Open Records Laws › Bolivia

Bolivia

Decreto Supremo N° 28168

Decreto Supremo N° 28168, Acceso a la Información y Transparencia en la Gestión del Poder Ejecutivo (Supreme Decree No. 28168 on Access to Information and Transparency in the Management of the Executive Power)

RTI Rating: 70 (source)

Response Timeline

Initial Response
15 days
Residency Required
None

15 business days (días hábiles). No extension mechanism specified. For appeals, superior authority has 5 business days to resolve, then 15 additional business days to provide information.

How to Submit a Request

Accepted Methods

  • {'notes': 'Written request to designated Information Unit (Unidad de Información)', 'method': 'in_person'}
  • {'notes': 'Verbal request to designated Information Unit; requester must be properly identified', 'method': 'oral'}

Requests may be submitted verbally or in writing to the Information Unit established within each Executive Power entity. Requesters must be properly identified. No justification for the request or attorney representation is required (Art. 11).

Required Elements

  • Proper identification of requester

Optional Elements

  • Description of information sought
  • Purpose of request (explicitly NOT required per Art. 11)

Fees

Access to public information is free under the principle of gratuity. Requesters only pay actual costs of reproducing the requested documents (photocopies, printing, etc.). No specific tariff schedule is established in the decree.

Exemptions

  • National Security
    Information classified as secret, reserved or confidential relating to interior or exterior security of the State. Subject to automatic declassification after 20 years.
  • Pre-Classified Information
    Information that prior to the request was classified as secret, reserved or confidential in accordance with existing laws
  • Privacy and Personal Data
    Sensitive personal data protected under the constitutional right to privacy and intimacy
  • Financial Confidentiality
    Financial operations carried out by natural or legal persons with financial entities
  • Anti-Corruption Unit Confidentiality
    Information held by Units of Transparency and Anti-Corruption, unless required by authorized entities within legal framework

Access to information can only be denied "in an exceptional and reasoned manner" for information previously classified under existing laws. Classification cannot be discretionary. National security exemptions are subject to automatic declassification after 20 years. Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in 2023 (Flores Bedregal v. Bolivia) that national security exemptions cannot be applied indefinitely, particularly for information concerning serious human rights violations.

Appeal Process

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Bolivia provides three levels of appeal: (1) internal hierarchical appeal to superior authority (5-day decision deadline, 15 days to provide info if upheld); (2) external appeal to Ombudsman with non-binding recommendations; (3) judicial review via administrative contentious tribunal. The Ombudsman lacks enforcement power.

Sources & References