Legislation And Practice Of Disclosure Of Government Information In China

Disclosure of government information has become an important element of democracy and rule of law in the age of information. In China, some progress has been made in this field, however, in general the legal system of disclosure of government information has not been established yet. Disclosure of government information is a new issue for the research on constitutional law and administrative law, and requires further study.Form the perspective of right of access to government information, this thesis makes a research on disclosure of government information with methods of comparative study and historical study.The first part is regarding the basic concepts of the subject. It concentrates the right of access to government information and of duties for disclosing information, and reviews the history of the development of disclosure of government information.The second part proposes the argument that popular sovereignty, the right to know and the freedom of speech or press are the sources of the right of access to government information, and also the foundation of the legal system of the disclosure of government information. Then, it confirms the value of disclosure of government information for public participation, protection of individual rights, economic development, prevention of corruption and improvement of administrative efficiency.The third part reviews the history of the development of disclosure of government information in China, and discusses the elements affecting its development.The forth part is the last section and the most important section of this thesis, It analyses the current situation of disclosure of government information, and makes some suggestions for the establishment and improvement of legal system of disclosure of government information in China.