Right to Information Assessment (Review) Council
Following the enactment of the Right to Information Act in Turkey, a Right to Information Assessment (Review) Council (Bilgi Edinme Degerlendirme Kurulu) was established to deal with appeals on rejected right to information requests. The Council’s activities are regulated by article 14 of the Right to Information Act 2003. Furthermore, the Prime Ministry prepared and put into force the regulation concerning the procedure and the basis for the activities and tasks of the Council almost two years after the Council started to convene, and this was published in the Official Gazette on 07 June, 2006. In addition to dealing with appeals, and resolving the disputes between the applicants and the public institutions, the Council also has the responsibility to prepare an annual statistical report on the application of the Right to Information Act in Turkey. The Council can also recommend amendments to the existing law if necessary.
The Council is composed of 9 members, and the Council members serve for four years. The names of the members of the Council were announced by the Prime Ministry on 27 May, 2004. The Council of Ministers appointed two members amongst the four candidates nominated by the General Board of the Court of Appeals and the Council of State from their members; three members, each amongst the scholars of criminal, constitutional and administrative law who bear the title of 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 as general director; and a member among judges in service of the Ministry of Justice as recommended by the Minister.
It is required under article 14 that the Council convenes at least once a month or anytime upon the call of the President when there is need. The Council 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.
Leave a Reply