Act on the Principle of Freedom of Information (Freedom of Information Act, OeG) (Öffentlichkeitsgesetz, OeG) - Purpose (OeG)

1. This law regulates access to official documents.

2. It aims to promote transparency regarding the activities of public authorities, with the objective of facilitating the free formation of opinion, the exercise of democratic rights, and the oversight of governmental actions, as well as strengthening the public's understanding and trust in public authorities.

1. This Act applies to

a. the Cantonal Council, its bodies, and the commissions elected by it;

b. the Executive Council and the authorities and commissions subordinate to it, departments, and offices;

c. the judicial authorities, insofar as they perform tasks related to judicial administration;

d. the municipal councils, municipal commissions, and municipal administrations as well as special-purpose and municipal associations;

e. the autonomous and non-autonomous public-law institutions of the canton and municipalities;

f. natural persons and legal entities under private law, insofar as they perform public tasks.

2. This Act does not apply to

a. administrative procedures;

b. civil, criminal, and administrative legal proceedings including conciliation and arbitration proceedings as well as procedures of official and legal assistance;

c. the Obwalden Cantonal Bank;

d. the area of economic competition.

1. Access to official documents containing personal data of the applicant is governed by the Data Protection Act.

2. Exceptions are legal provisions that designate certain information as confidential or provide different conditions for access to certain information than those set forth in this Act.

1. An official document is any information that

a. is recorded on any information carrier;

b. is in the possession of an authority or office from which it originates or to which it has been transmitted, and

c. pertains to the fulfillment of a public duty.

2. The following are not considered official documents

a. documents used commercially;

b. documents that are unfinished, or

c. documents intended solely for personal use.

1. Every person has the right to inspect official documents and obtain information about the content of official documents.

**1. Access to Official Documents**

1. Access to official documents shall be restricted insofar as overriding public or legitimate private interests oppose such access.

2. An overriding public interest particularly opposes access when the information

a. could endanger public order and safety;

b. would impair decision-making through premature disclosure;

c. could weaken the position in negotiations;

d. could impair relations with other governmental entities;

e. could thwart or diminish the effectiveness of official measures.

3. Legitimate private interests particularly include

a. the protection of privacy;

b. professional, business, or trade secrets;

c. third-party confidentiality interests and intellectual property rights.

4. Restrictions apply only to the part of an official document that warrants protection and only for as long as the interest exists.

5. Access to official documents can be refused if it would result in an evidently disproportionate effort.

1. Official documents may only be made accessible once the political or administrative decision for which they form the basis has been made.

2. Official documents of a parliamentary inquiry commission are subject to a ten-year confidentiality period. This period begins to run from the resolution of the cantonal council to terminate the investigation or dissolve the inquiry commission.

3. Official documents regarding positions in ongoing and future negotiations are under no circumstances accessible.

4. There is no right of access to official documents stemming from internal consultation procedures, opinions, or proposals and other documents that could undermine the principle of collegiality.

1. The request for access shall be directed to the entity that created the official document or to the primary recipient of the document from third parties not subject to this law.

2. Responsibility for processing requests for access to archived documents within the protection period remains with the entity that submitted the documents for archiving.

3. The request must be submitted with the applicant's name and address and must include as precise a description of the official document as possible. It may be required that the request be submitted in writing. If the official document cannot be determined and the information provided is not sufficiently clarified upon request within a short period, the request will not be processed.

1. Official documents containing personal data must be anonymized before being accessed, insofar as private interests require anonymization.

2. If sensitive personal data cannot be anonymized, the affected individuals must be consulted. Access will be denied if consent is refused or if obtaining consent would involve disproportionate effort.

3. Access may exceptionally be granted despite the lack of consent if it is in the overriding public interest.

4. If it is unclear whether third-party interests might be affected by granting access, those third parties must be consulted.

1. The authority responsible for assessing the application is the office contacted, unless a different office is designated by the superior authority. Applications to subordinate offices are assessed by the competent office in the cantonal administration, and applications to the courts are assessed by the competent presidency.

2. The authority or office issues a decision if they reject the access request in whole or in part or if they wish to grant access, even though

a. the affected person has refused consent;

b. third parties assert an interest against granting access.

3. An administrative court appeal or complaint can be filed against the decision within 30 days

a. to the Administrative Court against decisions of the Cantonal Council and its bodies, the court presidencies, and the Government Council;

b. to the Government Council against decisions of authorities and commissions subordinate to them, of departments, the municipal council, municipal associations, and against decisions of public law institutions and third parties, insofar as they fulfill cantonal tasks;

c. to the Department against decisions of offices;

d. to the Municipal Council against decisions of municipal offices and bodies and decisions of public law institutions of the municipalities and third parties, insofar as they fulfill municipal tasks.

4. Every legal remedy has a suspensive effect.

5. The appellate authorities also have access to official documents that are subject to confidentiality. However, protected private interests remain reserved.

1. Access to official documents is granted by on-site inspection, by providing copies, or through electronic means.

2. If an official document is published in a publication medium or on the internet or is otherwise publicly accessible, the entitlement to access is considered fulfilled by indicating the location of the publication.

1. The inspection procedure is generally free of charge. If handling the request involves a considerable amount of effort and in cases of regularly repeated requests, cost-covering fees may be charged in accordance with the applicable fee regulations, for the courts pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Ordinance and the General Fee Legislation.

2. If the authority intends to levy a fee, it shall inform the applicant in advance.

3. The cost consequences for legal remedy procedures are governed by the relevant provisions of cantonal and municipal law.

1. This law applies to official documents that have been created or received after its entry into force. Access to older official documents is governed by previous provisions.

2. The law does not apply to existing performance agreements that do not provide for the application of the principle of public access.