Information about Natural Resources

European Court of Human Rights.  The Court stated: “As the Court has held on many occasions, reporting on matters relating to management of public resources lies at the core of the media's responsibility and the right of the public to receive information (see Busuioc v. Moldova, no. 61513/00, §§ 63-64 and 84, 21 December 2004; and Cumpǎnǎ and Mazǎre v. Romania [GC], no. 33348/96, §§ 94-95, ECHR 2004‑XI).”[1] The case concerned an article about illegal logging published by a newspaper in Vladivostok, Russia. The article quoted the concerns of officials who said that local government departments were contributing to the problem. A government department and its director sued the newspaper for defamation and won damages. The European Court of Human Rights found a violation of the right to freedom of expression because the newspaper was ordered to pay libel damages for quoting local officials and had acted in good faith.

Mexico

In Juan Gabriel Gutierrez Orozco v. Mexican Petroleum, the Mexican Federal Access to Information Institute (“IFAI”) ordered disclosure of (1) the names and addresses of liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) distributors that had purchased LPG from Pemex, a state company in charge of all exploitation and first sale of such products, and (2) Pemex’s sales volumes.  The Mexican Access Law allows submitters of confidential information to designate the information as such and states that the government may disclose the confidential information “only with the express consent of the individual to whom that confidential information belongs.”[2] However, the confidential information may be withheld on these grounds only if it falls within one of the statutory exemptions.  With respect to names and addresses of LPG distributors, because LPG distribution was licensed by the federal government, which was required to make public its list of licensees under the Access Law, the IFAI determined that the information should be disclosed.  With respect to sales volumes, the IFAI recognized that specific sales information “might be of utility” to the distributors’ competitors and that Pemex had taken steps to maintain confidentiality of the information.  But because petroleum is national patrimony under the Mexican Constitution and because Pemex’s aggregate sales data are indicative of its use of public resources, the IFAI concluded that disclosure of such aggregate data “would contribute to the objectives of the Access Law to enhance the transparency and accountability of public administration.”[3] This case is also summarized under Commercial Secrets: Mexico.

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Venezuela

The 2003 Law Against Corruption (Ley contra la Corrupción) establishes in its Articles 8, 9 and 10 the right of the citizens to access information regarding the administration of the public patrimony of state organs[4]

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