TURKISH LAW ON THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION
LAW ON THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION
Law Number: 4982
Date of Enactment: 9/10/2003
Published in the Official Gazette: 24/10/2003 – 25269
The English version of this law is last updated on May 16, 2017
This translation has been produced on the basis of the Turkish version of the Law published on the official legislation website ‘http://www.mevzuat.gov.tr’
CHAPTER ONE
Object, Scope and Definitions
Object
Article 1- The object of this law is to regulate the procedure and the basis of the right to information according to the principles of equality, impartiality and openness that are the necessities of a democratic and transparent government.
Scope
Article 2- This law shall apply to the activities of the public institutions and agencies and the professional organisations which qualify as public institutions.
The provisions of the Law on the Use of the Right to Petition (Date:01.11.1984, No: 3071) shall be reserved.
(Additional paragraph: 12/7/2013-6495/ Art.33; annulled by the Constitutional Court’s decision of 04/12/2014, Case No: 2013/114, Decision No: 2014/184)
Definitions
Article 3– The terms used in the law means the following:
a) Institution and agency: All the authorities that are included under article 2 of this law and to which application for access to information will be lodged.
b) Applicant: All natural and legal persons who apply to the institutions by way of exercising the right to information.
c) Information: Every kind of data that is within the scope of this law and included in the records of the institutions and agencies.
d) Document: Any written, printed or copied file, document, book, journal, brochure, research, letter, software, instruction, sketch, plan, film, photograph, tape and video cassette, map and the information, news and other data that are recorded and saved in electronic format that are within the scope of this law.
e) Access to information and document: Depending on the nature of the information and the document, providing a copy of the information or the document to the applicant; in cases where it is not possible to give a copy, permitting the applicant to examine the original information or the document and to take notes or to see or listen to the contents.
f) Board: The Board of Review of Access to Information
CHAPTER TWO
Right to Information and the Obligation to Provide Information
Right to Information
Article 4– Everyone has the right to information.
Foreign residents in Turkey and the foreign legal entities operating in Turkey can exercise the right in this law, on the condition that the information that they require is related to them or the field of their activities; and on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.
All rights and obligations arising from international conventions to which Turkey is a party are reserved.
The Obligation to Provide Information
Article 5- The institutions and agencies are required to take necessary administrative and technical measures to provide every kind of information and document, with the exceptions set out in this law, to provide the information for applicants; and to review and decide on the applications for access to information promptly, effectively and correctly.
The other laws which are incompatible with the provisions contained herein shall cease to be applicable as of the date this Law comes into force.
CHAPTER THREE
Application for Access to Information
Procedure of Application
Article 6- The application for the access to information is made through a petition that includes the name, surname, the signature, residence or work address of the applicant; where the applicant is a legal entity, its title, the address and the signature of the authorised person together with a certificate of authorisation, to the institution that possesses the information or the document. The application can be made also electronically or by other types of communication tools, provided that the identity, the signature of the applicant or information which would facilitate identification of the applicant can be legally determined.
The information and the document that is requested must be clearly specified in the petition.
The Quality of the Information or the Document that can be requested
Article 7- The application for access to information should relate to the information or the document that the institutions and agencies which are applied possess or should possess due to their tasks and activities.
The institutions and agencies may turn down the applications for any information or document that require a separate or special work, research, examination or analysis.
Where the requested information or the document is at an institution other than the one that is applied, the petition shall be sent to the relevant institution and the applicant shall be notified accordingly.
The Information or Documents Published or Disclosed to the Public
Article 8- The information and documents that are published or disclosed to the public either through publication, brochure, proclamation or other similar means, shall not be the subject of an application for access to information. However, the applicant will be informed of the date, the means and the place of the publication or disclosure of the information or the document.
Providing Information or Document After Omitting Classified Information
Article 9- Where the requested information or document has a certain level of confidentiality or contains classified and unclassified elements, such information shall be provided for the applicant after the classified information is omitted if separable. The applicant shall be notified of the grounds for this omission in writing.
Access to Information or Document
Article 10- Institutions and agencies provide a certified copy of the requested document to the applicant.
Where the information or the document is not appropriate for copying by its nature or may cause damage to the original copy, the institution and agency shall provide the applicant with the necessary means;
a) to examine the original document and take notes for those that are published or printed,
b) to listen to the information or document that is in the form of sound recording,
c) to watch the information or document that is in the form of visual recording.
Where it is possible to access information or document through other means than those mentioned above, such information or document shall be provided as long as it does not damage the original material.
The applied institution and agency may charge the applicant for the cost of the procedure of accessing information or documents, to be added as an income to the budget.
