Digital Governance and Access to Public Information
What this domain tests
The right of access to information under Law No. 982/2000, data protection under Law No. 133/2011 and the digital delivery of public services.
Core rules
- Any person may request information; no justification and no proof of interest is required. Requests may be oral or written, and the authority must assist the requester.
- The authority answers within the statutory term (15 working days); an extension is possible only with notice and reasons. A refusal must be written, reasoned and indicate the appeal route.
- Exemptions are narrow: personal data, state secrets, commercial confidentiality and internal deliberation; even then a public interest test applies to information about public money and public safety.
- Proactive publication covers decisions, organisational structure, budget execution, procurement and services.
- Personal data processing must be lawful, purpose-limited, adequate and proportionate (Law No. 133/2011).
- Digital administration rests on interoperability and the once-only principle (Law No. 142/2018), e-signature (Law No. 91/2014) and shared platforms for authentication and data exchange; services must be accessible and inclusive.
Worked example
A citizen asks for the contracts concluded by a municipal enterprise. The enterprise refuses, saying the documents are internal. Step 1: the enterprise is a public-law information provider. Step 2: internal status is not a legal exemption; the harm from disclosure must be weighed against the public interest in spending public money. Step 3: the refusal is unlawful and can be appealed to the superior body and then to the administrative court.
Traps that cost marks
Demanding a reason for the request; counting the response term in calendar days; treating any document containing personal data as fully exempt instead of redacting; assuming a verbal answer satisfies the law.