The Law on transparency and its effects on local governments

Abstract

Law 19/2013, of 9 December, on transparency, access to public information and good government, will be fully applicable to local governments after 10 December 2015. The present article analyzes its content from the perspective of the distribution of competences between the different levels of governments (article 149.1.18 of the Spanish Constitution regarding the regulation of public administration and the administrative process; article 149.1.13 regarding the regulation of public finances and article 149.1.1 regarding the minimum equality of all citizens in the enjoyment of fundamental rights). Therefore, on the one hand the article studies the procedural issues related to the access to the information, and in the other the active publicity and the principles of good government from the point of view of the scope of the application of the Law. In short, the article describes the fundamental content of the Law and its most relevant implications for local governments.

Keywords:

transparency, right to access to the information, administrative offences and sanctions, active publicity, legal weight, council on transparency, ICT, transparency index