This document summarizes Tunisia's Access to Information Law. It discusses: 1. The principles of the law, which establish the right to access information from government institutions for free through various means without needing justification. Government employees must help applicants and reply within 15 days. 2. The challenges in preparing the law, including the political situation, institutional gaps, and weak civil society participation. 3. An accompanying action plan that includes reviewing related laws, media campaigns, training government agents, and issuing explanatory materials to staff on citizens' right to access information.

1. Access to information Law
Prepared and presented by:
Khair AlDin bn Soltan
Law and legislative consultant for the ex-
tunisian government
Government Presidency

2. I- The principles to access information
1. Everyone has the right to access information owned
or acquired by governmental institutions (The
executive, legislative and judicial powers)
2. Placing requests should be an easy and free process.
It could be through email or post or delievering
personally or verbally
3. No justification is needed for asking for information or
what will be done with this information
4. Employees are obligated to help applicants and
specifying the general structure on which will be used
to send information
5. Replying should be within 15 days maximum

3. 6.Information can be hardcopy or softcopy and
checking originals is also possible.
7 . Checking original documents should also be
for free unless a photocopy is made or a copy on
a CD or DVD or any other form.
8 . All information can accessed except for some
special cases however a justification must be
provided.
9 . Everyone has the right to file a report to the
court against management for refusing access to
information.
10 . Public institutions should voluntarily put
information on their structure, tasks, budget and
activities.

4. II- Challenges faced when preparation
the law
•The political situation of the country
•The institutional gap
•Difficulty in engaging the civil society:
Participatory approach was weak
•The laws of privacy was not presented.

5. Archiving Law
Statistics Law
Civil service Law
Personal Data Protection Act
Law on the Protection of Literary and Artistic
Property
Criminal Code

6. III - Accompanying actions: an action
plan - the road map
-Control and review of legal texts based on the
confidentiality of information management: the
Civil Service Law, Archive Law, the Personal Data
Protection Act, the Statistics Law, the Criminal
Code, the law of literary and artistic property
-Media campaigns directed to agents and the
public
-Agents is very important component

7. -Issuing explanatory leaflets that explain and
simplifies the purposes of various provisions of
the law to get the information directed to staff
-Issuing evidence under the control of
administration to confirm their right to access
to information and how it's done
-The experience of the Ministry of Finance

8. Thank you for listening