The first chapter - definitions and generalities

The first paragraph - definitions:

Article 1- In this law, the following terms are used in their respective meanings:

A- Information: Any type of data contained in documents or stored in software or recorded by any other means.

B- Personal information: Personal information such as name and surname, residential and workplace addresses, family life status, personal habits, physical ailments, bank account number and password.

C- General information: non-personal information such as rules and regulations, national and official statistics and figures, administrative documents and correspondence that are not examples of exceptions in the fourth chapter of this law.

D- Public institutions, organizations and institutions related to the government in the general sense of the word include all its elements and components that are included in the set of laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

E- Private institutions: According to this law, a private institution includes any for-profit and non-profit institutions, except for public institutions.

The second paragraph - freedom of information:

Article 2- Every Iranian person has the right to access public information, unless prohibited by law. The use of public information or its publication will be subject to relevant laws and regulations.

Article 3- Every person has the right to prevent the publication or distribution of information that was prepared by him but was changed during the preparation for publication, provided that the said information was not prepared by another order, in which case it is subject to the contract. It will be between them.

Article 4- It is forbidden to compel the producers and distributors of information to disclose their sources of information except by the order of a competent judicial authority, and of course this does not negate the responsibility of the producers and distributors of information.

The third paragraph - the right to access information:

Article 5- Public institutions are obliged to make the information about this law available to the people in the shortest possible time and without discrimination.

Note - In addition to the existing legal cases, the information that implies the rights and duties of the people should reach people's awareness through public announcements and mass media.

The second chapter - the ritual of access to information

The first paragraph - request for access to information and the deadline for responding to it

Article 6 - Requests for access to personal information are accepted only from natural persons to whom the information relates or their legal representatives.

Article 7- The public institution cannot demand any reason or justification from the applicant for access to information.

Article 8- The public or private institution must respond to the request for access to information as soon as possible, and in any case, the response time cannot be more than ten days from the time of receiving the request. The executive regulations of this article will be approved by the Cabinet within six months from the date of approval of this law, based on the proposal of the Commission for Publication and Free Access to Information.
The second paragraph - How to respond to requests:

Article 9- The response given by private institutions to requests for access to information must be written or electronic.

Chapter 3 – Promoting transparency

The first paragraph - duty to publish

Article 10- Except in the cases where the information is classified, in line with the public interest and citizen's rights, every public institution should at least annually provide public information including its performance and balance sheet using computer facilities and even if possible in a book. Publish the guide, which, among other things, can include the following items and deliver it at the request of the citizen for a fee:

A- Objectives, duties, policies and structure.

B- The methods and steps of completing the services that it provides directly to the members of the society.
C- Mechanisms for citizens to complain about the decisions or actions of that institution.

D- The types and forms of information kept in that institution and the procedure for accessing them.

E- Powers and duties of senior officials.

And - all the mechanisms or rituals through which natural and legal persons and non-governmental organizations can participate in the exercise of the authority of that unit or be effective in another way.

Note - The ruling of this article regarding the institutions that are under the direct supervision of the Supreme Leader, is subject to the non-opposition of His Highness.

Article 11- Resolutions and decisions that create public rights or obligations cannot be classified as state secrets and their publication will be mandatory.
The second paragraph - the report of the notification unit to the publication and free access to information commission

Article 12- Public institutions are obliged to submit an annual report about the activities of that institution in the implementation of this law to the Commission for Publication and Free Access to Information through the information unit.

Chapter 4 - Exceptions to access to information

The first paragraph - state secrets

Article 13- If the applicant's request is related to classified documents and information (state secrets), public institutions should refuse to provide them. Access to classified information will be subject to its own rules and regulations.
The second paragraph - protection of privacy:

Article 14- If the requested information is related to the privacy of individuals or is among the information obtained by violating the provisions related to privacy, the access request must be rejected.

Article 15- Institutions subject to this law, if the acceptance of the applicant's request involves the illegal disclosure of personal information about a third natural person, they must refrain from providing the requested information, unless:

A- The third party has expressly and in writing consented to the disclosure of information about himself.

