Crossing the Danube: A Comparative Study of Central European and American Access-to-Information Laws

The Freedom of Information Act in the United States was a relatively rare access-to-information, or ATI, statute when passed in 1966, but it inspired many similar statutes in nations around the world. This article conducts a comparative study focused on Central Europe, with Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic selected as nations that illustrate ATI philosophy and enforcement in that region. These nations have important similarities but also interesting differences caused by current political trends and local concerns that make each unique in its own right. Ultimately, this study seeks to determine whether these nations have adopted not just the text but also the spirit of transparency embodied in FOIA, with a particular focus on that region’s much different legal and political structures as compared to the United States and Western Europe.