THE BEST-KEPT SECRET? RECORD COMPANY PROMOTION MANUAL

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A request for access must be refused if the record contains:. For public bodies, a request may also be refused if the record consists of information supplied in confidence by a third party:. But public bodies cannot hide behind confidentiality clauses which are designed to circumvent the PAIA, unless the confidentiality breach would result in a successful claim against the party. As one would expect, there are a number of grounds of refusal where public bodies are concerned which relate to national security.

An information officer may refuse a request for access to records if their disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause prejudice to the defence of the Republic, the security of the Republic or the international relations of the Republic. An information officer may also refuse to disclose a record that would reveal information supplied in confidence by or on behalf of another State or international organisation.

An information officer of a public body may refuse a request for access in a number of circumstances where that access will impact on the operations of the public body. One such ground for refusal is that the record contains an opinion, advice, report or recommendation obtained or prepared for the purpose of assisting in the formulation of a policy or taking a decision in the exercise of a power or performance of a duty conferred or imposed by law.

Another ground of refusal is available if the disclosure of the record could reasonably be expected to frustrate the deliberative process in a public body, or between public bodies, by inhibiting candid communication of an opinion, advice, report or recommendation. One of the most important provisions of the PAIA is the public interest override which provides that despite a ground of refusal applying, the information officer must grant a request for access if:.

The public interest override is powerful.

It has the result that a ground of refusal is overridden if the two conditions set out above are met. For instance, even if an information officer determines that a record ought to be kept secret on national security grounds, the record must nevertheless be disclosed if the public interest override conditions are met. Get a weekly dose of facts, straight to your inbox. English-language site Site francophone.

Services Donate Get a weekly dose of facts. In one of the leading cases, Ngcobo CJ for the Constitutional Court described the importance of access to information, as well as its relationship with media freedom, as follows: Commercial information of a third party or of the body itself Three other grounds of refusal that may be relied upon by the information officer are designed to protect commercial information, either of the body itself or a third party. A request for access must be refused if the record contains: For public bodies, a request may also be refused if the record consists of information supplied in confidence by a third party: National security As one would expect, there are a number of grounds of refusal where public bodies are concerned which relate to national security.

Operations of public bodies An information officer of a public body may refuse a request for access in a number of circumstances where that access will impact on the operations of the public body. But… public interest overrides One of the most important provisions of the PAIA is the public interest override which provides that despite a ground of refusal applying, the information officer must grant a request for access if: Help us keep public figures accountable by supporting Africa Check's fact-checking work.

While voting, citizens are acting in a unique sovereign or "owner" capacity instead of being a subject of the laws, as is true outside of elections in selecting their government servants. It is argued that secrecy is impermissible as against the public in the area of elections where the government gets all of its power and taxing authority. In any event, permissible secrecy varies significantly with the context involved.

Organizations, ranging from multi-national for profit corporations to nonprofit charities , keep secrets for competitive advantage , to meet legal requirements, or, in some cases, to conceal nefarious behavior.

Best Kept Secret

New products under development, unique manufacturing techniques, or simply lists of customers are types of information protected by trade secret laws. The patent system encourages inventors to publish information in exchange for a limited time monopoly on its use, though patent applications are initially secret. Secret societies use secrecy as a way to attract members by creating a sense of importance. Shell companies may be used to launder money from criminal activity, to finance terrorism, or to evade taxes.

A constitutional right

Registers of beneficial ownership aim at fighting corporate secrecy in that sense. Europe has particularly strict laws about database privacy. In many countries, neoliberal reforms of government have included expanding the outsourcing of government tasks and functions to private businesses with the aim of improving efficiency and effectiveness in government administration.

However, among the criticisms of these reforms is the claim that the pervasive use of " Commercial-in-confidence " or secrecy clauses in contracts between government and private providers further limits public accountability of governments and prevents proper public scrutiny of the performance and probity of the private companies. Concerns have been raised that 'commercial-in-confidence' is open to abuse because it can be deliberately used to hide corporate or government maladministration and even corruption.

Preservation of secrets is one of the goals of information security. Techniques used include physical security and cryptography. The latter depends on the secrecy of cryptographic keys.

Many believe that security technology can be more effective if it itself is not kept secret. Information hiding is a design principle in much software engineering. It is considered easier to verify software reliability if one can be sure that different parts of the program can only access and therefore depend on a known limited amount of information.

A military secret is information about martial affairs that is purposely not made available to the general public and hence to any enemy, in order to gain an advantage or to not reveal a weakness, to avoid embarrassment , or to help in propaganda efforts. Most military secrets are tactical in nature, such as the strengths and weaknesses of weapon systems , tactics , training methods, plans, and the number and location of specific weapons.

Some secrets involve information in broader areas, such as secure communications, cryptography , intelligence operations, and cooperation with third parties. Excessive secrecy is often cited [2] as a source of much human conflict. One may have to lie in order to hold a secret, which might lead to psychological repercussions. Also, the other may insist that one answer the question.

The Bible addresses this: A Secret from on High , Hippolyte Moulin. The Secret , Moritz Stifter. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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For other uses, see Secrecy disambiguation. For the diriment impediment in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, see Clandestinity canon law. For other uses, see Secret disambiguation , Secrets disambiguation , and Covert disambiguation.

Sociological aspects of secrecy. Full disclosure computer security , Kerckhoffs' principle , and security through obscurity. Military intelligence and Born secret.

Arnold, Jason Ross Secrecy in the Sunshine Era: The Promise and Failures of U. University Press of Kansas. The false choice between secrecy and transparency in US politics". Birchall, Clare December

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