WHAT is the difference between Jersey and some 50 other liberal democracies around the world?

At present, those other communities have fully fledged freedom of information laws, whereas this Island has a code that is meant to encourage open government but is not binding.

A draft law, however, is now on the table for general discussion and the body responsible for it, the Privileges and Procedures Committee, are pressing for comprehensive changes that would bring us into line with much of the rest of the democratic world.

On the evidence of the draft law and the supporting documents which put it into full context, Privileges have made a first-class job not only of framing legislation which would work, but also of understanding and explaining why the public interest is best served if there is a presumption that official information will be accessible.

Tacitly, the draft law and the accompanying report also recognise that a legal framework allowing ordinary Islanders to access official information is of special importance in this era of ministerial government. Ministers might have no real intention of playing everything close to the chest, but the culture of secrecy which has long been detectable in the Island’s political and administrative circles has been reinforced by the creation of the close-knit and powerful executive to which they belong.

It would not, of course, be true to say that the present freedom of information code has been a waste of time. The relevant statistics show that there have been significant numbers of successful applications since its introduction and relatively few denials of access.

In spite of this, the non-binding basis of the code has meant that applicants have ultimately had to rely on the goodwill of politicians and others in authority to secure the information that they require. Moreover, the extensive list of exceptions to the general rule of openness currently provides anyone determined to keep an official secret with almost limitless grounds for doing so.

Those who say that the code is in itself sufficient and that no new legislation is needed might point out that the draft law also has a substantial list of exceptions and that some categories of information will inevitably remain under lock an key. This is true, but examination of the proposed exempt categories shows them to be reasonable, well-thought out and based on common sense.

Meanwhile, the key elements of the draft law are principles rather than precise rules. These state that if the States agree with Privileges’ conclusions, individuals will be presumed to have a right to information and authorities will have a statutory duty to make it available.