The time limits for access to information or document
Article 11- The institutions and agencies shall provide the requested information within 15 working days. However, where the requested information or document is to be obtained from another unit within the applied institution and agency or it is necessary to receive the opinion of another institution or if the content of the application pertains to more than one institution; the access shall be provided in 30 working days. In this case, the applicant shall be notified in writing of the extension and its reasons within 15 working days.
The 15 working days time limit shall be suspended at the time when applicant is notified of the cost for the access to the information or the document stated in Article 10. The applicant shall be considered to have withdrawn the application unless the cost is paid within the next 15 working days.
Response to the Application
Article 12- Institutions and agencies notify the applicants in writing or inform them electronically of the result of their applications regarding access to information. If the application is rejected the applicant shall be notified of the reasons and the appeal mechanism against the decision.
Procedure of Appeal
Article 13- Within 15 days starting from the official notification, the applicant whose application for access to information is rejected, may appeal to the Board before appealing for judicial review. The Board shall render a decision within 30 working days. The institutions and agencies are obliged to provide every kind of information and document that are required by the Board within 15 days.
Appeal to the Board suspends the time limit to refer to the administrative jurisdiction.
The Board of Review of Access to Information
Article 14- The Board of Review of Access to Information has been established to review the decisions on the appeals against the applications for access to information and make decisions regarding institutions and agencies on the exercise of the right to information.
The Board is composed of 9 members. The Council of Ministers shall appoint one member each amongst the two candidates nominated by the General Board of the Court of Appeals and the Council of State from their members; one member each amongst the scholars of criminal, constitutional and administrative law who bear the title Professor or Associate Professors; one member among the two candidates that have the qualifications to be elected as chief of bar and are nominated by the Turkish Bar Association, two members amongst those who have been serving at least as general director; and a member among judges performing administrative duties, as recommended by the Minister.
Nomination is subject to the approval of the candidates.
The chairman of the Board is selected by the Board members among themselves.
The Board convenes at least once a month or anytime upon the call of the Chairman when necessary.
Board Members shall serve for four years. The members whose term of office expires may be re-elected. In the event that a member leaves before the end of his/her term, the new member who is elected with the same procedure to replace the leaving member, completes the period of the member that s/he has replaced. The former Board operates until the new Board starts to operate.
Without prejudice to the provisions of the Travel Expense Law No: 6245 of 10.02.1954, Board members are paid a daily allowance calculated by multiplying the benchmark of 3000 Turkish liras by monthly wage coefficient of public officers for each day spent on duty. Those payments are not subject to any tax except for the stamp duty. (Sentence added on 17.11.2005 – Law No. 5432/Art. 2) In the event that days spent on duty in a month exceed four days, daily allowance is not paid for extra days.
The Board can set up commissions and working groups and in addition may invite representatives from the ministries, non-governmental organisations and other institutions to participate in the meetings as it finds appropriate.
The secretarial services of the Board are executed by the Prime Ministry.
The Prime Ministry prepares and puts into force the regulation concerning the procedure and the basis for the activities and duties of the Board.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Restrictions on the Right to Information
The Transactions that are not subject to the Judicial Review
Article 15- The transactions that are not subject to the judicial review and that affect the working life and professional honour of the persons, are within the scope of this law. The right to information provided in this way, does not subject the transaction to judicial review.
The Information and Documents Pertaining to the State Secrets
Article 16- The information and documents which qualify as state secrets whose disclosure may clearly cause harm to the security of the state or foreign affairs or national defence and national security are out of the scope of the right to information provided herein.
The Information and Documents Pertaining to the Economical Interests of the State
Article 17- The information or documents whose disclosure or early disclosure cause harm to the economical interests of the state or will cause unfair competition or enrichment, are out of the scope of this law.
The Information and Documents Pertaining to the State Intelligence
Article 18- The information and documents regarding the duties and activities of the civil and military intelligence units, are out of the scope of this law.
However such information and documents, that affect the professional honour and working life of the persons, are within the scope of right to information.
The Information and Documents Pertaining to the Administrative Investigation
Article 19- The information or the document that is related to the administrative investigation held by the competent departments of institutions and agencies and which will;
a) clearly violate the right of privacy of the individuals,
b) endanger the security or the life of the individuals or the officials that carry out the investigation,
c) jeopardise the security of the investigation,
d) disclose the source of the information which needs to be kept secret, or endanger the procurement of similar information or information sources in connection with the investigation are out of the scope of this Law.
The Information or Documents Pertaining the Judicial Investigation and Prosecution
Article 20- The information or the document whose disclosure or untimely disclosure will
a) give rise to a criminal offence,
b) endanger prevention and investigation of the crime or endanger the legal procedure for the detention and the prosecution of the criminals,
c) obstruct the proper operation of judicial duty,
d) violate the right to fair trial of a defendant in a pending case are out of the scope of this law.
