Law N° 04/2013 of 08/02/2013 relating to Access to Information

Law N° 04/2013 of 08/02/2013 relating to access to information is Rwanda's access-to-information statute. Drafted from 2009 and adopted in revised form on 8 February 2013, it was published in the Official Gazette on 11 March 2013, making Rwanda one of the earlier African states to adopt a right-to-information law. Its stated purpose (Article 1) is to enable the public and journalists to access information held by public organs and by some private bodies, and it is an important transparency and accountability instrument with a clear digital dimension. The Law applies in the first instance to information held by public organs, and notably extends to private organs whose activities are connected with the public interest, human rights and freedoms (Article 13), which must comply with the Law and appoint an information officer to handle requests (Article 15). It provides a flexible request mechanism: information may be sought verbally, in writing, by telephone, by internet or by any other means of communication, in any of the official languages, reflecting an intention to make access practical in a digital environment. The provision of information is, as a rule, free of charge, although charges may be levied for copying or for the means of transmission. Access is subject to exceptions. The Law restricts disclosure of information that could undermine protected interests, and is paired with a Ministerial Order determining the categories of information whose disclosure could destabilise national security, a broadly framed limitation that civil-society analysts have flagged as capable of constraining the right in practice. The Law also recognises proactive-disclosure duties, requiring public organs to make certain categories of information available without the need for a request. Oversight of implementation is entrusted to the Office of the Ombudsman, which monitors compliance and can receive complaints. Operating alongside Law N° 058/2021 on the protection of personal data and privacy, the access-to-information law forms the openness side of Rwanda's information-rights framework, while the data-protection law governs personal information. Its express accommodation of requests made 'by internet or any other means of communication', together with proactive online publication by public bodies, situates the Law within the Digital Rights field, even as the breadth of its national-security exceptions remains a live concern for the practical realisation of the right.

1. 1Enables the public and journalists to access information held by public organs and by some private bodies (Article 1).
2. 2Requires private organs whose activities relate to public interest, human rights and freedoms to comply with the Law (Article 13) and to appoint an information officer (Article 15).
3. 3Allows information to be requested verbally, in writing, by telephone, internet or any other means of communication, and provides that information is, in principle, provided without fee (charges may apply for copying or transmission).
4. 4Provides for exceptions where disclosure could destabilise national security or undermine other protected interests, with a related Ministerial Order specifying categories of restricted information.
5. 5Tasks the Office of the Ombudsman with monitoring implementation and handling complaints.
6. 6Recognises proactive disclosure obligations on public organs.