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The Role of the Administrative Justice Court in Compelling Public Bodies to Disclose Information under the Law on Publication and Free Access to Information (2009): An Analysis of the Past Decade of Judicial Practice
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Ali Shariati Rad   , Maedeh Soleimani Dinani * |
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Abstract: (214 Views) |
The right of free access to information in the Iranian legal system was recognized with the enactment of the Law on Publication and Free Access to Information in 2009. Nevertheless, the effective realization of this right requires careful oversight and effective enforcement guarantees by competent authorities. Over the past decade (2014–2024), the Administrative Justice Court has played a decisive role in safeguarding this right. Through a comprehensive review of the Court’s rulings—including decisions of first-instance and appellate branches, the General Assembly, and unifying precedent decisions—this article demonstrates that the Court’s judicial practice has largely been oriented toward supporting transparency and obligating bodies subject to the Law to disclose information. In numerous instances, the General Assembly of the Court has annulled regulations and enactments that imposed unlawful restrictions on access to information, emphasizing the principle that requests for information do not require justification and that discrimination in access must not be permitted. Moreover, by overseeing the decisions of the “Commission on Publication and Free Access to Information” as the specialized administrative authority responsible for implementing the Law, the Court has, in certain cases, interpreted these decisions in line with the Law or overturned them. The research findings indicate that over this decade the practice of the Administrative Justice Court has gradually moved toward the consolidation of the right of access to information and, by identifying practical challenges, has played a significant role in clarifying the scope and limits of this right. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and relying on primary sources such as statutory texts and judicial decisions, this article extracts and analyzes the Court’s patterns of behavior and, in conclusion, while summarizing conceptual developments in judicial practice, offers recommendations for improving the implementation of the Law.
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| Keywords: : Administrative Justice Court, Right of Access to Information, Act on Publication and Free Access to Information, Transparency, Judicial Practice |
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
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