(在2009年5月26日中国法学会法律法学网合作机制召开的
中外政府信息公开比较研讨会上的PPT 发言提纲)
Freedom of Information Act 《美国信息自由法》
First passed in 1966 1966年首次通过
Been amended numerous times 其后修改过若干回
Been supplemented by Presidential Executive Orders
总统行政命令进行增补
Sets out the legislative and regulatory means by which citizens gain access to government records & information
设立了公民浏览政府信息记录的法律途径
Today’s PowerPoint 今日话题
Describes the FOIA request process 描述《信息自由法》申请流程
Discusses the Federal Government’s reaction to processing problems
探讨联邦政府在处理问题过程中的表现
Presents data in a recent General Accountability Office report that discusses whether or not recent enhancements to FOIA have been effective
提供关于《信息自由法》增强法案是否有效的GAO报告数据
Two Components 两部分
Affirmative Agency Disclosure of certain types of Information
机构信息公开
In the Federal Register 《联邦公报》
On the Agency’s web site (electronic reading room)
机构网站（电子阅览室）
In an Agency information center or reading room
（机构信息中心或阅览室）
Respond to specific requests
Exceptions 例外
National Security 国家安全
Internal Personnel Rules 内部人事规则
Specifically Exempted by Statute 法规特别豁免
Trade Secrets and commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential
商业秘密以及受特权保护或秘密的商业或金融信息
Some Inter-agency or Intra-agency memorandums
一部分机构内部或机构间的备忘录
Personnel or Medical files 人事或医疗档案
Records or Information Compiled for Law Enforcement Purposes
为法律执行目的编纂的信息记录
Certain Financial Information Gathered and Prepared by Oversight Agencies
监管机构整理和编纂的某些金融信息
Geological or Geophysical Information and Data
地理或地球物理方面的信息和数据
The FOIA Request Process 《信息自由法》申请流程
RECEIVE THE REQUEST–FILING REQUIRMENS VARY FROM AGENCY TO AGENCY
申请受理－申请要求依机构不同而各异
Telephone 电话
FAX 传真
Letter 书信
Email 电子邮件
Internet 互联网
PROCESS REQUEST 处理申请
Log FOIA Request 记录《信息自由法》申请
Single Track 单轨
Multi-track 多轨
Simple or Complex 简单或复杂
Create Case Files 创立文档
Scope Request 申请范围
Estimate Fees 预估费用
Generate Initial Responses 初步回复
Retrieve Records 调出记录
Search for Responsive Records 搜寻回复记录
Request Records 申请档案
Review Responsive Records 浏览回复记录
PROCESS RECORDS 处理记录
Make redactions 文档校订
Apply Exemption Codes 应用豁免条款
Calculate Fees 计算费用
APPROVE RELEASE OF RECORDS 批准记录公开
Review redacted records 浏览校订记录
Generate Responses 进行回复
Approve Release 允许公开
RELEASE RECORDS 记录公开
DISPOSITION CATEGORIES 批复的种类
GRANTS 批准
PARTIAL GRANTS 部分批准
DENIALS 拒绝
NOT DISCLOSED FOR OTHER REASONS 因其他原因暂不公开
DENIALS–EXEMPT UNDER STATUTORY EXEMPTIONS
拒绝－法规豁免条款下的豁免
SEE SLIDE 5 参阅幻灯片5
NOT DISCLOSED FOR OTHER REASONS 因其他原因暂不公开
No Records 没有记录
Request Withdrawn 申请撤回
Records not reasonably described 记录不合规定
Duplicate Request 重复申请
Referrals 推荐
Fee-related reasons 费用相关原因
Not a proper FOIA 不恰当的《《信息自由法》》申请
Not an Agency Record 不在机构记录内
REQUIREMENTS FOR RESPONDING TO REQUESTS 申请回复要求
Generally 20 days from receipt 通常自接受日起20天内
Whether or not complying 是否遵守
Reasons 理由
Notice of right to appeal 上诉权提示
Agency can toll the 20 day period once if it has asked for additional information from the requestor
20天期限可从机构向申请者索取额外信息时起算
Make a determination within 20 days after the receipt of appeal
收到上诉申请后20内做出决定
Problems with Administration of FOIA Before Recent Changes
FOIA在最新修订前执行中的问题(1)
There now are over 20 million FOIA requests each year
目前每年都有超过2000万份的《《信息自由法》》申请
This resulted in many pending or overdue requests
因此产生了众多待决或过期的申请
The level of service requirements were not clear
信息服务的标准不清
Applicants for information were often not satisfied with the level of service
申请者常常不满意服务的水平
Problems with Administration of FOIA Before Recent Changes
FOIA在最新修订前执行中的问题 (2)
The responsibility of administering FOIA at the agency level was not clear
各个机构执行《信息自由法》的职权不清
Applicants did not know who to contact or to whom they should appeal adverse decisions
申请者不知道和谁联系或向谁申述
It was not clear as to what was to be reported on an annual basis
每年汇报的内容范围不清
Some data that was filed was not useable 一些入档的数据不可用
Attempts to Improve FOIA 改进信息公开法的尝试
Executive Order 13392 of December 14, 2005-Improving Agency Disclosure of Information
2005年12月14日行政命令13392号－提高机构信息公开度
Open Government Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-175, 121 Stat.
