Right to public information. Theoretical-legal presuppositions for its implementation in Cuba

Abstract

There is no act in daily life where information is not implicit when carrying out any activity. Two fundamental subjects intervene to inform about a specific matter: the sender, who chooses and selects the appropriate signs to transmit the message, and the receiver, who decodes, deciphers, and interprets what the sender wants to convey. In recent times, the transparent and democratic management of public data has become a guarantee of citizenship. Regardless of the legal system, information has been a concern for States, which have expressed the will to promote access to information and knowledge as essential factors for productivity and human development.
The right of access to public information is related to transparency and the protection of historical- documentary heritage and is supported by the following principles: accessibility, gratuity, good faith, quality, limited scope of exceptions, speed, inclusion and non-discrimination, publicity, control and supervision, responsibility.
This research proposes to establish the essential theoretical foundations on which the right of access to public information should be based as mechanisms to enforce citizens’ rights, as well as to improve the public service provided by the obligated subjects.