The access to information handled by the Committees of Inquiry under Spanish and Portuguese law: the need for transparency in parliamentary activities

Abstract

Recently, in Portugal, the Supreme Administrative Court has rejected access to information held by the Portuguese Parliament as a result of the supervisory activity carried out by a Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry. The grounds for this court decision are based on the fact that the information held by the Committees of Inquiry does not have the nature of an administrative document for the purposes of the Portuguese law on access to information due to the political nature of the functions exercised by these parliamentary bodies. As a result of this ruling, we wonder what solution would be adopted under Spanish law if this issue was raised there, i.e. whether it is possible to access the information handled by the Committees of Inquiry of the Congress of Deputies or the Senate.
Law 19/2013, of 9 December, on transparency, access to public information and good governance (LTE) subjects the Congress and the Senate to its provisions, but with some particularities. Among them, it must be highlighted that the LTE applies to the Parliamentary Chambers only concerning those activities they carry out subject to administrative law.
However, the LTE requires the Congress and the Senate to regulate in their respective internal rules the specific application of this law, which gives rise to the existence of different regulations on the right of access to information in each parliamentary chamber. This regulatory diversity affects access to the information handled by the Committees of Inquiry of the Congress of Deputies or the Senate.

Summary: I. INTRODUCTION: THE PORTUGUESE CASE AS A STARTING POINT. II. ACCESS TO INFORMATION HANDLED BY THE COM­MITTEES OF INQUIRY UNDER PORTUGUESE LAW. III. ACCESS TO THE FINAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEES OF INQUIRY IN THE SPANISH PARLIAMENTARY CHAMBERS. IV. ACCESS TO THE ENTIRE INFORMATION HANDLED BY THE COMMISSIONS OF ENQUIRY IN THE SPANISH PARLIAMENTARY CHAMBERS. IV.1. The non-public or secret nature of the sessions of the Committees of Inquiry. IV.2. The subjective scope of the LTE. IV.3. The particular subjection of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate to the LTE. IV.4. The nature of the activities of the Committees of Inquiry. IV.5. Access to the information of the Committees of Inquiry: the need for transparency in parliamentary activities. V. CONCLUSIONS.