In Georgia, the General Administrative Code contains a Law on Freedom of Information.

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CHAPTER 3

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

Article 27. The definition of terms

The terms used in this Chapter have the following meanings within this Chapter:

1. “Public agency” means an administrative agency, or an artificial person of Private Law funded by the State or local government budget, but only within the scope of such funding.

2. “Corporate public agency” means a public agency that incorporates a governing or advisory board consisting of more than one person, and in which decisions are jointly made or prepared by more than one person.

3. “Member of a corporate public agency” means a public servant who participates in decision-making of a corporate public agency with the right to vote.

4. “Official” means the person indicated in Article 2 of the Law of Georgia on Conflict of Interests and Corruption in Public Service.

5. “Session” means the hearing of a matter by members of an agency for the purpose of preparing or rendering a decision on behalf of the public agency.

6. “Publicizing” means entry of public information into a public register in accordance with law and making public information accessible for the public.

7. “Public database” means data that is systematically collected, processed and stored by a public agency or public servant.

8. “Personal data” means public information that allows identification of a person.

9. “Executive privilege” means the exemption of a public agency or public servant from the obligations stipulated by this Chapter.

10. “Urgent necessity” means a threat of violation of the law, or a genuine threat to the functioning of public agencies in a democratic society.

Article 271. Personal secret

The matter whether particular information constitutes a personal secret shall be decided by the information subject, except as otherwise prescribed by the law.

Article 272. Commercial secret

1. Commercial secret means any information concerning the plan, formula, process, or means that constitute a commercial value, or any other information that is used to produce, prepare, or reproduce goods, or provide service, and/or which represents an innovation or a significant technical accomplishment, or any other information, disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to cause competitive harm to a person.

1. No information concerning an administrative agency shall be considered commercial secret.

2. When submitting particular information, a person shall indicate whether it constitutes commercial secret. A public agency shall within 10 days categorize the information specified in Paragraph 1 of this Article as commercial secret, unless the applicable

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law requires the information to be open. If after submission of the information by the person the public agency does not consider it commercial secret, the agency shall make the information open and immediately inform the concerned person thereof. The information shall become open in 15 days after the decision is made, unless the person who submitted the information appeals the agency’s decision in a higher administrative agency or court before expiration of that term. In this case the person shall immediately inform the agency about the appeal.

1. Any person may appeal the decision to consider information as a commercial secret in a higher administrative agency or court.

2. A public agency shall enter into public register the records regarding any request for commercial information submitted by a third person or another public agency, including the date of request and name/title and address of the requester.

Article 273. Professional secret

Professional secret means any information that constitutes personal or commercial secret of a person or organization, which became known to another person in the course of execution of his professional duties. No information that does not constitute personal or commercial secret of a person or organization shall be considered a professional secret.

Article 274. State secret

Information constituting a state secret shall be defined by the legislation on state secret.

Article 28. Access to public information

Public information shall be open, unless otherwise prescribed by the law, or except for information that constitutes state, commercial, or personal secret.

Article 29. Executive privilege

Names of the public servants (except for political officials) participating in the preparation of a decision by an official shall be protected from disclosure by means of the executive privilege.

Article 30. The decision designating public information to be classified

The decision designating public information to be classified may be rendered if law provides express requirement to protect such information from disclosure, establishes concrete criteria for such protection, and provides exhaustive list of classified information.

Article 31. Term for keeping public information classified

1. Unless otherwise prescribed by applicable legislation, professional and commercial information shall be kept classified for an unlimited term. Commercial secret shall be

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declared open if the grounds for classifying such information can no longer be invoked. Personal secret shall be classified within lifetime of the information subject, unless otherwise prescribed by applicable legislation.

1. The decision to classify public information or to extend the term for keeping it classified shall be entered into public register.

Article 32. The openness of a session

The session conducted by any corporate public agency shall be open and public, except as provided in Article 28 of this Code.

Article 33. The procedure for publicizing secret information

After classified information is declassified, any part of classified public information or protocol of the closed session of a corporate public agency that can be separated on reasonable grounds shall be publicized. In such case the agency shall also indicate the name of the person who classified the information, the grounds for classifying, and the term for keeping the information classified

Article 34. Meeting of a corporate public agency

1. A corporate public agency shall a week ahead publicly announce about forthcoming meeting, including its place, time and agenda. The agency shall also publicly announce its decision to close such meeting, if applicable.

