23 março 2005

VITAMEDIAS

E esta: registos públicos que não são... públicos? Ou serão mas com o ónus para quem os quer ver! O primeiro passo é dado nos Estados Unidos e envolve também os jornalistas...
N.C. Cities Want To Sue Over Public Records Requests: North Carolina cities and other government agencies are pursuing the authority to sue citizens who ask to see public records.
Cities, agencies seek right to sue: State law gives you the right to see public records and attend government meetings. But now the government wants the power to sue you for asking. [...]
a Court of Appeals panel of three judges concluded that allowing the government to file pre-emptive access lawsuits would create "a chilling effect on the public."
The court also ruled that requiring members of the public to defend the lawsuits in lengthy court actions would undermine "the fundamental right of every person to have prompt access to information in the possession of public agencies."
And such lawsuits, the appeals court suggested, would violate the aim of state sunshine laws "of promoting openness in the daily workings of public bodies."
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case April 19.