The Concept Analysis Of "Non-existing Government Information"

“non-existence of government information” is a possible response when applying for government information disclosure.In practice,it is one of the common reasons why administrative agencies do not provide government information.This paper attempts to study on the different understandings of the uncertain legal concepts of “non-existence of government information”among the applicants,administrative agencies and courts by analyzing relevant cases to explore the fundamental causes of disputes practically and define the concept of “non-existence of government information” with applicable rules,as well as to better protect citizens' right to obtaininformation.The common verdicts of “non-existence of government information”include: verdicts to fulfill the statutory duties;the confirmation of violations;the cancellation of the Notice,the request for a new reply;the disclosure within a time limit and the rejection of the claim.In the distribution of the burden of proof,the defendant bears the main burden of proof for“non-existence of government information”.The plaintiff usually provides partial evidence or clues,and the court may obtain evidence according to the authority or application.The process of the administrative agencies judging whether the government information applied for disclosure exists includes whether the information is clear,whether the information shall be disclosed by that administrative agency and whether the information is available.The reasons for the administrative agency claiming “non-existence of government information”mainly include: no legal basis to disclose certain information;no statutory duty to disclose the information;no reason for the production of the information;despite the statutory duty,the information is not produced or preserved;despite the statutory duty,failed to find relevant information,etc.In the circumstance of insufficient evidence or contradictory evidence,the court may not agree with the claiming of “non-existence of governmentinformation” by the administrative agency.If the court finds that the defendant has properly performed the statutory duties,the basis of the claiming being reasonable and without evidence proving the information exists,then the court will agree with the administrative agency's claim of“non-existence of government information”..In the future,we shall clarify the concept of “non-existence of government information”,refine the requirements of reasons by administrative agencies,strictly abide by the process of applying for information disclosure,and improve the ability of administrative agencies to respond to applications in order to solve the problems derived from“non-existence of government information”.