Opening Political Parties: Freedom of Information after the Amendment to the Organic Constitutional Law of Political Parties

Abstract

The paper examines the amendment to the Organic Constitutional Law of Political Parties regarding the inclusion of freedom of information as a right of which party members are entitled. As it is a matter reserved for the internal regulation of political parties, all legally constituted parties are researched so as to determine whether or not they have rules that enable exercising of the right. The research shows that only a minority of political parties have regulations that go beyond the law. However, important omissions are observed at the level of parties’ regulations. The paper concludes that the absence of adequate internal regulation for the exercise of the right may hinder access to party information by its members.