Access to Public Documents and Its Restrictions: a Reflection from the Perspectives of Brazil and Sweden

Abstract The access to public documents is currently perceived as a human right among democratic nations worldwide. While Sweden has a long background of transparency in the core of the government, in Brazil the regulations concerning this matter are very recent. This article compares Swedish and Brazilian law regarding the right to information and its restrictions, particularly when in conflict with privacy and data protection. As a result of the utilization of objective criteria, the Brazilian regulation is considered better, mainly because it has a broader scope and provides for more promotional measures than the Swedish regulation. However, when analyzing the quality of the implementation of the regulations, it is suggested that in both jurisdictions there is still room for improvements in order to have a better balance between openness and secrecy.