Records requested under the Access to Information Act and to which access is to be granted are to be provided in the format requested by the applicant. The applicant has the right to view, listen, inspect or be given a copy of the document. However if there is a need to preserve the record or its physical state makes the form of access requested inappropriate, access will be granted in a different format than that requested by the applicant.

Please be advised that the cost of reproducing records is borne by the applicant.

AIMS OF THE ACT

The objectives of the ATI Act are three-fold:

• transparency
• governmental accountability
• public participation in national decision-making

EXEMPTIONS

• Security, defense, international relations [Section 14(a)]
• The Cabinet [Section 15]
• Law enforcement [Section 16]
• Legal priviledge [Section 17]
• The national economy [Section 18]
• Government’s deliberating processes [Section 19]
• Business affairs of others, for example trade secrets [Section 20]
• Personal privacy [Section 22]
• Heritage sites[Section 21]

Please note that the Act does not apply to the following:

• the Governor-General, in relation to the exercise of the powers and duties conferred or imposed on him by or under the Constitution of Jamaica or under any other law;
• the judicial functions of a court, the holder of a judicial office or other office connected with a court;
• the security or intelligence services in relation to their strategic or operational intelligence gathering activities;
• any statutory or authority as the Minister may specify by order subject to affirmative resolution;
  [Section 6]