The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Date: 4/4/1929, No:1412), Code of Civil Procedure (Date:18/6/1927, No: 1086), Code of Procedure of Administrative Jurisdiction (Date: 6/1/1982, No: 2577) and the provisions contained in other specific regulations shall be reserved.
Privacy of individuals
Article 21- Without prejudice to cases where the consent of the concerned individual has been received, the information and documents that will unjustly interfere with the health records, private and family life, honour and dignity, and the economic and professional interests of an individual, are out of the scope of the right to information.
Due to public interest considerations, personal information or documents may be disclosed by the institutions and agencies on the condition that concerned individual is notified of the disclosure at least 7 days in advance and his/her written consent is obtained.
The Privacy of Communication
Article 22- The information and documents that will violate the privacy of communication, are out of the scope of this law.
Trade Secrets
Article 23- The information and documents that are qualified as commercial secret in laws, and the commercial and financial information that are provided by the institutions and agencies on the condition that they are kept secret from natural or legal persons, are out of the scope of this law.
Intellectual Property
Article 24- In the event of application for access to information concerning intellectual property, the relevant provisions of the law shall apply.
Internal Regulations
Article 25- The information and documents of the institutions and agencies that do not concern the public and are solely in connection with their personnel and internal affairs, are out of the scope of the right to information. However, the employees of the institutions who are subject to the regulations have the right to access to such information.
Internal Opinions, Information Notes and Recommendations
Article 26- The information and document qualified as opinion, information note, proposals and recommendations which facilitate the execution of the activities of the institutions and agencies are within the scope of the right to information, unless stated otherwise by that institution and agency.
The opinions of the units, individuals or institutions that are legally obliged to give reports on scientific, cultural, technical, medical, financial, statistical, legal and other similar expertise fields are within the scope of the right to information provided that such opinions constitute the basis of administrative decisions taken by the institutions.
Requests for Recommendation and Opinions
Article 27- The requests for recommendations and opinions are out of the scope of this law.
Declassified Information and Documents
Article 28- The information and documents which cease to be classified are open to the applications for access to information, if they do not fall within the scope of the other exceptions provided in this law.
CHAPTER FIVE
Miscellaneous and Final Provisions
Criminal Provisions
Article 29- Without prejudice to any criminal prosecution to be conducted by virtue of general provisions of criminal law, the officials and other civil servants who negligently, recklessly or deliberately obstruct the application of this law, shall be subject to disciplinary sanctions as provided in the relevant legislation which they are subject to.
The information and documents that are obtained according to this law, cannot be copied and used for commercial interest.
Preparation of the Reports
Article 30- The institutions and agencies shall prepare reports pertaining to the previous year and which include,
a) the number of applications on the access to information received by the institutions,
b) the number of applications that the institutions and agencies have accepted and provided access to information or document,
c) the number of applications that have been rejected and statistical information about their categorisation ,
d) the number of applications that are accepted and accordingly provided access to information after omitting or separating classified or secret information.
e) the number of appeals to the decisions of rejection and their results and send them to the Board of Review of Access to Information until the end of February, every year. The institutions and agencies that are associated, related or connected to another public legal entity shall send their reports through the ministry they are associated with. The Board shall prepare a general report and submit it to the Turkish Grand National Assembly every year by the end of April, together with the reports received from the institutions. These reports shall be disclosed to the public by the Presidency of the Turkish Grand National Assembly in the following two months.
Regulations
Article 31- The Regulation concerning the principles and procedures for the application of this law shall be prepared by the Prime Ministry and put into force by the Council of Ministers within six months after the date of publication.
Entry into Force
Article 32- This law shall come into force six months after the date of its publication.
Execution
Article 33- The Council of Ministers executes the provisions of this law.
DATES OF ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE LEGISLATION AMENDING LAW NO. 4982 AND OF THE PROVISIONS ABROGATED BY CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
| Number of the Amending Law/Decree Law/ Constitutional Court Decision for Annulment | Amended or repealed Articles of the Law No. 4982 | Date of Entry Into Force |
| 5432 | 13 and 14 | 22.11.2005 |
| 6495 | 2 | 2.8.2013 |
| Decision of the Constitutional Court dated 4.12.2014, Case No. 2013/114, Decision No. 2014/22 (Stay of execution) |
2 |
6.12.2014 |
| Decision of the Constitutional Court dated 4.12.2014, Case No. 2013/114, Decision No. 2014/184 |
2 |
16.7.2015 |
Unofficial Translation
Kaya & Partner Hukuki Danışmanlık
Lawyers – Rechtsberatung
Istanbul / Turkey