    List of audits scheduled for future administration or administrations. 

Article 12.- (Publicity in Public Finances). – Transparency in management of Public Finances shall be carried out by the creation and implementation of mechanisms to access information of a tax nature. The preferential means to be used shall be the Internet, without excluding other means foreseen by this Law.

Article 13. - (Information from the Ministry of the Economy and Public Finances). -

I. The Ministry of the Economy and Public Finances shall publish on its web portal, in addition to the minimum mandatory information and other information it considers necessary, the following information:

1.    Annual Aggregated and Consolidated General Budget of the public sector. This information shall be separated by sectors, institutions, public entities and companies, including the Legislative Body, Judicial Body, National Electoral Body, Public Defender’s Office, Attorney General’s Office, and other entities corresponding to Central Administration and Territorial Administration, composed of governing bodies, municipalities and other autonomous territorial entities. 

2.    The Financial Statements and Balances of the public sector as a whole within 100 business days from conclusion of the financial year, together with the balances of the two previous financial years. 

3.    The income and expenses of the central government, the decentralized entities, and the autonomous territorial entities included in the General National Budget or Finance Law, in accordance with the budgetary classifiers, including current income and expenses and entrance of capital and capital expenses. This information shall also be separated in accordance with the criteria that are indicated in regulations. 

4.    Information regarding public investment projects whose study or execution have required resources equal to or greater than 100 thousand UFVs quarterly, including: total budget of the project, the executed budget, accumulated and annual executed budget. 

5.    Detailed information regarding the balance and profile of the external and internal public debt adjusted or guaranteed by the public sector, consolidated quarterly, including: the type of creditor, the amount, the due date, the agreed upon rate of amortization, the capital and the interest paid and earned. 

 
6.    The timetable of disbursements and amortizations performed for each source of financing quarterly, including: official credit operations, other deposits and balances. 

7.    The trusts constituted with public funds, whatever their destination. Minimum information to be published shall include partnership agreements and their modifications, as well as respective audits and reports of fulfillment of trusts. 

8.    Information regarding the operations that are performed through information processing systems under State management. 

9.    Other information and data regarding tax, budgetary and credit management. 

II. The social programs, projects and plans which consist of transfers or assignment of public funds or subsidies must publish information that renders account of the amounts, beneficiaries, conditions and procedures that govern them. 

Article 14. - (Report on governmental administration). – The Executive Body, through the Ministry of the President, shall publish a report of that accomplished during his administration, in a necessary time period in advance of the date established for change in government administration.

The report shall furthermore include analysis of the investment commitments already assumed for the following years, as well as financial obligations, including contingent items and others, included in the Budget or not.

Article 15.- (Information from the Attorney General’s Office). – The Attorney General’s Office must publish and disclose the following specific public information:

a)    Legal and administrative suits in which the Attorney General’s Office intervenes 

b)    Denunciations interposed for corruption before courts with jurisdiction 

c)    Appeals and defense actions of the State which were presented and which moved forward and their results. 
d)    Assessment and recommendation reports formulated for the juridical units of the public entities. 
e)    Denunciations presented by social control, their treatment and processing and the results obtained. 

Article 16. - (Information from the Ministry of Planning and Development). – The Ministry of Planning and Development must publish and disclose the following specific information:

a)    Economic and Social Development Plan. 

b)    Territorial planning and organization policies. 

c)    The policies of the Integrated State Planning systems and of the State System of Development Financing and Investment. 
d)    Development plans of the Autonomous and Decentralized Territorial Entities. 

e)    Outside financing covenants and agreements negotiated and signed with international economic and financial cooperation. 
f)    Strategic National and Intersectorial Plans. 

 
g)    List of NGOs and private non-profit entities that receive funds or goods for carrying out purposes of public or social interest, with details of the results obtained, funds or resources, and place of operations. 

h)    List of international cooperation agencies that work in Bolivia, with details of the institutions they work with, the funds invested in them and their main activities. 

