Legislation | Prime Minister´s Office 2 of 10 http://eng.forsaetisraduneyti.is/acts-of-law//nr/15 Public access to information Article 3 Right to information Upon request, governmental authorities are required to grant the public access to available material on specific matters, subject to the restrictions stated in Art. 4-6. Nonetheless, governmental authorities are not required to prepare new documents or other material, exceeding what can be inferred from Art. 7. The right of access to material shall apply to: 1. Any documents concerning the matter, including any copies of letters sent by a government authority, providing it may be assumed that they have been delivered to the recipient 2. Any other material concerning the matter, such as drawings, plans, maps, pictures, microfilms and material saved on computers 3. Diary entries concerning material relating to the matter, and lists of material on the matter Governmental authorities shall be permitted to grant more extensive access to material than is prescribed in this Chapter, unless this is precluded by statutory provisions on secrecy obligations. Article 4 Material exempted from the right to information The public right of access to material shall not extend to: 1. Minutes of State Council meetings and Cabinet meetings, memoranda at ministerial meetings, or the documents prepared for such meetings 2. Correspondence between governmental authorities and experts for use in legal proceedings or in investigating whether or not to initiate such proceedings 3. The working documents a government authority has written for its own use; nonetheless, access shall be granted to working documents if they contain a final decision on the handling of a matter, or information not available from any other source 4. Applications for employment by state or local authorities or material related to the applications; nonetheless, information on the names, addresses and job titles of the applicants must be provided after the application deadline has expired. Article 5 Restrictions on the right to information, due to private interests It is prohibited to grant the public access to material concerning an individual's private or financial affairs that it is reasonable or appropriate to keep secret, unless the person concerned gives approval. The same restrictions apply on access to material which concerns important financial or commercial interests of businesses or other legal entities. Article 6 Restrictions on the right to information, due to public interests It is permissible to restrict public access to material if this is necessitated by important public 23/06/2010 12:39 PM