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
Transparency of Company Registers
Madrid, 1 August 2013 - Access Info Europe and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project are conducting comparative research with investigative journalists in 30 countries across Europe on the openness of national company registers. The aim of the project is to push for free public acces to Company Registers
Request Process in Spain
Summary: The Access to Information Law defers to other legislation Request sent to Ministry of Justice Outcome of request Information refused Time taken to respond 6 working days (deadline is 1 month) Reason for refusal FOI exceptions applied to registers. Personal privacy. Information not held. The initial request was
Request Process in Greece
Summary: Administrative Silence: No response to our request Request sent to Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Click here) Outcome of request Administrative Silence Time taken to respond N/A (Deadline is one month) Reason for refusal N/A The initial request was sent to the Athens Chamber of Commerce and
Request Process in Croatia
Summary: One Year Waiting for the Information Commissioner's Ruling Request sent to High Commercial Court Ministry of Justice Croatian Chamber of Commerce Outcome of request High Commercial Court: Referral to Ministry of Justice Ministry of Justice: Refused, but PENDING OUTCOME OF APPEAL TO INFORMATION COMMISSIONER Croatian Chamber of Commerce: Refused,
Request Process in Ukraine
Summary:The Freedom of Information Law Does Not Apply Request sent to State Registration Service (Click here) Outcome of request Information Refused Time taken to respond 5 working days (Deadline is 5 working days) Reason for refusal Another law overrides FOI law. The initial request for a copy of the full