The Right to Know, the Right to Live

The right to access information is explored in this book. The focus is on the South African law - said to be the "strongest access to information law in the world" - but there is an international perspective, with contributions from India, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom and the United States. This title argues that for the right to information to be meaningful it must extend beyond nation-state governments to transnational corporations and multilateral organisations such as the World Bank. The right to access information is not only an important civil and political right. It is also a socio-economic right, enabling the full realisation of other socio-economic rights such as the right to welfare, housing or education.