Article 17. - (Information from the Central Bank of Bolivia). – The Central Bank of Bolivia must publish and disclose the following specific information:

a)    Issuing, placement and administration of government bonds. 

b)    Contracting of international consultants for investment of reserves 

c)    Statistical information regarding renegotiation and conversion of the foreign public debt. 
d)    Information and figures of administration and management of the International Reserves. 
e)    Contracting for printing of currency coins and bills 

.

Article 18. - (Information from the Inspection and Social Control Authorities). –

The Inspection and Social Control Authorities, in addition to the minimum information established by this Law, must publish and disclose the following specific information:

a)    Resolutions of reversing appeals 

b)    Reports and opinions of inspection and control. 

c)    Standards and policies or promotion of regulation and control policies. 

Article 19. - (Information from the Public Defender). – The Public Defender must publish and disclose the following specific information:

a)    Denunciations and investigations concluded regarding violations of human rights concluded with resolution from the Public Defender in accordance with violating entities. 

b)    Constitutional suits interposed and their results. 

c)    Reports, opinions and recommendations issued and formulated by the Public Defender. 
d)    Activities for promotion and defense of human rights and the rights of indigenous nations of rural origin. 

Article 20. - (Information from the Plurinational Legislative Assembly) . – The Plurinational Legislative Assembly shall publish and continually update on its website or portal the complete texts of all bills of law which passed through the Assembly, indicating the Commission or Committee of destination, the date of presentation and the name of the sponsor of the bill.

Article 21. - (Information from the Judicial Body). – The Judicial Body shall publish and continually update the following information:

a)    Data regarding the suits won, resolved and the time of proceedings per administration at all levels. 

b)    The list of judges and magistrates and the place where they exercise their functions, as well as the list of administrative personnel. 

c)    Detailing of the disciplinary suits which passed through legal channels and were resolved. 
d)    Resolutions and circulars issued in the administration. 

e)    The income generated by the institution itself. 

Article 22. - (Information from the Public Prosecutor’s Office). – The Public Prosecutor’s Office shall publish and continually update the following information:

a)    Data regarding the suits won, resolved and the time of proceedings per administration at all levels. 
b)    The list of inspectors and the place where they exercise their functions, as well as the list of administrative personnel. 
c)    Detailing of the disciplinary suits which passed through legal channels and were resolved. 
d)    The instructions issued in the administration. 

Article 23. - (Government On Line). – The Internet web portal of the government as a centralized information processing system and electronic means or support, in addition to the functions established in the legally pertinent provisions, shall be an instrument of access to public information.

Article 24. - (Sending of financial information). – Public entities are under obligation to send financial, budgetary and contracting information to the Ministry of the Economy and Public Finances within the time periods established in regulations for their inclusion in the centralized web portal of this office.

CHAPTER III

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Article 25. - (Right to access to information).-

I. All citizens, without distinction of sex, color, age, sexual orientation, gender, origin, culture, nationality, citizenship, language, religious beliefs, ideology, political or philosophical affiliation, marital status, economic or social condition, type of profession, level of education, disability, pregnancy or other aspects, has the right to request and receive public information from the State. In no circumstances shall petitioners or requesting parties be required to express the cause or motive for exercising this right.

II. It is the obligation of all entities considered in article 3 of the present Law to watch over the exercise and effect of the right of access to information, without restriction.

III. The State has the obligation of promoting, developing and establishing policies, measures and actions to guarantee the attention to, processing and delivery of the public information and documents in an opportune, complete, efficient and gratuitous way.

Article 26. - (Obligation to inform). -

I. The entities considered in article 3 of the present law have the obligation of providing the information found under their power and in their files.

II. The public information in its phases of beginning, processing and conclusion, may be contained in written documents, photographs, recordings, electronic or digital support, or in any other format or support.

III. A judicial order or request of the prosecutor shall not be necessary to request and obtain information and public documents.