B- The applicant, the guardian or the guardian or the lawyer of a third party, must be within the limits of his authority.

C- The applicant is one of the public institutions and the requested information is directly related to its duties as a public institution within the framework of the law.
The third paragraph - protection of health and commercial information:

Article 16- If it is clear to the institutions subject to this law with legal documentation that providing the requested information endangers the lives or health of people or involves financial or commercial damage to them, they must refuse to provide the information. do
The fourth paragraph - other cases:

Article 17- Institutions subject to this law are obliged to refrain from providing the requested information in cases where it would harm the following matters.

A- Public safety and comfort.

B- Preventing crimes or discovering them, arresting or prosecuting criminals.

C- Audit of taxes or legal duties or their collection.

D- Applying immigration control to the country.

Note 1- The subject of articles (13) to (17) does not include information about the existence or occurrence of environmental hazards and threats to public health.

Note 2- The subject of articles (15) and (16) does not include information that causes insult to people's dignity or violates public modesty or the spread of prostitution.
Chapter 5 - Commission for publication and free access to information

The first paragraph - formation of the commission:

Article 18- In order to support the freedom of information and public access to the information available in public institutions and private institutions that provide public services, developing the necessary implementation plans in the field of information, overall supervision of the implementation, resolving the differences in how to provide information about this matter. Law through the establishment of unity of action, cultural development, guidance and provision of advisory opinions, the Commission for Publication and Free Access to Information is formed by the order of the President with the following composition:
A- Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance (Chairman of the Commission).

B- The Minister of Communications and Information Technology or the relevant deputy.

C- The Minister of Information or the relevant deputy.

D- The Minister of Defense and Support of the Armed Forces or the relevant deputy.

E- The head of the country's management and planning organization or the relevant deputy.

f- The head of the Administrative Court of Justice.

G- Chairman of the Cultural Commission of the Islamic Council.

H- Secretary of the Supreme Council of Information Technology of the country.
Note 1- The secretariat of the said commission is established in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The manner of organizing the meetings and its administration and the duties of the secretariat will be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on the proposal of the mentioned commission.

Note 2- The approvals of the commission for publication and free access to information will be valid after the approval of the president.

Article 19- Relevant institutions are required to cooperate with the commission.
The second paragraph - the report of the commission:

Article 20- Every year, the commission must submit a report on the compliance of this law in the institutions covered by this law and its activities to the Islamic Council and the President.
Chapter Six - Civil and criminal responsibilities

Article 21- Any person, whether real or legal, whose material and moral interests have been harmed as a result of the publication of untrue information about him, has the right to deny the said information or provide explanations about it, and in accordance with the general rules of responsibility. Madani to demand compensation for the damages caused.

Note - In case of publication of real information contrary to the provisions of this law, natural and legal persons have the right to demand compensation for the damages incurred according to the general rules of civil responsibilities.

Article 22- Deliberately committing acts under the crime and the perpetrator will be sentenced to pay a cash penalty from three hundred thousand (300,000) Rials to one hundred million (100,000,000) Rials, depending on the impact, frequency of committing the crime and his status:
A- Preventing access to information contrary to the provisions of this law.

B- Any current act or omission that hinders the performance of the commission's duty of publication and free access to information or the duty of informing public institutions contrary to the provisions of this law.

C- Partial or total deletion of information without legal authority.

D- Failure to comply with the provisions of this law regarding the prescribed deadlines.

If any of the crimes mentioned in other laws require more punishment, the same punishment will be applied.

Article 23- The executive regulations of this law will be prepared by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in cooperation with relevant institutions and will be approved by the Council of Ministers within three months from the date of approval.

The above law, consisting of twenty-three articles and seven notes, was approved in the public meeting on Sunday, the sixth of Bahman, one thousand two hundred and eighty-seven by the Islamic Council, and on 5/31/2008 by the Expediency Council, with the addition of a note under the article 10) It was found to be in accordance with the expediency of the system.

Source: Official Gazette No. 18915 dated 11/14/2018