Lex localis - Journal of Local Self-Government_11(1)_January

L EX LOCALIS - J OURNAL OF L OCAL S ELF -G OVERNMENT Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 725 - 736, July 2017 Government Transparency: Reality or Mirage? N OÉMIA B ESSA V ILELA , J OSE C ARAMELO G OMES & P AULO M ORAIS 1 Abstract All citizens are entitled to access governmental information as, only if properly informed, that they can participate in politics. The right to information is enshrined in a number of international agreements, including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right of citizens to access public authorities’ information is called Freedom of information. This information plays a crucial role in informing the population so that they can make accurate political choices. The mere disposal of information is not enough, as much of public documents suffer from complex language and other technicalities that can prevent an informed use of the information. Thus, sites displaying information must be adapted in order to guarantee usability, functionality and accessibility; there must be different levels of information, as there are diverse groups of individuals with different skills. Such usability, functionality and accessibility require designing effective communications, paying attention to balancing the complexity that citizens can manage and the complexity that those responsible for the requested information are producing. Keywords: • transparency • government • economics • human rights • IT C ORRESPONDENCE A DDRESS : Noémia Bessa Vilela, M.Sc., University Portucalense Infante D. Henrique, IJP- Portucalense Institute for Legal Research, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 541/619|4200-072 Porto 15, Portugal, email: noemia@uporatu.pt . Jose Caramelo Gomes, Ph.D., Professor, University Portucalense Infante D. Henrique, IJP- Portucalense Institute for Legal Research, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 541/619|4200-072 Porto 15, Portugal, email: caramelo.gomes@upt.pt. Paulo Morais, Ph.D., University Portucalense Infante D. Henrique, IJP- Portucalense Institute for Legal Research, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 541/619|4200-072 Porto 15, Portugal, email: paulom@upt.pt . https://doi.org/10.4335/15.3.725-736 (2017) ISSN 1581-5374 Print/1855-363X Online © 2017 Lex localis Available online at http://journal.lex-localis.press.