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The Supreme Court invalidated an executive decree that broadly classified major infrastructure projects as matters of national security and public interest. This ruling is crucial because the vague language of the decree allowed the government to withhold extensive information under the guise of security, effectively bypassing legal standards for transparency. By striking down these provisions, the Court reaffirmed that exemptions to public access must be narrowly defined by law, not arbitrarily expanded through administrative acts that hinder citizen oversight. The decision emphasizes that the autonomy of the National Institute for Transparency (INAI) is a fundamental pillar of open data governance. The Court determined that the decree undermined INAI’s ability to regulate information requests and established an exceptional administrative regime that obstructed transparency obligations. This interference threatened the effectiveness of mechanisms designed for public control, suggesting that executive overreach cannot override the constitutional mandate for maximum publicity in government operations. This article is highly relevant to open data as it establishes a critical precedent for the integrity of public information systems. It clarifies that claims of national security cannot be used as a blanket tool to suppress data access or weaken independent oversight institutions. For open data advocates, this ruling protects the flow of information necessary for accountability, ensuring that strategic projects remain subject to scrutiny rather than operating in secrecy under ambiguous security classifications.

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Published on 2023-05-19

Open Data

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