THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT
JAMAICA
No. 21— 2002
I assent,
(L.S.)
H. F. COOKE,
Governor-General.
22nd day of July, 2002.
AN ACT to Provide members of the public with a general right of access to official documents and for
connected matters.
[
The date notified by the Minister bringing the Act into operation
]
BE IT ENACTED by The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate
and House of Representatives of Jamaica, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Short title and
commencement.
1. This Act may be cited as the Access to Information Act, 2002, and shall come into operation on a day to be
appointed by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette.
PART I. Preliminary
2. The objects of this Act are to reinforce and give further effect to certain fundamental principles underlying
the system of constitutional democracy, namely—
(a)
governmental accountability;
(b)
transparency; and
(c)
public participation in national decision-making,
Objects
of Act.
by granting to the public a general right of access to official documents held by public authorities, subject to
exemptions which balance that right against the public interest in exempting from disclosure governmental,
commercial or personal information of a sensitive nature.
3. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
Interpretation.
"appointed day" means the day appointed pursuant to section 1;
Prepared by the Access to Information Unit
Jamaica Archives & Records Department
Office of the Prime Minister
© Government of Jamaica 2003