Legal Documents

PATI gives the public the right to access records held by public authorities and supports the idea that the people of Bermuda should know more about how and why public authorities do what they do or make certain decisions, and how public money is spent. The RA is committed to this effort within Bermuda and its Information Statement seeks to facilitate the public’s access to the records that it holds.

The RA recommends that where there is a genuine interest in information that may be held by the RA, the requesting party should first try to obtain the information from what is available in the public domain as a request for information pursuant to the Act can be time consuming.

The RA is committed to facilitating the public’s access to information fairly, efficiently and accurately therefore requests made pursuant to PATI must be submitted via a formal application process. The reason for this application process is to enable to the RA to assess and balance your right of access while simultaneously protecting exempt information held by the RA that must remain confidential. The Act provides that certain records may be exempt from disclosure however the RA will consider and apply such exemptions reasonably and in accordance with the Act and relevant guidance.