PAIA

Foreword by the Chief Executive Officer
The right of access to information is a unique right within the South African Bill of Rights, and has a distinct history within the work and mandate of the South African Human Rights Commission which was the institution originally set up under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to monitor the realization of this right. The formulation of the right of access to information in the South African Constitution is particularly unique as it places an obligation upon both public and private bodies to allow access to records held by them. For private bodies, this is conditioned upon the demonstration that the information is needed for the exercise or protection of other rights. The PAIA was established to promote the right of access to information and to promote
transparency and accountability within both the public and private sectors of society in order to more fully realize South Africa’s goals of an open and participatory democracy. This PAIA Guide has been developed in fulfilment of the South African Human Rights Commission’s (the Commission) obligation under Section 10 of the PAIA which provides for the Commission to draft and compile a Guide to assist people in using and understanding PAIA to enable the realization of their right of access to information. This Guide on How to Use the Promotion of Access to Information Act has been designed to be a guidance tool for individuals, communities and institutions, and is intended to be user-friendly and accessible. This Guide will be made available at various institutions across the country (further details provided in Section 2 of this Guide).