Freedom of Information Policy

Policy Main Objectives

This policy aims to govern and regulate the tasks and responsibilities related to the application of freedom of information managed by the National Center for Government Resource Systems that enhances the transparency principle and the circulation freedom of these information according to the freedom of information policy issued by the National Data Management Office and in compliance with all other relevant regulatory controls.

Scope

This policy applies to all individuals’ requests to view or obtain information managed at the National Center for Government Resource Systems, which has been classified as free circulation information according to the approved data classification policy by the National Center for Government Resource Systems.

Basic Principles to Freedom of Information

The Data Governance and Management Office at the National Center for Government Resource Systems is committed to ensure the application of Freedom of information principles as per the data freedom policy issued by the National Data Management Office: 

1.     Transparency: It is considered in the context of this policy that the individual has the right to know the related information to the general activities of the National Center for Government Resource Systems to enhance the system of integrity, transparency and accountability.

2.     Necessity and proportionality: It is considered in the context of this policy that any restrictions on requesting access to or obtaining protected information received, produced or dealt with by the National Center for Government Resource Systems shall be justified in a clear and explicit way.

3.     The origin of public information is disclosure: It is considered in the context of this policy that the right of the individual to view public information - which is not protected - and it is not necessary for the applicant to have a certain quality or interest for this information in order to obtain it, nor exposed to any legal accountability related to this right.

4.     Equality: It is considered in the context of this policy that the deal with all requests to view or obtain public information on the basis of equality and non-discrimination between individuals.

Freedom of Information Controls

1-    The rights of the National Center for Government Resource Systems shall be indicated when using this data.

2-    The Data Governance and Management Office at the National Center for Government Resources Systems is committed to define data that is made available to the public than others (open data) according to the approved methodology of data classification by the National Center for Government Resource Systems.

3-    The Data Governance and Management Office at the National Center for Government Resources Systems is obligated to verify the identity of individuals before granting them the right to view or obtain information according to the approved by the National Cybersecurity Authority and the related parties.

4-    The Data Governance and Management Office at the National Center for Government Resource Systems is obligated to follow and apply the data classification policy and the personal data protection policy approved by the National Center for Government Resource Systems on all requests to make the data available for all individuals.

5-    The Data Governance and Management Office at the National Center for Government Resources Systems is committed to all relevant regulatory policies in managing applications, including the National Cybersecurity Authority policy and the National Data Management Office.

6-    The Data Governance and Management Office at the National Center for Government Resources Systems is committed to respond to requests for data availability within the specified period to avoid any delay or lack of response, provided that it is one of the following decisions:

a.     Approval for availability request.

b.     Rejection of availability request.

c.     Approval for availability request extension.

d.     Notify the user that the information already available on entity website or it is not within its responsibility.

7-    The Data Governance and Management Office at the National Center for Government Resources Systems is committed to ensure the rights of individuals in regard to accessing or obtaining public information, which are:

a.     The right to view and obtain any information that is not restricted by any public entity.

b.     The right to know the reason for refusing to view or obtain the requested information.

c.     The right to appeal against the decision of refusing to request access and obtain the required information.

8-    The Data Governance and Management Office at the National Center for Government Resource Systems is obligated to notify the individual - in an appropriate way - in the event of refusing the application or part of it, with an explanation of the rejection reasons and the right to appeal within a period not exceeding (15) days from the date of the decision.

9-    The individual has the right to raise cases of no response or cases of appeal to the Data Governance and Management Office at the financial sector regulator. 

Responsibility of the National Center for Government Resource Systems 

The National Center for Government Resource Systems is not responsible for any damage or misuse for entities or individuals as a result of using data. The National Center for Government Resource Systems does not guarantee the continuity of open data or any part related to it. Also, The National Center for Government Resource Systems does not bear any responsibility towards data users and any damage or loss that may occur as a result of reusing the data.