Articles 27. - (Units of Transparency and Information Official). -

I. The entities foreseen in paragraph I and II of article 3 of this Law must rely on Units of Transparency, whose responsibility, in addition to that established by standards in effect, is to receive and process requests for information.

II. The entities indicated in the previous paragraph that do not have the necessary capacity and budget to have a Unit of Transparency must designate an Information Official responsible for serving, processing and delivering the public information requested.

III. In addition to the obligations indicated in the standards in effect and in those entities which do not have specialized personnel, the Unit of Transparency or the Information Official shall have the responsibility of promoting the best practices within the entity in relation to maintaining and filing of documents.

IV. Contact information of the Unit of Transparency or Information Officials must be published in the web portal of the public entity and must be of easy access to the public.

Article 28.- (Restricted negation). -

I. The requested information may not be denied for any reason, unless for the exceptions provided for in the present Law, under penalty of the established sanctions.

II. The entities foreseen in paragraph I and II of article 3 of this Law must have a system through which they ensure that the delivery of information is carried out regardless of the means used; for that purpose, corresponding technical precautions must be taken.

Article 29.- (Procedures). -

I. The request for information may be made in a written or verbal way or by electronic means after verification that said information is not found on the web page or other means of information of the public entity and must be duly registered.

II. The request shall be directed to the Unit of Transparency, the Information Official or, in the case of the entities indicated in paragraphs II and III of article 3, to the responsible party designated by the entity. In the event that he/she has not been designated or is unknown to the interested party, the request shall be directed to the Supreme Executive Authority of the entity that has the information.

III.    The request for written information must contain: 

a.    Full name of the petitioner. 

b.    Description or clear and precise detailing of the information requested 

c.  Contact information for receiving notifications and receiving the information.

IV. If the petition is verbal, the public servant responsible must duly register or transcribe the data indicated in the previous paragraph on a special form which the petitioner must sign. There must be no cost for presentation of requests.

V. The entities subject to the application of the present Law may create alternative mechanisms or means for receiving petitions for access to information and its delivery, such as fax, e-mail and telephone.

Article 30. - (Clarification of the request). -

I. When a request is not clear, the requested entity must contact the petitioner to request him to clarify it within a maximum period of ten business days. If this deadline passes without clarification of the request, the original petition shall be disregarded.

II. Upon verifying the existence of the requested information on the institutional web site, the entity must indicate the link where the information may be found.

Article 31. - (Delivery of information and extension of delivery deadline). -

I. The requested entity to which the request for information has been presented must grant it within ten business days. If the entity does not have the requested information but knows where it is located, it must communicate such circumstances to the petitioner within this time period.

II. The period for delivery may be extended by twenty additional business days when: i) gathering or processing the information is complex or difficult or ii) the volume of information is large. Extension of the deadline must be duly justified.

III. Extension of the deadline must be communicated to the interested party by any means before the deadline established for providing the information.

IV. From the non-provision of a response or delivery of the information within the time period foreseen in paragraph I, the petitioner may consider his petition to have been denied.

VI. In the case of loss or destruction of public documents, the requested entity has the obligation of communicating such facts to the petitioner in writing and promoting the taking of corresponding legal actions.

VII. Public information must be delivered in the form in which it is found and the petitioner may not oblige the entity to process the information in such a way that requires additional extraordinary resources and means.

Article 32.- (Costs on delivery of information). -

I. The delivery of public information shall not have any cost to the petitioner.

II. When possible, the requested entity shall send the requested information by e-mail.

III. When the information is requested in other means, the entity shall ask for such means from the petitioner.

IV. When the use of paper, photocopies or other means of reproduction is necessary, the requested entity shall calculate the cost and communicate this to the petitioner so that he/she covers this amount.

Article 33. - (Complementation of information).- If the petitioner in the period of twenty four hours after receiving the information advises that it is incomplete, he/she may request complementation of the information that is lacking from the entity. The requested entity must process and deliver the information that is lacking in the period of two consecutive days. If there is no response, the request is considered as denied, opening the way for administrative impugnation.

