The government (future) regulation on the Reuse of public sector information

One of the main implications of Open Government refers to citizens’ participation in public authorities’ decisions making. This requirement acquires a special importance in the elaboration of regulation, hence, after the reform of the administrative procedure in 2015, the government has established certain rules specifically designed to facilitate citizen participation in regulations.

In application of this legal requirement, through Ministry of Finance and Public Administration website, the process of public hearing on the Royal Decree which regulates the Reuse of Public Sector Information is opened. Until March 20, citizens can provide inputs, sending an email to normat.tic@correo.gob.es.

The objective of this initiative is to process the standards for regulatory submission aimed at development of regulation on the reuse of information from state public sector, particularly after the reform driven by Law 18/2015, of July 9. Its purpose is adapting regulation to changes introduced by Directive 2013/37 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 26 June.

As stated in the mandatory Normative Impact Analysis Report included in the project, initially, the modification of Royal Decree 1495/2011, dated October 24 was evaluated. But the importance of the aforementioned legal changes has led to a substantial modification with a broader scope. In particular, the objectives of this new regulation are:

• Set the obligations, in general terms, that public sector entities must assume at state level;
• Specify the regime applicable to the different ways of making information available;
• Establish, at the normative level, the organizational and governance model that allows for better coordination and supervision;
• Adapt the regulatory framework to requirements arising from the application of the provisions on information access, intellectual and industrial property, as well as, in particular, the protection of personal data.

One of the most important novelties of the project is the establishment of a more detailed regulation that covers aspects of great importance, such as standard licenses content, thus reinforcing the legal security of re-users. The project also tries to respond to some of the main demands imposed by the European Union in 2013, and reflected in the legal reform of 2015. This is the case of the exceptional nature of exclusive agreements and the tariffs quantification. In addition, a specific regulation for the cultural sphere is incorporated (archives, libraries and museums).

In relation to the governance model, the project also intends to launch a Working Group in order to promote coordination in the state public sector and, in a special way, to review compliance with the promotion plans that each liable party has to publish and keep updated.

Finally, it should be noted that the project incorporates a clear and unambiguous contractual obligations. In this way, once in force, technical requirements specifications related to contracts aimed to develop new information systems functionalities and evolutionary maintenance must necessarily include a clause regarding to data opening aspects.

As indicated previously, the text is subject to change from citizens who want to share their opinion and make additional contributions, either individually or through different associations. Once the public hearing ends, on March 20, the definitive text will be established.

This Royal Decree is one more step to promote the publication of information with conditions that facilitate its reuse, using structured, open and interoperable formats. In that way, this information could be used to create new services and products that add value to society.

Content prepared by Julián Valero, professor at the University of Murcia and Coordinator of the Research Group "Innovation, Law and Technology" (iDerTec).

Contents and points of view expressed in this publication are the exclusive responsibility of its author.