2524 2007年开放政府法案
United States Department of Justice, Office of Information and Privacy–2008 Guidelines for Agency Preparation of Annual FOIA Reports
美国司法部，信息与隐私办公室－2008年度信息公开报告撰写指南
E.O. 13392 行政命令13392号
In responding to a FOIA request, agencies shall respond courteously and appropriately 各机构应礼貌且适当地对信息公开法请求进行回复
All agencies shall appoint a Chief FOIA Officer
所有机构都应指定一个信息公开法长官
Each agency shall establish a FOIA Requester Service Center and FOIA Public Liaisons
每个机构都应设立一个申请服务中心和公共联络处
Develop review mechanisms, planning documents & reports for the Attorney General and OMB Director
制定审阅机制，为首席律师和OMB主任策划文件和报告
Open Government Act of 2007 2007年开放政府法案(1)
Agencies must provide detailed information regarding response times
机构应提供发应时间的详细信息
Initial Requests 初步请求
Administrative appeals 行政申诉
Including data on ten oldest pending requests & appeals
包括年代最久远的十个待决请求和申诉的数据
Open Government Act of 2007 2007年开放政府法案(2)
Agencies must report detailed information regarding expedited review and fee waiver requests
机构应报告关于加速审理和免除费用请求的详细信息
The agency’s annual FOIA report must be broken down into agency components in addition to the aggregated report
在整体的报告外，机构的年度《信息自由法》报告还应该按照机构分支进行划分
GAO: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
REPORT OF MARCH 2008 《信息自由法》案2008年3月报告
Freedom of Information Act: Agencies are Making Progress in Reducing Backlog, but Additional Guidance is Needed GAO-08-344
《信息自由法》案：机构在减少积压案件上获得进展，但仍需要额外的指导。
Congress asked GAO to examine FOIA requests and issue a report with recommendations on how the reports could be improved.
国会要求GAO检查《信息自由法》请求，同时发布了一篇含有机构报告应如何改进的报告
There were 21,282,405 FOIA requests for FY 2006
2006全年共收到了21,282,405份《信息自由法》申请
Of these 18,691,031 were Social Security Administration requests
其中的18,691,031份是社会安全执行申请
Routine SSA requests 一份典型的社会安全执行申请
Of the over 18 million SSA requests the vast majority, 99.8%, were handled by non FOIA staff.
在所有的超过1800万份的社会安全执行申请中的绝大多数，99.8%，是由非自由信息机构的人员处理的。
Total FOIA Requests-2006 2006年自由信息申请总量
87.82% SSA 87.82% 社会安全执行申请
When exclude SSA requests handled by non-FOIA staff, VA requests compose 73.81% of total
在排除了非自由信息机构人员处理的社会安全执行申请后，VA申请占到了73.81%
Pending Requests for FY 2006 2006年全年待决申请
Can see a wide disparity of pending as percentage of total requests received
可以发现不同机构在待决申请比例上的巨大差异
Department of Homeland Security 国土安全部
Within DHS 89% from Citizenship and Immigration Services
国土安全部的待决申请89%来自公民和移民服务
Over 100,000 requests annually 每年有超过100,000份申请
These are individual requests asking for what is, in many instances, paper files
其中的一些请求在很多情况下问的都是诸如什么是书面文件之类的问题
Factors Contributing to FOIA Cases Remaining Open Beyond Statutory Limit
造成《信息自由法》案件超越司法限制的因素
Requests may involve large volumes of responsive records
申请可能涉及到大量敏感记录
Requests may require extensive review & consultations
申请可能要求大范围阅览或咨询
Agencies may need to notify submitters of information before disclosure
机构可能需要在公布信息前通知提交者
Requests may be delayed until ongoing investigations are completed
申请可能在调查结束前被一直拖延
GAO Recommendations GAO推荐
Main recommendation: Provide additional guidance to agencies regarding reporting requirements
主要推荐：为各机构提供关于报告要求的额外指导
OIP Guidance of May 2008 2008年5月OIP指南
Partially in response to the GAO Report 是GAO报告的部分回应
Specified new data elements to be included in the annual report
详细的新数据会被加入年度报告
Provides many sample chart templates to be used in the annual reports
提供了很多供年度报告使用的表格样本
What Have we Learned? 我们学到了什么
Have standardized reports across all agencies 所有机构都有标准报告
Have capability of subdividing agencies into its constituent parts
能够将机构进一步划分为不同分支
Make reports available to the public 使报告向公众开放
Have one person in charge of FOIA requests in each agencies
每个机构都有一个人主管信息自由申请
Have a liaison program in place so the public can communicate people well versed in the specific FOIA laws and regulations
设立一个联络项目以使公众能够和熟悉自由信息法条文的人进行交流
Have a mechanism for rapidly processing routine requests
有一个快速处理传统申请的机制
This recognizes that the vast majority of information requested by individuals is for personal information
这证明了绝大多数个人申请都是关于个人信息的请求