Article 34.- (Negation and impugnation for information withheld).-

I. The negation of access to information may only be justified when dealing with information subject to the exceptions foreseen in article 42 of this Law. This must be duly founded and justified by the requested entity.

II. Under the circumstances indicated above, the petitioner may impugn the negation in an administrative way in accordance with the Law, or through the constitutional measures foreseen in the Constitution.

Article 35.- (Tacit negation and impugnation).-

I. In the cases established in paragraph IV of article 31 and article 33 of this law, the petitioner has the option of presenting the impugnation in an administrative way, which shall be processed in accordance with the procedures in effect, only in that which concerns recourse to revocatory action.

II. Exhausting recourse to revocatory action, the petitioner who does not obtained the requested information may present the constitutional measures foreseen in the Constitution.

Article 36.- (Burden of Proof).- In the case of negation of access to information for the reasons established in article 43, the burden of proof falls on the requested entity, which must show that the requested information is subject to one of the exceptions established in this Law.

Article 37.- (Reports to the Ministry of Institutional Transparency and Combating Corruption).-

I. In the first quarter of each year, the Supreme Executive Authorities and the responsible parties of the entities obliged by the present Law shall send to the Ministry of Institutional Transparency and Combating Corruption, a report or accounting of requests for information, the results and their situation, including the negations and impugnations presented from the previous year.

II. This consolidated information shall be published on the web site of Institutional Transparency and Combating Corruption.

III. The entities must publish statistical or general information in respect to requests for information received and the treatment granted to them.

Article 38.- (Responsibilities for obstruction). - Lack of compliance with the provisions contained in this Law by public servants and the entities indicated in article 3 of this Law are subject to the corresponding responsibilities.

Article 39.- (Control of requests).- Control in due attention, processing and delivery of requested information shall be exercised by the hierarchical superior, and he/she in turn by the supreme authority, and the Supreme Authority by the entity that exercises control over him/her.

Article 40.- (Functional Compliance).- The public servant or employee of the obliged entities that has delivered public information requested in accordance with that foreseen in this Law shall not be submitted to any type of sanction or reprisals by his hierarchical superior.

Article 41.- (Gratuitous promotion and sponsorship) .- Private entities or non -profit social organizations, whatever may be their legal nature, and public entities in the realm of their competency, may in a gratuitous way promote or sponsor the request of any individual or corporate entity, or, on their own initiative, legal suits for access to public information when the information has been denied.

Article 42.- (Exceptions to access to information).-

I. The right of access to information may not be exercised over information classified as secret, reserved or confidential.

II. Secret information is considered that related to internal or external security of the State, whose disclosure or spread may put at risk the Plurinational State. The secret information shall be classified through Laws that shall be promoted by the entities that so require them. These laws shall contain a specific list of information which they consider must be kept secret.

III.    Reserved information shall be considered as: 

a)    that whose characteristic of being reserved is established through supreme laws or decrees approved in separate matters of State security. 

b)    that information which is classified as reserved through the classification procedure established in the present law only when dealing with internal or external State security. 

IV. Confidential information is considered to be that:

a)    Referring to the health, intimacy or privacy of persons. 

b)    Protected by professional secrets, in accordance with the Law. 

c)    Whose disclosure or spread may put at risk the life, integrity or safety of persons. 

d)    Referring to children and adolescents whose disclosure or spread puts at risk their health, integrity or safety. 

Article 43.- (Period of restriction). -

I. The exceptions indicated in article 42 are the only ones that the authorities or entities indicated in article 3 of this law may allege so as to restrict or deny access to information; nevertheless, in case of doubt, interpretation must always be made in favor of the right of access to information.

II. Information which is already secret, reserved or confidential shall be published in accordance with the following criteria:

1)    Secret information shall be restricted to a maximum period of twenty years when dealing with information regarding external security and ten years when dealing with information regarding internal security. 

