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  • © 2019

The Laws of Transparency in Action

A European Perspective

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Provides comparative and empirical data on the implementation of Freedom of Information laws (FOIAs) across, Western, Southern Central and Eastern Europe
  • Combines contributions from an expert team of editors and contributors drawn from the the European Group of Public Administration's (EGPA) Law and Administration Panel
  • Appeals to students and scholars of public administration, law, political science, sociology, and communication sciences

Part of the book series: Governance and Public Management (GPM)

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Table of contents (17 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxi
  2. The EU FOIA

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9
  3. The National FOIAs

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 71-71
    2. Freedom of Information in France: Law and Practice

      • Yseult Marique, Emmanuel Slautsky
      Pages 73-118
    3. Access to Information in Belgium

      • Stef Keunen, Steven Van Garsse
      Pages 119-162
    4. Transparency and Access to Government Information in the Netherlands

      • Kars J. de Graaf, Albert T. Marseille, Hanna D. Tolsma
      Pages 163-204
    5. Freedom of Information in Germany

      • Christoph Emanuel Mueller, Bettina Engewald, Marius Herr
      Pages 205-253
    6. Slovenia on the Path to Proactive Transparency

      • Polonca Kovač
      Pages 295-337
    7. Croatia: The Transparency Landscape

      • Anamarija Musa
      Pages 339-387
    8. Freedom of Information in Romania: Legal and Empirical Insights

      • Bianca V. Radu, Dacian C. Dragos
      Pages 425-470
    9. The Laws of Transparency in Action: Freedom of Information in the Czech Republic

      • Stanislav Kadečka, Jan Brož, Lukáš Rothanzl
      Pages 471-500
    10. Free Access to Information in Serbia

      • Dobrosav Milovanović, Marko Davinić, Vuk Cucić
      Pages 501-541
    11. Special Report: Transparency on a Bumpy Road—Denmark

      • Pernille Boye Koch, Rikke Gottrup, Michael Gøtze
      Pages 563-595
  4. Comparative Summarising Perspectives

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 597-597
    2. A Brief Comparative Outlook on the Regulation of Parties, Procedure, and Exceptions in Different FOIAs

      • Dacian C. Dragos, Eliška Drapalova, Albert T. Marseille
      Pages 599-638

About this book

This book examines the issue of free access to information as part of the openness and transparency principles. The free access to public information has become one of the most hotly contested aspects of contemporary government and public administration. Many countries in Europe have well-established Freedom of Information laws (FOIAs), while others have adopted them more recently. The problems that occur in the implementation of FOIAs are different due to the legal and institutional context; nevertheless, patterns of best practices and malfunctioning are comparable. The book analyses in comparative and empirical perspective the respective main challenges. Whilst the existing literature focusses on the legal provisions, this book offers practical insights through 13 national profiles and the EU level, on how effective the legal provisions of FOIAs really prove to be.

Reviews

“The book provides valuable comparative groundwork on transparency regulation. … The book will stir the interest of students and academics, but also of practitioners from administrations and lawyers.” (Heiko Richter, IIC - International Review of Intellect, Vol. 51, 2020)

“This is a very timely collection of essays on the law of transparency in operation. From data-driven research and the unfolding story in the European Union - where we still await a reform of Regulation 1049 - a generous coverage of national European systems and final chapters on comparative perspectives, this collection will be an essential read for those engaged in transparency and access to information. The editors have done well in bringing together such a challenging and stimulating group of essays.” (Patrick Birkinshaw, Editor of European Public Law and University of Hull, UK)

“The editors have curated an impressive body of work in this new volume. They focus not on the passage of Freedom of Information laws but the implementation of these laws—an essential aspect of transparency policy process. This volume is necessary reading for anyone looking to better understand how Freedom of Information laws work in practice in thirteen European countries.” (Suzanne Piotrowski, Rutgers University-Newark, USA)

“This book makes a very valuable contribution to the analysis of a central topic in contemporary public laws: that of access to public data, in other words of public apparatuses transparency. It seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the related legal provisions from a "law in action" perspective, and it does so by examining thirteen internal legal systems, plus that of the European Union. ... it describes the way, quite homogeneous in the whole even if secondary variations can be identified, by which our legal systems have integrated and develop this major progress of the rule of law in the public domain that transparency of public data constitutes. This is a very important book.” (Jean-Bernard Auby, Public Law Professor, Sciences Po, Paris, France, and Director, Chair Mutations de l’Action Publique et du Droit Public)


Editors and Affiliations

  • Center for Good Governance Studies, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania

    Dacian C. Dragos

  • Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Polonca Kovač

  • Department of Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Public Administration, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Albert T. Marseille

About the editors

Dacian C. Dragos is Jean Monnet Professor of Administrative and European Law and Co-director of the Center for Good Governance Studies at the Babes Bolyai University, Romania. Since 2010 he has chaired the Law and Administration panel of the European Group of Public Administration (EGPA). His research publications include several edited books, over 20 chapters in international books, and over 50 papers in scientific journals.


Polonca Kovač is an Associate Professor of Administrative Law and Public Administration at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. She is as a steering committee member of the Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe (NISPAcee) and a co-director of the Law and Administration panel of the EGPA. She is an editor and author of numerous scientific articles and books, and an OECD/SIGMA expert. 


A. T. (Bert) Marseille is Professor ofPublic Administration at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He is a co-director of the Law and Administration panel of the EGPA, a member of the steering committee for the promotion of Empirical Legal Studies in the Netherlands, chair of the Section North of the Dutch Association for Public Administration, and an editor of the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Bestuursrecht.


Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access