TABLE OF ACRONYMS AND REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I GENERAL INFORMATION

A.         Creation of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Institutional Support

B.         Mandate of the Office of the Special Rapporteur

C.         Principal Activities of the Office of the Special Rapporteur

1.               Individual Case System: Strategic Litigation on Freedom of Expression within the inter-American System

2.               Precautionary Measures

3.               Public Hearings

4.               Official Visits

5.               Seminars and Workshops with Strategic Actors in the Region

6.               Annual Report and development of expert knowledge

7.               Special statements and declarations: using the bully pulpit

D.               Staff of the Office of the Special Rapporteur

E.         Funding

CHAPTER II EVALUATION OF THE STATE OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE HEMISPHERE

A.         Introduction and methodology

B.         Evaluation of the state of freedom of expression in the Member States

1.      Argentina

2.      Bahamas

3.      Belize

4.      Bolivia

5.      Brazil

6.      Canada

7.      Chile

8.      Colombia

9.      Costa Rica

10.    Cuba

11.    Ecuador

12.    El Salvador

13.    United States

14.    Guatemala

15.    Guyana

16.    Haiti

17.    Honduras

18.    Jamaica

19.    Nicaragua

20.    Panama

21.    Paraguay

22.    Peru

23.    Dominican Republic

24.    Suriname

25.    Trinidad y Tobago

26.    Uruguay

27.    Venezuela

28.    Mexico: 2010 Special Report on Freedom of Expression in Mexico    

29.    Proposed Categories and Standards for the Special Country Reports of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

CHAPTER III ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS     

The right of the victims of human rights violations to access information in state archives on such violations

1.      Do the victims of serious human rights violations or their relatives have the right to access information on such violations when it is in the archives of State security forces?

2.      The positive obligations of the State in relation to access to information on mass human rights violations

3.      The obligation to adapt States’ normative framework to international obligations

4.      The Court’s judgment in the case of Gomes Lund et al (Guerrilha do Araguaia) v. Brazil and the right of access to information

CHAPTER IV JUDICIAL BEST PRACTICE WITH RESPECT TO ACCESS TO INFORMATION

IN THE AMERICAS

A.      Introduction

B.      Judicial best practice with respect to human rights

C.      National Decisions that Constitute Judicial Best Practice with respect to  Access to Information     

1.      Case law on the nature and scope of the right of access to information as a fundamental autonomous right

2.      Case law on universal entitlement to the right of access to information

3.      Case law on the principle of maximum disclosure

4.      Case law on the application of the principle of maximum disclosure to order access to information on government advertising

5.      Case law on access to information regarding the funding of political parties

6.      Case law on the right to know salaries or incomes paid from public funds

7.      Case law on the publicity of statistical data

8.      Case law on access to personal information on the beneficiaries of social programs

9.      Case law on the principle of maximum disclosure as a guarantee of participation and citizen oversight in a democratic State

10.    Principle of maximum disclosure as a limit to banking and stock exchange secrecy when public funds are involved

11.    Case law on the obligation to have a simple, prompt, and free administrative procedure for access to information

12.    Case law on access to information and the duty to create and maintain archives

13.    Case law on the State’s duty to justify any denial of a request for access to information

14.    Case law on the right of access in the event of a request for information that is especially burdensome to the State

15.    Case law on access to personal information: definition of "personal information"

16.    Case law on access to public records and archives containing the requester’s information

17.    Case law on the right of access to information on individuals who are or have been government employees

18.    Case law on restrictions to the right of access to information: general system of limitations to the right of access to information

19.    Case law on the requirements that limitations be set forth by law

20.    Case law on the requirement that the confidentiality of information be set for limited and reasonable periods of time

21.    Case law on proof of harm and the need to perform a strict proportionality test when the confidentiality of information is invoked

22.    Case law on the restrictive application of the concept of national security

23.    Case law on access to information contained in documents directly related to the commission of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

CHAPTER V PRINCIPLES ON THE REGULATION OF GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING  IN THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

A.         The case of government advertising

B.         Guiding principles on government advertising

1.   Establishment of specific, clear, and precise laws

2.   Legitimate objectives of government advertising

3.   Criteria for the allocation of government advertising

4.   Adequate planning

5.   Contracting mechanisms

6.   Transparency and access to information

7.   External oversight of the allocation of government advertising

8.   Media pluralism and government advertising

CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

APPENDIX