Access to information about beneficiaries to ensure social accountability of state decisions
Country: Argentina
Body: Argentina - Supreme Court (Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación), Supreme Courts
Case: Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC) vs. Ministerio de Desarrollo Social
Case number: 1172/03
Year of judgement: 2014
PDF of decision
Summary:
CIPPEC (Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento ) has been denied access to information concerning the beneficiaries of subsidies and social cash transfer programs in 2006 and 2007. The Supreme Court considered that accessing such data has a clear public interest, since it enables social accountability on how competent public officials allocate these subsidies. The Court noted that a request of this nature does not infringe the right to privacy as it does not seek to gather indiscreet information on the beneficiaries. It noted that ensuring access to this type of information is critical to ensure social accountability of state decisions, and compliance with the principles of rationality, effectiveness and efficiency. By providing access to such information, far from stigmatizing beneficiaries, the Government contributes to ensure equity.
Related Principles
The implementation of social protection schemes requires collecting many types of information including that identifying beneficiaries and their dependants or carers, earnings, employers, contact details, and more. It is essential that the collection of such information is done without breaching the right to privacy. In this regard, personal information should be kept private and free […]