“Freedom of information refers to the right of individuals to access information held by government (public authorities), which has been recognised as a human right under international law and in many national constitutions. Laws protecting this right should apply widely to all information held by all public authorities (including all three branches of government), should provide for user-friendly procedures for making and processing requests for information, should have a limited regime of exceptions for confidential information and should establish independent systems for appealing refusals to provide information.”

There are over 140 countries with FOI/RTI laws. See the RTI Rating for more information and detail on the quality of the legal frameworks of access to information laws around the world.