1. In case of urgent necessity, a corporate public agency may hold a meeting without complying with the rules set forth in Paragraph 1 of this Article. In such case the agency shall immediately announce the place, time and agenda of the meeting, and, if applicable, its decision to close the meeting.

1. When a corporate public agency holds a meeting or decides to close the meeting due to urgent necessity, it shall announce procedures for appealing a decision made at the meeting within three days after the decision is made. The agency shall enter into the register results of a roll-call vote regarding closure of its meeting, and minutes of the meeting, pursuant to Article 33 of this Code.

2. A lawsuit concerning the legitimacy of a meeting held by a corporate public agency due to urgent necessity, or concerning the agency’s decision to close the meeting shall be filed with court within one month after the meeting was held. If the court rules that the agency held its meeting in violation of applicable procedures, the decision made at such meeting shall be declared invalid by the court.

Article 35. Public register

All public information kept by a public agency shall be entered into the public register. Reference to public information shall be entered into the public register within two days after its acquisition, creation, processing or publicizing, indicating its title and the date of receipt, creation, processing, and publicizing of the information, and the title or name of

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the natural or artificial person, public servant, or public agency, which provided the information and/or to which it was sent.

Article 36. Ensuring access to public information

A public agency shall designate a public servant who will be responsible for ensuring the accessibility of public information.

Article 37. Request for public information

1. Everyone may request public information irrespective of its physical form or the condition of storage. Everyone may choose the form of receipt of public information, if there are various forms of its receipt, and gain access to the original of information. If there is the danger of damaging the original, a public agency shall provide access to the original under supervision or provide a duly certified copy of the document.

1. In order to obtain public information, a person shall submit a written request. The applicant shall not be required to specify grounds or purpose for requesting the information. When seeking to obtain personal data of another person or commercial secret, the applicant shall also submit a written consent of the information subject, certified by a notary or an administrative agency, except for the events prescribed by the law.

Article 38. Access to the copy of public information

A public agency shall provide access to the copy of public information. No fees shall be charged for distributing public information, except for copying costs.

Article 39. Access to personal information

A person may not be denied access to the public information, which allows his identification, and which shall not be accessible to other persons according to this Code. A person may have access to his personal information that is kept in a public agency, and may obtain copies of such information free of charge.

Article 40. Release of public information

1. A public agency shall release public information immediately, or not later than ten days if responding to a request for public information requires:

   1. acquisition of information from its subdivision that operates in another area, or from another public agency, or processing of such information,

   2. acquisition and processing of separate and large documents that are not interrelated, or

   3. consultation with its subdivision that operates in another area, or with another public agency.

2. If release of public information requires the period of 10 days, the public agency shall immediately inform the applicant thereof upon his request.

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Article 41. Denying access to public information

1. The applicant shall be immediately informed of the denial of a public agency to release public information.

2. If access to public information was denied, the agency shall provide an applicant with information concerning his rights and procedures for filing a complaint within three days after the decision is rendered. The agency shall also specify those subdivisions or public agencies, which provided their suggestions regarding the decision.

Article 411. Decision to release or deny access to public information

In the events prescribed by Paragraph 3 of Article 272, a public agency shall render a decision to release or deny access to public information immediately after expiration of the term prescribed by the above-referenced article.

Article 42. The information that shall not be classified

Everyone shall have access to information concerning:

1. environment and the hazard that constitutes a threat to life and health,

2. fundamental principles and objectives of a public agency,

3. description of the structure of a public agency, the procedures for assigning and dividing functions among public servants and decision-making procedures,

4. names and office addresses of those servants of public agencies, who hold positions or are responsible for classifying public information, or public relations, or provision of information to citizens,

5. results of open ballots in a corporate public agency,

6. election of a person to an elective office,

7. results of auditing or inspection of the activity of a public agency and court materials on the cases where a public agency acted as a litigant,

8. the title and location of the public database of a public agency and the name and office address of the person responsible for the database,

9. the purpose, area of application and legal grounds for collecting, processing, storing and disseminating data by a public agency,

10. availability or non-availability of personal information of applicant in a public database, the procedures for gaining access to such information, including the procedures allowing the identification of a person, if the person or his representative filed the request to gain access to or modify personal information of the applicant,

1. category of persons who may gain access to the personal information contained in a public database pursuant to law,

2. composition and sources of the data contained in a public database and the category of persons, concerning whom information is collected, processed and stored, and

1. any other information that is not considered state, commercial, or personal secret pursuant to the law or applicable procedures.