2)    Reserved information shall be withheld while: i) there is no court order issued by a judge within a suit or ii) a regulation equal or greater than that which has served to restrict it, which leaves the restriction without effect, has not been issued. 

The procedure established in article 44 of the present law shall only be applicable to classify as reserved that information related to State security, whether internal or external.

3)    Confidential information shall be accessible by court order. The restriction of confidentiality is not applicable to the titleholder of the information. 

III.    Upon termination of the established time periods, the restricted information shall be of free and public access, without greater procedures or formalities than that established by the present Law for requesting it. 

Article 44.- (Classification of public information).-

I. Information regarding State security, whether internal or external, may be classified at reserved, in compliance with article 237 of the Constitution.

II. The one responsible for classification is the Supreme Authority of the entity.

III. Classification shall be made through an express resolution which shall contain at least: the date, mention of the document or information to be classified and the legal reason and basis.

IV. The period of restriction may not be greater than that established in article 43 of this Law. Upon termination of the time period, the document or information shall automatically be declassified.

V. The titleholder of each department or entity must adopt the measures necessary for due custody and conservation of classified documents.

VI. The classification of the information may not be made after a request for information.

VII. The previously classified information may be declassified before termination of the period of restriction through a well based and justified decision issued by the corresponding authority whenever the reasons that gave rise to the classification no longer exist.

Article 45.- (Exemption in the case of human rights violations). - The character of classified information may not be invoked when dealing with investigation of serious violations of fundamental rights or offenses of personal injury. This information shall be accessible without greater requirements than those established in article 30 of this Law.

Article 46.- (Conservation and custody of information).- Entities subject to the present Law are obliged to conservation, maintenance and custody of the public information under their power in accordance with the legal provisions in effect.

Article 47.- (Promotion and training).-

I. All public entities of the Plurinational State shall implement, in accordance with their competencies and budgetary possibilities, programs for spreading knowledge and training regarding transparency and access to information, directed both to public servants and organizations of civil society, with the objective of ensuring greater and better social participation in the management and activities of the State.

II. Universities and other institutions of the educational system shall develop programs for awareness activities, disclosure and promotion of the right to access to information.

III. Educational centers of the national educational system shall integrate the mechanisms of exercise of citizens’ rights to transparency, information and communication in their curriculum.

Article 50. - (Supervision of compliance with the standards of transparency and access to information).- The Ministry of Institutional Transparency and Combating Corruption shall supervise and control compliance with the standards of transparency and access to information through:

1.    The supervision and monitoring of compliance with the standards of transparency and access to public information, and the promotion of legal suits against those responsible for lack of compliance with the standards contained in this Law. 

2.    The issuing of recommendation regarding compliance with the standards of active transparency. 
3.    Promotion and encouragement of better practices and innovation in publication of public and governmental information. 
4.    Promotion of a citizenship culture of transparency and participation, cooperating in efficient management of public resources. 
5.    The promotion or sponsorship of requests for access from individuals or corporate entities, or through its own initiative, of legal suits of access to public information when this has been denied. 

FINAL PROVISIONS

Sole Final Provision.-

I. Information regarding State security, whether internal or external, which has been classified in advance to the promulgation of this Law shall be accessible whenever the time periods and procedures established in this Law have passed.

II. The information that all jurisdictions of the State have in relation to forced disappearance, death, political violence and violation of human rights in the past are in the public domain as of the validity of this Law.

TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

Sole Provision.-

In the maximum period of two years from promulgation of this Law, those entities that so require shall promote the approval of laws that contain the specific list of information that they consider must be secret.

REPEALS

Sole Provision.-

I. The D.S. No. 28168 of May 17, 2005 is repealed.

II. Article 18 of Law no. 2341, Law of Administrative Procedure; item d) of article 5 of the D.S. No. 23318-A of November 3, 1992, Regulation of Responsibility by Public Function is repealed.

III. All other provisions contrary to the present Law are annulled and repealed.

Ministry of Transparency and Combating Corruption.

August 2010.