The Scope of Freedom of Information. To what Legal Bodies and Functions Does the Right of Access to Informations Apply?

For some time it has been common practice to make a distinction between
the public and private spheres, and the distinction is fundamental in politi-
cal discourse as well as in legal, economic and politological thinking. The
boundary between public and private remains important and imbues the laws
that frame public information policy. Exceptions to freedom of information
based on content, e.g., information relating to individuals’ private life, business
secrets and private communication, will be treated later in the research pro
-
ject, “Access to Official Information in the Nordic Countries”. The prime focus
in the present article rests not on the exceptions, but on the legal bodies and
functions that are included in freedom of information legislation.