Proactive disclosure duties compared

United Kingdom: publication schemes

Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 makes it the duty of every public authority to adopt and maintain a publication scheme approved by the regulator, to publish information under it, and to review it from time to time ¹. A scheme must set out the classes of information published, how each class is published and whether it is free or charged for ¹.

Schemes must include a duty to publish datasets that have been requested, with updated versions, where appropriate. Where practical, datasets go out in a re-usable electronic form ¹. When adopting or reviewing a scheme, an authority must consider the public interest in access and in publishing the reasons for its decisions ¹.

India: section 4 of the RTI Act

Section 4(1)(b) of the Right to Information Act 2005 required every public authority to publish a set list of facts within 120 days of the Act's enactment and to update it every year ². Section 4(2) asks authorities to make a constant endeavour to publish information on their own, including online, so the public needs to use the Act as little as possible ².

• Organisation, functions and duties, and the powers and duties of officers ².
• Decision-making procedure, norms, and the rules and manuals used ².
• A directory of officers and the monthly pay of each ².
• The budget of each agency, with plans, proposed spending and reports on money paid out ².
• Subsidy programmes and beneficiaries, and recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations ².
• Names and details of Public Information Officers ².

United States: Federal Register and reading rooms

The US FOIA requires agencies to publish their organisation, procedural rules and substantive rules in the Federal Register ³. A person cannot be adversely affected by a matter that had to be published there and was not, except where they had actual and timely notice ³.

Section 552(a)(2) requires agencies to make a further set of records available in electronic format ³. These are final opinions and orders in adjudications, policy statements and interpretations not published in the Federal Register, and staff manuals that affect the public ³. They include records released on request that have been requested three or more times or are likely to draw repeat requests, with a general index ³.

The Department of Justice reported that agencies proactively disclosed 115% more records in fiscal year 2025 than in fiscal year 2024 ⁵.

European Union: registers and direct access

Regulation 1049/2001 requires the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission to give public access to a register of documents, preferably in electronic form ⁴. Each entry carries a reference number, the subject and the date the document was received or drawn up ⁴. Article 12 asks institutions to make documents directly accessible in electronic form as far as possible, and legislative documents in particular ⁴.

Article 17 requires each institution to publish an annual report with the number of refusals and the reasons for them ⁴.

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