BUSINESS TRANSPARENCY
Companies operating in the public sphere should be accountable for their actions and impacts on human rights and the environment, and in order to achieve this, transparency is essential.
» Through legislation: The European Union, for example, has adopted a series of legislation that requires companies in specific sectors to report on their impacts and activities. Find out more here » Through the fundamental right to information: Access to information is a fundamental human right and therefore it cannot be violated by any private actor. However, private actors not yet obliged to respond to freedom of information requests; except for in South Africa.
» Business Transparency News: We keep an eye on corporate transparency legislation.
» Company Ownership Transparency: We use access to information laws to test accessibility of corporate information in practice and to push for improved transparency.
BUSINESS TRANSPARENCY NEWS
Request Process in Switzerland
Summary: Information Commissioner Rules That Specific Company Register Law Trumps Access to Information Law Request sent to Business and Enterprise Register (BER) Outcome of request Information refused Time taken to respond 6 working days (Deadline is 20 working days) Reason for refusal Another law overrides FOI law Only need to
Request Process in Sweden
Summary: You Need to Pay For the Information and State What You Plan to Do With the Personal Data in the Register Request sent to Swedish Companies Registration Office Trade and Industry Register Outcome of request Information refused Time taken to respond 1 working day (Deadline is “immediately”) Reason for
Request Process in Serbia
Summary: Information Commissioner Rules that Business Register Was Right to Refuse Access Because the Data Was Already Available Online Request sent to Serbian Business Registers Agency (SBRA) (Click here) Outcome of request Information refused Time taken to respond 46 working days (deadline is 15 working days) Reason for refusal Database
Request Process in Russia
Summary: It Is "Technically Impossible" to Provide Access to the Full Database Request sent to Federal Tax Service (Click here) Outcome of request Information Refused Time taken to respond 40 working days (Deadline is 30 calendar days) Reason for refusal Another law overrides FOI law. Technically impossible to fulfill.
Request Process in Romania
Summary: The Romanian Access to Information Law Does Not Cover Self-Funded Bodies Request sent to National Trade Register (Click here) Outcome of request Information refused. Time taken to respond 3 working days (Deadline is 10 working days) Reason for refusal Only need to answer requests for individual records. Must pay