Gronde vir die weiering van toegang tot inligting soos van toepassing op openbare instellings (deel II)

The right of access to information as contained in section 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, is not an absolute right. It has to be limited in order to protect sensitive material of which the disclosure may cause damage to individual or public interests. In light of this, the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) contains a number of legitimate grounds for the refusal of information. Part I of this article provided an explanation of the structure of the grounds for refusal, looked at the principles relevant to their correct interpretation and continued with an analysis of the first six grounds as contained in the PAIA. In part II, the remainder of the grounds for refusal that are applicable to public institutions, are examined (sections 40 to 46). These grounds, amongst others, relate to records concerning the defence, security, international relations and economic and financial welfare of the Republic, records that reveal research information of a third party or a public institution and records concerning the operations of public institutions. As was the case in part I, the grounds are analysed with reference to corresponding provisions of the American Freedom of Information Act, the Canadian Access to Information Act, the New Zealand Official Information Act and the Australian Freedom of Information Act.