Thirty year rule

Thirty year rule

The "thirty year rule" is the popular name given to a law in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Australia that states that the yearly cabinet papers of a government will be released publicly thirty years after they were created.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Public Records Act 1958, amended in 1967, states that "Public records ....other than those to which members of the public have had access before their transfer ...., shall not be available for public inspection until they have been in existence for [thirty] years or such other period....as the Lord Chancellor may,.... for the time being prescribe as respects any particular class of public records." The rule was essentially two 30 year rules; one requiring that records be transferred from government departments to the Public Record Office (now The National Archives) at 30 years unless specific exemptions were given (by the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council on Public Records), and that they were opened at such time unless they were deemed likely to cause "damage to the country's image, national security or foreign relations" if they were to be released.

A good example of this was when the British cabinet papers for 1973 were released - the papers covering September 11 were barred from release as that was the day of the coup by Augusto Pinochet against Chilean President Salvador Allende.Fact|date=February 2007

This rule was changed by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (which came into force Jan 1st 2005). The FOI act essentially removed the 2nd of the 30 year rules (the access one), and replaced it with provisions allowing citizens to request a wide range of information before any time limit has expired, and also removing some of the exemptions which had previously applied at the 30 year point. After 30 years, information is transferred to The National Archives, and is reviewed under the FOI act to see if it should be opened. The only rationale for keeping it closed within The National Archives is if an FOI exemption applies.

As a result of this change, releases now happen monthly, rather than annually, and include more recent events, rather than only those over 30 years old.

ee also

* Classified information in the United Kingdom
* Freedom of Information Act 2000
* Freedom of information in the United Kingdom
* Freedom of information legislation
* Redaction
* The National Archives

References

External links

* [http://www.30yearrulereview.org.uk 30 Year Rule Review (UK)]
* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm The National Archives (UK)]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • thirty-year rule — n [sing] a British government rule which prevents certain official documents from being made public until a period of thirty years has passed. * * * …   Universalium

  • thirty-year rule — noun a rule that public records may be open to inspection after a lapse of thirty years …   English new terms dictionary

  • (the) thirty-year rule — the thirty year rule [the thirty year rule] noun [sing] a British government rule which prevented certain official documents from being made public until a period of thirty years had passed. It was replaced when the ↑Freedom of Information Act… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Thirty Years' War — For other uses, see Thirty Years War (disambiguation). 30 Years War Les Grandes Misères de …   Wikipedia

  • Rule of St. Benedict — • Lengthy article on the text of the Rule and its composition, some analysis, and practical application Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Rule of St. Benedict     Rule of St. Benedict …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Thirty-Nine Articles — The Thirty Nine Articles of Religion were established in 1563, and are the historic defining statements of Anglican doctrine in relation to the controversies of the English Reformation; especially in the relation of Calvinist doctrine and Roman… …   Wikipedia

  • Thirty-Six Stratagems — The Thirty Six Stratagems (zh tsp|t=三十六計|s=三十六计|p=Sānshíliù Jì) was originally a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, as well as in civil interaction, often through unorthodox or deceptive means. They… …   Wikipedia

  • Rule 110 — The Rule 110 cellular automaton (often simply Rule 110) is a one dimensional two state cellular automaton with the following rule table:Interesting propertiesAround 2000, Matthew Cook verified a 1985 conjecture by Stephen Wolfram by proving that… …   Wikipedia

  • Rule of the Dukes — The Rule of the Dukes was an interregnum in the Lombard Kingdom of Italy (574/5 ndash;584/5) during which Italy was ruled by the Lombard dukes of the old Roman provinces and urban centres. The interregnum is said to have lasted ten years… …   Wikipedia

  • Irish Home Rule bills — The Irish Home Rule bills were bills introduced in the British House of Commons during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, intended to grant self government and national autonomy to the whole of Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”