Article 27 of the Interim Constitution establishes the right to information, unless the requested information has been classified as secret. The relevant statute in this area is the Right to Information Act. This law allows Nepali citizens to request information from public bodies with certain restrictions. Those limitations encompass matters of sovereignty and national security, criminal prosecution, economic importance, smooth relations among communities and privacy of other individuals. The statute mentions the responsibility of the public bodies in terms of information disclosure, and the procedure that citizens have to follow to request information. Once an officer has received an application, he or she is mandated to provide the information immediately if possible, and otherwise, within 15 days. If the issue relates to the security of the person, the time limit is reduced to 24 hours. The applicant should then be allowed a reasonable time to examine the information. Finally, when the approached body is not competent to provide the relevant information, the applicant should be told immediately. When these rules are not complied with, the citizen may complain to the information officer’s superior, and subsequently appeal his or her decision to the National Information Commission if he or she is still dissatisfied. The composition and operation of this commission are in turn regulated in the law. Among other matters, the commission must advise the government regarding the right to information, oversee the keeping of records and order public officers that they disclose the necessary information to the citizens.
As for the classification of information, a committee is entrusted with this task. Whistleblower protections are included in the statutes as well. Finally, information officers that violate the act by willingly withholding information, providing partial or wrong data or destroying documents may be imposed fines; and citizens that have been wronged may be awarded compensation.
The implementation of the act is nevertheless problematic. The government compiled a list of secrets and information that should be classified in early 2012. However, activists and local stakeholders protested against this decision, given that the committee that adopted it does not conform to the rules of the Right to Information Act about composition of such body. Furthermore, it was said that such action overstepped international standards. After such public disapproval, and the Supreme Court’s mandate to delay the application of this policy, it was finally not implemented.
Article 19, Memorandum on the Ordinance Amending Some of the Nepal Act Relating to the Media, 2062 (2005), http://www.article19.org/data/files/pdfs/analysis/nepal.med.05.pdf
Committee to Protect Journalists, http://cpj.org/blog/2012/12/journalists-still-murdered-where-impunity-reigns.php
International Fact-Finding and Advocacy Media Mission to Nepal, Safeguarding Media Rights and Ending Impunity in Nepal (2012), http://www.i-m-s.dk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ims-international-media-mission-nepal-2012.pdf
International Fact Finding & Advocacy Mission to Nepal, Analysis of Constitutional Proposals on Freedom of Expression, Media Freedom and the Right to Information (2012), http://i-m-s.dk/files/upload/internationalmediamission/international-media-mission-constitutional-analysis-2012-EN.pdf
International Press Freedom & Freedom of Expression Mission to Nepal, An Overview of Nepal’s Media and Recommendations for Development Priorities: Building for the Future (May 2008), http://i-m-s.dk/files/publications/1318%20Nepal.web%202008.pdf
Joint Statement International Fact Finding and Advocacy Media Mission to Nepal (2012),
http://www.i-m-s.dk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/international-media-mission-nepal-statement-2012-EN.pdf
Ministry of Information and Communications, Government of Nepal, http://www.moic.gov.np/acts-and-regulations.php
Nepal Protests against Media Law, BBC (Nov. 13, 2005, 11:13 GMT), http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4432882.stm
Privacy international, https://www.privacyinternational.org/reports/nepal
Right2info.org, http://www.right2info.org/recent/open-letter-to-the-honourable-prime-minster-of-nepal
LEGISLATION:
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF NEPAL 2047 (1990).
PRESS COUNCIL ACT, 2048 (1992).
ELECTRONIC TRANSACTION ACT, 2063 (2008).
RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2064 (2007).
Ministry of Information and Communications, Media Policy 2012.
THE INTERIM CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF NEPAL 2063 (2007).
Sources