More About Legal Advice

The agencies working in the public sector should be transparent in their performance and decisions. If they adhere to these guidelines, they can be accounted judicially for their decisions and actions. The public has the freedom and the right to know exactly why the said agency has taken a particular decision. Secrecy in the public sector should be avoided to the largest extent as possible. Working in secret or taking actions in secret will mean that the agency is following practices which it should not be following, and is taking unjust measures. All the requests for the information on the practices and operations of the agency should be accurate and open to all.

A legal advice should be released at an appropriate time. This is when the advice may be able to help someone in understanding the reason that the agency took the particular decision. In a few cases, releasing the legal advice used by the agency to the public can help in understanding the reason why this action or decision was taken. There may be instances when a person may feel that the conduct of the agency was not conforming to the laws. There may also be cases when the person feels that the legal advice given to the agency was incorrect or that it was the fault of the agency to rely on such an advice. By releasing the legal advice to the public, the number of people not satisfied by the company’s actions will get reduced and will understand better why this action was taken. It also reduces the number of complaints and legal actions taken by the unsatisfied people.

However, simply releasing the legal advice is not enough for the agency. It also has to give a reasonable factor as to why it took the particular decision and to demonstrate that the actions taken and process followed was strictly adhering to the law and was just. If an agency simply states that it took the decision based on the legal advice and refuses to reveal the details of the advice it was given, then the agency will come under scrutiny. Such a situation occurs when an agency informs that their application was rejected on the basis of the legal advice followed by them but do not disclose the details of the advice. There may be instances when the agency is unable to reveal the details of the legal advice due to certain sensitive information contained in it. In such a case, it can release only those parts of the document which explain the reason for the action taken by the agency. It need not reveal the entire document about the advice. There is just one situation under which an agency can be justified in no revealing the information about the advice. Such a situation arises when legal proceedings are contemplated.

Releasing the following documents would be beneficial to the public purpose:

• Documents containing information which is more likely to contribute to the serious public interest issues or explain the reasons for the decisions made by the agency which have or are going to affect a majority of the people. Documents which contain the concrete evidence about the matter which directly influence the interests of the person who is trying to seek access.
• Documents which explain exactly how the policy of the agency which affected the interests of the public came into being.
• Documents that show how the agency reacted to the complaint from a person wanting access.
• Documents which contain detail about the inquiries conducted by public officials about the circumstances that caused damage to person seeking access to that report.
• Documents which will help in the inquiries about misconduct of the agency or its staff.