Access to information law (JO0063)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Jordan Action Plan 2018-2020
Action Plan Cycle: 2018
Status: Active
Institutions
Lead Institution: Department of the National Library, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, and the Integrity and Anti - Corruption Commission (the fourth milestone of the commitment)
Support Institution(s): Friends of the Jordanian Parliament Association - Gateway Development Association for Studies, Research and Training - Family Awareness and Guidance Center - Community Media Network - Academy of Change for Democracy and Development Studies - Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists - Arab World Center for Democratic Development - TAMKEEN Initiative - National Center for Human Rights - Jordan Association for Entrepreneurship - Al-Hayat Center - Rased - Jordanian Association Of Transparency
Policy Areas
Capacity Building, E-Government, Human Rights, Legislation & Regulation, Right to Information, Sustainable Development GoalsDescription
Institutionalization of the enforcement measures
for Access to Information Law Lead implementing agency
Commitment Description
1 / 9 / 2018 - 30 / 6 / 2020
Department of the National Library, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology,
and the Integrity and Anti - Corruption Commission (the fourth milestone of the commitment) What is the public
problem that the
commitment will
address?
This commitment was made to address the current situation of the enforcement of the
Access to Information law, issued in 2007. Government institutions lack a clear and
uniform system for the classification and management of information. The process of
acquiring information by journalists and other stakeholders is characterized with difficulty
and excessive bureaucracy, making the information useless when finally acquired. There
are significant deficiencies in the procedural framework of requesting information,
processing requests and providing information, resulting sets of information with poor
quality. Despite the existence of the law and some of the instructions issued thereunder,
the main problem remains as application and compliance, due to either technical reasons
or to the awareness by governmental officials on the importance of access to information.
What is the commitment?
This commitment seeks to strengthen the enforcement of the Access to Information law,
through participatory efforts by relevant state and non-state actors. It also aims to build
a unified system for the classification and management of governmental information,
while considering the differences between governmental institutions. Furthermore, the
commitment pursues a goal of compliance with the classification of information by the
competent agency.
How will the commitment
contribute to solve the
public problem?
A unified system for the classification and management of information, that takes account
of the differences between governmental institutions, will contribute to facilitating the
process of obtaining and benefiting from information in a timely manner. It will also
contribute to increasing the awareness of governmental officials on the importance of
access to information and shall encourage them to comply and promote a culture of
informational openness. Why is this commitment
relevant to OGP values?
This commitment is based on the notion of making access to information an integral
right for citizens, one of OGP’s major valu e s. The commitment also relates to Public
Accountability, as a result of better acces s to information.
The commitment is consistent with the value of Civic Participation as well, since it requires
participatory actions gathering state and non-state actors throughout its implementation.
Additional information
This commitment is linked to the E-Government Program at the Ministry of information
and Communications Technology. The fourth milestone of this commitment is linked to
the National Strategy for Integrity and the Combating Corruption 20172025- (Project 23)
and the National Human Rights Strategy 20162030-.
The commitment is in line with SDG 16, particularly sub-goal 16.10 to “ensure public
access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national
legislation and international agreements”.
This commitment comes as a continuation of the work on Commitment 1 of Jordan’s third
NAP under OGP 20162018-, and has been designed based on progress evaluation.
Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable
Start
implementation
Date
End
implementation
Date
Forming a team of experts from relevant government agencies, nongovernmental
organizations and institutions concerned with human rights (civil
society, journalists, local and international experts, legal specialists, academics,
NCHR), to work jointly within the following scope:
A. Setting a vision for an institutional protocol to enforce access to information,
with best practices, especially those related to receiving and handling information
requests, and the classification, management and archiving of governmental
information. This entails clear procedures and standards to facilitate acquiring
and retrieving information in a speedy manner, and the provision of a “fasttrack
approach” for journalists. The protocol will be unified and will consider the
differences between governmental institutions, in order to fill the gaps in current
application status, and to promote voluntary pre-disclosure of information to
serve public interests.
B. Developing tools to measure the quality of information granted to applicants,
in addition to pre-disclosed information published voluntarily.
C. Reviewing existing government regulations and instructions concerning the
enforcement of the Access to Information law, and comparing them with the
protocols and guidelines recommended by the Expert Group (milestones 1, 2
and 3) to prevent any duplication or conflict.
1 / 9 / 2018 30 / 9 / 2019 ssuing the protocols / instructions and circulating them to all relevant ministries
and governmental institutions, and disseminating them on various governmental
digital platforms and social media accounts.
1 / 10 / 2019 30 / 12 / 2019
Developing and implementing an awareness plan on the importance of
information classification and pre-disclosure, through direct tools (meetings
and awareness sessions), and indirect tools (publishing through governmental
platforms, media, social media and billboards in government institutions). This
plan is aimed at senior positions in governmental bodies and officials responsible
for disseminating information and receiving requests for information (electronic
and direct), in addition to reception staff, in order to enhance the understanding
and application of approved procedures.
1 / 1 / 2020 30 / 6 / 2020
Monitoring the compliance of public administration institutions with
the classification of information by conducting an evaluation of relevant
governmental institutions, issuing a report, then circulating and publishing it, as
a prelude to an annual evaluation process that seeks to promote the practices
and culture of access to information.
1 / 1 / 2020 30 / 6 / 2020
Contact Information
Name of responsible person from implementing agency
Nada Khater
Ena'am Mutawe
Elham AlZu'bi
Email and Phone
Nada.khater@moict.gov.jo
+962798510405
enaam.mutawe@nl.gov.jo
+962795916917
Elham.zoubi@jiacc.gov.jo
+962770452866
Other Actors Involved
(CSOs and Experts)
Name of the CSOs and
experts who applied for the
voluntary assistance to the
implementation of the 4th
NAP. Open call of interest
was launched during 2 -17
/ 12 / 2018.
