The Right to Information and Transformative Development Outcomes

One of the innovations of the past 30 years has been the creation and subsequent use of the “right to information (RTI)” to deepen democracy, enhance citizen participation and generate transparent systems of governance. Transitional societies and existing democracies alike have embraced legal regimes on the right to information. An RTI law gives a person a right to demand information from a public body (and in some cases from private bodies as well) without having to disclose why the information is being sought. Such a right can enhance transparency in public administration, decrease the level of arbitrary decision-making, and facilitate citizen participation at local, regional and central government levels. It can also reduce corruption and prevent the abuse of public power. UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 commits States to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. More particularly, Target 16.10 aims to “ensure public access to information”. By examining the work of the Sri Lankan RTI Commission over the past 2 years, this Article assesses whether RTI regimes and RTI commissions can be transformative in their impact, including to help realize SDG Goal 16. Can they help generate transparent, participatory and less-corrupt development outcomes, foster a concept of active citizenship, provide genuine public scrutiny of government decision-making, and enable citizens to benefit from an inclusive development process?