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Article 43. The procedures for processing personal data

A public agency shall:

1. collect, process and store only those data that are expressly provided by law and are necessary for the proper functioning of the agency;

2. not allow collection, processing, storage, or disclosure of personal data relating to a person’s affiliation with any religious, sexual, or ethnic group, or his political beliefs or worldviews;

3. develop and establish the program for controlling the conformity of collection, processing, storage and content of the data with statutory goals and terms;

4. destroy the data that is unrelated to the statutory goal when demanded by a person or required by a court’s decision; destroy inaccurate, unreliable, incomplete and irrelevant data and replace them with accurate, reliable, updated and complete data;

5. store amended data, indicating the date of their use, together with original data for the period of their existence, but note less than five years;

6. during the collection of personal information about any person obtain information directly from that person and other sources, only if all possibilities of obtaining information from an initial source were exhausted, except as provided in Article 28 of this Code, and only if the public agency is expressly authorized by law to collect, process and store personal data about persons of certain category;

7. enter into a public register the information about the collection and processing of personal data and about the request for data by a third person or a public agency; date of a request and the name/title and address of the applicant;

8. immediately notify a concerned person at his current address of the request for his personal data by a third person or a public agency, except as provided in Article 28 of this Code;

1. before transferring personal data to another person/public agency take all reasonable measures for double-checking whether those data are accurate, relevant, updated and complete;

2. during the collection, processing and storage of personal data inform a concerned person about the objectives and legal grounds for processing personal data, whether the person is required to provide personal information, the sources and composition of personal information and third persons who may gain access to it.

Article 44. Secrecy of personal data

1. No public agency shall disclose information constituting personal secret, except for personal data of officials (including candidates to such positions), without the consent of the information subject, or a founded decision that was rendered by court pursuant to the law.

1. A person may appeal the agency’s decision to deny access to personal data within one month after the denial.

2. A court may render the decision declassifying personal data only if it is impossible to prove essential facts on the case on the basis of other evidence, and if all possibilities of obtaining this information from other sources were exhausted.

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Article 45. Access to personal data

Personal data may be accessible for the purpose of conducting a scientific research. This rule excludes the possibility of identifying a person.

Article 46. The revision or destruction of data

A person may demand the revision of data or the destruction of illegally obtained data. The burden of proof concerning the legality of collection of personal data shall rest with a public agency. Before the revision of public information a person’s statement concerning inaccuracy of that information shall constitute public information and shall be attached to the pubic information. A public agency or public servant shall render a decision on this matter within ten days.

Article 47. The nullification or amendment of a decision. Claim for damages

1. A person may file a claim in a court demanding the nullification or amendment of the decision of a public agency or public servant, and claim material or non-material damages for:

1. denying access to public information, partly or completely closing the session of a corporate public agency, or designating public information to be classified,

2. the creation and processing of incorrect public information,

3. the illegal collection, processing, storage and dissemination of personal data, or illegal furnishing of personal data to another person or public agency, or

4. the violation of other requirements of this chapter by a public agency or public servant.

1. The burden of proof shall rest with the public agency or public servant that acts as a defendant in a court.

Article 48. The request for classified information by a court

Pursuant to the motion submitted by a party, the court may request for and review classified public information to investigate the legality of designating this information to be fully or partly classified.

Article 49. Reporting

On December 10 of every year a public agency shall report to the Parliament and

President of Georgia regarding:

1. the number of requests to provide or modify public information provided to the agency and the number of decisions,

2. the number of decisions complying with or denying requests, the names of the public servants rendering those decisions and the decisions of corporate public agencies to close their sessions,

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1. the public databases and the collection, processing, storage, and furnishing of personal data by public agencies,

2. the number of violations of this Code by public servants and the imposition of disciplinary penalties upon officials,

3. the legislative acts that served as grounds for denying access to public information or closing a session of a corporate public agency,

4. appeals from the decisions to deny access to public information, and

5. expenses relating to the processing and release of information and appeals from the decision to deny access to information or to close a session of a corporate public agency, including the payments made to adverse party.

Article 50. Openness of previous public information

Public information under Articles 28 and 29 of this Code, except for commercial, professional, and private secret, shall be open if created, sent or received before October 28, 1990. Such information may not allow the identification of persons indicated therein for life.