Overlaying this constitutional separation of powers are laws and regulations that impose general procedural requirements on all agencies and courts of the government to ensure that government actions are conducted in a fair and consistent manner and in the light of the public eye. This consistency and transparency of public processes is a key component of systems designed to promote government integrity.

For example, during the middle half of the 20th century, Congress enacted a series of laws -- including the Administrative Procedures Act and the Government in the Sunshine Act -- that require agencies to follow standard procedures for administrative activities such as rulemaking and enforcement of regulations and to conduct those activities in a public forum. Congress also enacted a Freedom of Information Act that allows broad public access to government records and information. Agency processes not carried out in accordance with standard written procedures or not carried out in the proper public forum may be challenged by the public in the federal courts. In addition, all civil and criminal litigation in the federal courts must follow standardized published rules.⁽¹⁾

Although the federal Freedom of Information Act is the best known law, all 50 states have some form of a freedom of information statute that applies to some government documents and records.

The federal Freedom of Information Act requires that some types of documents be made available without request and be placed in public reading rooms. Such documents include the rules and regulations of government departments and agencies, final opinions resolving administrative proceedings conducted by agencies, and relevant guides and manuals that directly affect members of the public. Through this requirement, Congress sought to avoid the application of "secret law" by federal officials and to guarantee that any person could examine the standards controlling the exercise of public power by those officials.

At a minimum, the rule of law requires access to the standards applied by government officials. If legal standards are to restrict official discretion, those standards must be known. Without knowledge of these standards, it is difficult to believe that they will meaningfully limit the power of public officials.⁽²⁾

President James Madison. In: A Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records (H. Rpt. 109-226). Washington, D.C.: General Printing Office, September 20, 2005.
"A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy -- or perhaps both."

President James Madison. In: Public Access To Government Information by Steven Goldberg. United States Information Agency. Freedom Papers, Issue 6, September 1994, p. 5.
"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives."

President Lyndon B. Johnson. In: Public Access To Government Information by Steven Goldberg. United States Information Agency. Freedom Papers, Issue 6, September 1994, p. 5.
"This legislation springs from one of our most essential principles: a democracy works best when the people have all the information that the security of the Nation permits. No one should be able to pull curtains of secrecy around decisions which can be revealed without injury to the public interest..."

Access to Government Information In the United States. Harold C. Relyea, and Wendy Ginsberg. CRS. Government and Finance Division. Updated March 13, 2008.
The Constitution of the United States makes no specific allowance for any one of the co-equal branches to have access to information held by the others and contains no provision expressly establishing a procedure for, or a right of, public access to government information. Nonetheless, Congress has legislated various public access laws. These include two records access statutes — the Freedom of Information Act (FOI Act or FOIA; 5 U.S.C. § 552) and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a) — and two meetings access statutes — the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA; 5 U.S.C. App.) and the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. § 552b).

Accountability in Government. Issues of Democracy Vol. 5, No. 2, August 2000.
Text in: English | Español
In this electronic journal, the ramifications of government accountability in a modern democracy are explored. A central theme of the journal is that a written constitution assuring accountability is an insufficient guarantee -- that promoting government accountability also requires a rededication of purpose by each generation as it responds to changing circumstances. American government, for example, is much more democratic, much more accountable than it was when the Republic was formed more than 200 years ago. How did this happen? What changes were made, and why? These are the essential questions explored.

A Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records (H. Rpt. 109-226). Washington, D.C.: General Printing Office, September 20, 2005.
Text | PDF
This guide is intended to be a short and simple explanation for the public of what the FOIA is designed to do, and how a member of the public can use it to access government records.

GAO: Promoting Accountability and Transparency in Government. Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General. March 23, 2009.
This presentation explains the mission, Strategic Plan Framework, and the core values of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, in present as well as long-term challenges.

Public Access to Government Information by Steven Goldberg. United States Information Agency. Freedom Paper No. 6. September 1994.
This paper examines the methods through Government assures public access to information as well as the countervailing forces that may limit rights to access.

Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy. Senate Document 105-2 Pursuant to Public Law 236, 103rd Congress. Washington, D.C.: General Printing Office, March 3, 1997.
This report analyzes the difficult disjunctive between the legitimate interest of the public in being kept informed about the activities of its Government, and the legitimate interest of the government in certain circumstances in withholding information.

Transparent Government and Access to Information: A Role for Supreme Audit Institutions. David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States. Government Accountability Office. GAO-07-1068CG. June 26, 2007.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office seeks to lead by example on issues of transparency and accountability. Consistent with the values of a free and open society, GAO makes a vast majority of its work available not just to Congress and agency heads but to the public and the press via the Internet.

Fewer Requests, Fewer Responses, More Denials. Pete Weitzel. Sunshine in Government Initiative. April 2009.
An analysis of federal agencies performance in responding to Freedom of Information Act requests in 2008.

Freedom of Information Around the World. Privacy International.
There are an increasing number of countries around the world that have adopted or are considering adopting freedom of information acts. Over 40 countries now have laws that require the disclosure of government records and dozens more are considering acts. Many countries that have recently created or updated their constitutions have specific rights to freedom of information in their constitution. In other countries, the courts have found and implicit right to FOI as an element of free speech. This site provides news, country reports, guides and handbooks.

Freedom of Information in Mexico. The National Security Archive. George Washington University.
Text in: English | Spanish
Mexican civil society has broken new ground with the passage of the country’s federal and state freedom of information acts. The laws represent the crowning achievement of a long campaign for transparent and accountable government in Mexico, one that truly began in the mid-1970s with efforts to amend the Mexican Constitution in order to enshrine the public’s right to information as a constitutional right. This site contains background information of the process, the text of Mexico's new Freedom of Information Law (in Spanish) as well as analysis of the subject.

Mexico's Right-to-Know Movement. Americas Program. Interhemispheric Resource Center. Citizen Action in the Americas No. 4, February 2003.
As Latin American countries move toward consolidating democratic societies, grassroots groups are championing the issue of freedom of information as a basic element in achieving participatory governance.

Transparency, the Mechanisms: Open Government and Accountability by Robert G. Vaughn. Issues of Democracy Vol. 5, No. 2, August 2000.
Text in: English | Spanish
In this article on open government and accountability, Robert G. Vaughn, professor of law at Washington College of Law, American University, discusses how the concept of transparency incorporates these same values underlying democratic accountability, values commonly referred to in the United States by the term "open government."