No need to divulge draft Free Trade Agreement under RTI
Law et al. News | 16.08.2011
No need to divulge draft Free Trade Agreement under RTI
Garima Tyagi
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has refused to provide a copy of the text of the proposed ‘India - European Union Free Trade Agreement (India – EU FTA)’ as sought by an applicant under RTI Act.
One DG Shah under the RTI Act had sought the copy of EUFTA from Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Through an application dated 28 December 2010, Shah had sought copies of all correspondence between the Centre and the EU including copies of discussion papers, records, memos, opinions, office noting, reports, advices, papers etc.
Refusing to give information the CPIO had stated that disclosure of the requested information would prejudicially affect the economic interest of the country. CPIO in its order had stated, “The disclosure of information as sought under the RTI Application will harm the economic interest of the country.”
The CIC while upholding the decision of CPIO has said that the draft sought by applicant is at premature stage and it will be unnecessary for the commission to interfere in the preparation of the final Free Trade Agreement at any preliminary stage.
CIC in its order stated, “Draft as such is a preliminary version of a text which has a temporary flavor to it and which has not yet ripened into a final concrete document after having undergone the necessary stages of editing, evaluation, discussions, deliberations, modifications, approval and ratification etc.”
“There may be endless drafts which could be prepared at uncountable instances by the drafting committee during the process of preparing a given text but it is only the finally approved document which bears legal sanctity so far as that text is concerned,” order further read.
The CIC in its order has stated that the disclosure of a premature draft of a Free Trade Agreement, which involves deliberations at international plane and policy making at the highest level, can jeopardize and prejudicially affect the strategic and economic interest of the State. It observed that any interference by the Commission in the preparation of the final Free Trade Agreement at any preliminary stage will be completely unnecessary and unwarranted.
It has been reported that the European Union is keen to increase the scope of the FTA to a number of sectors including legal and accounting services.
