The Cost of Transparency and the Right to Access. Lessons to Be Learnt from Common Law Experience

Abstract

This paper examines the Common Law practice on Freedom of Information from the perspective of the right to access to public records held by authorities. Such approach will consider best practices and consolidated doctrine in processing requests of public records issued by the Information Commissioners and Courts in UK, US and Australia. In this sense, a wide array of criteria shall be distilled from doctrines of the “reasonable search” and the “balance of probabilities”, or the cost of transparency in processing requests. Such criteria should inspire Spanish practice and enforcement of Transparency legislation.