A committee reviewing Cayman’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Law has recommended that long-standing secrecy rules for civil servants be rewritten to comply with the new legislation.
That recommendation was bolstered by a recent opinion from an English judge who led a Commission of Enquiry here in January. Sir Richard Tucker said the Declaration of Secrecy which all government employees sign before taking up employment should be abolished.
‘This declaration may appear to be inconsistent with the Freedom of Information Law,’ Sir Richard wrote in the Commission of Enquiry report: ‘It is not appropriate to ask (civil servants) to sign a declaration of secrecy in this form.’
Deputy Head of the Civil Service Peter Gough said his office would review the declaration in light of the comments.
The current policy sets out rules for handling documents and prohibitions against disseminating those records without permission. Government employees can be fined or even fired for violating the rules.
FOI Policy Analyst Natasha Bodden told a group of more than 100 civil servants at a meeting last month that those rules would have to change to accommodate the new law when it comes into effect next year. There are two major areas of concern.
First, the FOI Law (2007) requires government information managers to respond to public inquiries within a certain period of time. In other words, those employees must speak with requestors and release documents if the records are determined to be public.
Second, section 50 of the FOI Law contains a new area of law for the Cayman Islands; protection of whistleblowers. Anyone who reports wrong-doing within a government department is afforded protection from retaliation under FOI as long as those reports are made in good faith.
FOI Coordinator Carole Excell said it’s clear the old policy for civil servants will not jibe with the new information laws.
‘We recognise that it needs to be changed, we’re just trying to decide how,’ Mrs. Excell said in a recent telephone interview.
Ms Bodden said it’s likely all current civil servants will have to sign the new policy once its drafted and put in place: ‘I would think people would want to do this in their own interests,’ Ms Bodden said.
Government ministers have previously said it was likely in areas where conflicts did occur between the FOI law and civil service rules that the law of the land would win out.
Reporters’ questions
The Freedom of Information Law also states that those requesting information must submit their queries in writing, either by letter or e-mail.
That requirement has raised concern among journalists over whether official information they receive now will have to be requested in writing and then be subjected to the waiting period of 30 days.
Mrs. Excell said that was not the case. She said items already in the public domain, such as information on websites or data which has been released to journalists in the past can still be released in the same manner.
‘If they get it over the phone now, it won’t fall under FOI,’ Mrs. Excell.
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