- Friends of the Jordanian Parliament Association
- Gateway Development Association for Studies, Research and Training
- Family Awareness and Guidance Center
- Community Media Network
- Academy of Change for Democracy and Development Studies
- Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists
- Arab World Center for Democratic Development
- TAMKEEN Initiative
- National Center for Human Rights
- Jordan Association for Entrepreneurship
- Al-Hayat Center - Rased
- Jordanian Association Of Transparency
Jordan's Commitments
-
public sector/civil society collaboration
JO0059, 2018, Civic Space
-
open data
JO0060, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Fostering national dialogue to achieve political
reform
JO0061, 2018, Capacity Building
-
human rights violations complaint mechanism
JO0062, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Access to information law
JO0063, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Strengthen the legislative framework governing access to information
JO0048, 2016, Legislation & Regulation
-
Strengthen the facilities available for persons with disabilities to access the justice system
JO0049, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Strengthen the framework governing the freedom of the media
JO0050, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Issue the requisite regulations and instructions to implement the Decentralization Law and hold Governorate Council Elections in 2017
JO0051, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Develop healthcare services and automate the healthcare sector through electronic linkages
JO0052, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Develop an interactive observatory forum for citizens to monitor the implementation of the Government’s plans and progress
JO0053, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Adopt the principle of budget disclosure in accordance with international standards and promote transparency and financial disclosure
JO0054, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Develop transparent and participatory policies regarding climate change challenges
JO0055, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Implement an open data sources policy
JO0056, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Complaints and grievances related to violations committed against citizen
JO0057, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Complaints related to governmental services and the surrounding environment of its provision
JO0058, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Internal control units structures
JO0034, 2014, Asset Disclosure
-
Improve service delivery
JO0035, 2014, Capacity Building
-
Develop service delivery standards and targets
JO0036, 2014, Capacity Building
-
Publish service delivery standards
JO0037, 2014, Capacity Building
-
Ensuring full compliance with service delivery standards
JO0038, 2014, Audits and Controls
-
Service delivery process assessment
JO0039, 2014, Audits and Controls
-
Upgrading services in remote areas
JO0040, 2014, Capacity Building
-
Developing a services-monitoring body
JO0041, 2014, Public Service Delivery
-
Public-sector restructuring
JO0042, 2014, Legislation & Regulation
-
Update the civil service bylaw
JO0043, 2014, Capacity Building
-
Code of ethics in civil service
JO0044, 2014, Capacity Building
-
Institutional capacity building
JO0045, 2014, Legislation & Regulation
-
Applying the principles of good governance
JO0046, 2014, Capacity Building
-
Media-sector restructuring
JO0047, 2014, Civic Space
-
Promoting the culture of excellence in public sector
JO0001, 2012, Capacity Building
-
Improve citizen feedback and complaint mechanisms
JO0002, 2012, Justice
-
Ensure the implementation of the “Government Services Improvement Guidelines Manual”
JO0003, 2012, Public Service Delivery
-
Conduct a comprehensive customers- satisfaction survey
JO0004, 2012, Public Service Delivery
-
Designing the second phase of the national program for improving public services
JO0005, 2012, Public Service Delivery
-
Enhance partnership and integration among government-s entities
JO0006, 2012, Public Service Delivery
-
Amending “the Government Services Improvement Bylaw”
JO0007, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
-
Continue working on linking the governmental institutions with the E-Government
JO0008, 2012, E-Government
-
Enactment of a new E-Transactions Law
JO0009, 2012, E-Government
-
Amendment of the Audit Bureau Law
JO0010, 2012, Audits and Controls
-
Establish an Internal Audit function in line ministries
JO0011, 2012, Audits and Controls
-
Setting standards and indicators to the internal audit units.
JO0012, 2012, Audits and Controls
-
Anti-Corruption Law Reform
JO0013, 2012, Anti-Corruption Institutions
-
Ensuring the implementation of the Code of Conduct among government employees
JO0014, 2012, Conflicts of Interest
-
Strengthening the financial and operational independence of the National Center for Human Rights.
JO0015, 2012, Civic Space
-
Approval of the Independent National Electoral Commission law
JO0016, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
-
Adoption of a new Political Parties law by Parliament
JO0017, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
-
Approval of the new Elections Law by Parliament
JO0018, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
-
Holding a Municipal Elections in 2013
JO0019, 2012, Subnational
-
Establishment of a Constitutional Court
JO0020, 2012, Judiciary
-
Establishment of an Administrative Court.
JO0021, 2012, Judiciary
-
Adopting amendments to the Access to Information Law
JO0022, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
-
Completion of the second phase of the Jordan Aid Information Management System-JAIMS
JO0023, 2012, Aid
-
Publishing the annual reports for 2011 of the Audit Bureau and Anti-Corruption Commission
JO0024, 2012, Anti-Corruption Institutions
-
National Procurement Systems self assessment
JO0025, 2012, Open Contracting and Procurement
-
Unified procurement bylaw
JO0026, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
-
Transparency in public spending
JO0027, 2012, Fiscal Transparency
-
Gender and child aspects in government units budget
JO0028, 2012, Gender
-
Enhance the transparency of the general budget preparation and disseminate information on process
JO0029, 2012, Fiscal Transparency
-
Preparing a strategy for the financial decentralization project
JO0030, 2012, Oversight of Budget/Fiscal Policies
-
Launching GFMIS in government ministries and departments and financial centers
JO0031, 2012, E-Government
-
Increasing transparency and accountability in the use of public funds
JO0032, 2012, Audits and Controls
-
Initiating discussions to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
JO0033, 2012, Extractive Industries