The limits of transparency in administrative proceedings - The Hungarian approach

Abstract

For both the functioning of the state and in a broader sense, that of society it is a key question to determine who has access to the public data, for what purposes, to what extent and on what conditions. The questions of disposal of, access to and public disclosure related to the data processed by the state concern several fields of law, and the coherency of the legal provisions is far not obvious. The aim of this study is to discuss a few aspects of this comprehensive issue. Since some of the public data are processed in public administration proceedings, the question of how public disclosure is enforced in the specific administrative proceedings, and more specifically, how compliant the Hungarian regulation of the freedom of information is with the right of inspection regarding concrete cases is examined. Although the research is focusing mainly on the Hungarian legislation, the findings of this essay may be also used in the international discourse.