Disclosure Of Government Information And Keeping State Secrets: Problem And Regulation

FOI system provides exemptions from disclosure of government information,including government information involving state secrets. This is to protect nationalsecurity. But the law and the system is not perfect so far, the state government secretsoften become an excuse to evade information disclosure. Freedom of information andkeeping state secrets are out of balance. How to balance the relationship between thistwo? The author in this article made theoretical analysis, explore the relationship ofright to know and national security, freedom of information and keeping state secrets,groom regulations, point out the problem of these regulations, and propose measuresregulating these issues.This paper is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is the overview offreedom of information and keeping state secrets. The first part describes theLegislative developments of disclosure of government information and guarding StateSecrets; second part discusses the relationship of right to know and national security,freedom of information and keeping state secrets; third part is theoretical analysis.The second chapter describes the Legislative status of government informationdisclosure and the state secrets. The first part is grooming regulations; second part isthe definition of related concepts, including state secrets, government information,and file, which is a particular kind of government information.The first part of the third chapter analyzes the disclosure of government information and keep state secrets problems in the legal system, including the conflictbetween the legal norms, unequal legal position, the scope of state secrets is too large,discretion is too large, lack of supervision and relief system; second part describesthe legislation of foreign government information disclosure and state secrets, selectsthe United States and Japan as two typical target countries, and compare ourcountry’s legal system with abroad, Absorbing experience to reform the legalsystem.Chapter four presents measures regulating those issues. The first section presentsthe development of the "Government Information Disclosure Act," which is due tolower legal position of “Regulations on Open Government Information”, the necessityof the existence of the legislation, and proposed legislative principles, including theprinciple of open, Severability principle, the principle of legality and the principles ofrationality; second part proposed establishment of a national secret judicial reviewsystem. By analyzing "Russian model" and "American model", presents that "American model" is more suitable for our country, our country can learn from theUnited States to establish this system; third part proposed to amend the scope ofconfidentiality, because the scope of state secrets is too broad and very general, itmust be clear, specific.This is the most crucial elements to balance disclosure ofgovernment information and keeping state secrets; fourth part proposed to perfectdecryption system, including strengthening public awareness of governmentinformation, the development of scientific and strict decryption standards; Sectionfive presents to improve relief system, including provides relief ways in"Secrecy Act",introducing an independent agency in the administrativereconsideration, the courts take substantive examination rather than the form ofreview.