Access to Information Act, 2018 (Act No. 4 of 2018) (Seychelles)

The Access to Information Act, 2018 (Act No. 4 of 2018) gives statutory effect to the constitutional right of access to information under Article 28 of the Seychelles Constitution. It confers on every person a right of access to information held by public authorities, establishes the procedure for making and determining requests, and creates an independent Information Commission to promote, monitor and adjudicate the right of access. The Act requires public authorities to appoint information officers, to respond to requests within prescribed timelines, to give reasons for refusals, and to publish and proactively disclose categories of information. It sets out exemptions (including for national security, defence, international relations, law enforcement, personal privacy and commercial confidence) subject, in defined cases, to a public-interest override. Critically for the strength of the regime, it provides for review and appeal: a requester may complain to the Information Commission, whose decisions may be appealed to the courts. For digital rights the Act is significant because public information is increasingly held in digital form, and because an effective, independently supervised access regime is a core component of transparency and online accountability. This entry is included in the Digital Rights collection as an access-to-information instrument, consistent with the treatment of equivalent statutes in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Among regional peers Seychelles' regime is comparatively strong because of the independent Information Commission, but its protections should not be overstated: official reporting and the Open Government Partnership record note that public authorities have found the law difficult to implement, that capacity and awareness are limited, and that the exemptions are broad. A reform of the Act has been under consideration. The Act is cross-referenced to Seychelles' cybercrime statute and complements the Data Protection Act 2023, balancing access to public information against privacy and security interests.

1. 1Confers a right of access to information held by public authorities, giving effect to Article 28 of the Constitution
2. 2Establishes an independent Information Commission to promote, monitor and adjudicate access requests
3. 3Requires information officers, response timelines, reasons for refusals and proactive/published disclosure
4. 4Exemptions (national security, defence, law enforcement, privacy, commercial confidence) subject in defined cases to a public-interest override
5. 5Provides for complaint to the Information Commission with appeal to the courts, comparatively strong oversight
6. 6Implementation difficulties documented (OGP); a reform of the Act has been under consideration