Public & Private Information Disclosure Act (Makko Oko)

Public & Private Information Disclosure Act
Citation	2025 c. XX
Enacted by	4th Session of the Law Council
Date enacted	February 14th, 2025
Date effective	February 14th, 2025
Status: Current legislation

The Public & Private Information Disclosure Act (c. XX) is an Act of Council of the 4th Session which was ratified on February 14th, 2025 by Emperor Conall Solis. It is a landmark law ratified as part of the government's response to the Ashgate scandal and mandates that certain government information previously undisclosed be disclosed upon request of a citizen or "authorized public interest" which can include news organizations, provincial governments, etc. In addition, it mandates that certain information from companies operating domestically be made publicly and freely accessible including how much is paid in taxes, what investigations or accusations have been made against them, etc. Notably, PPIDA also slightly restricted police powers in regards to search & seizure.

Full Text

SECTION I - DEFINITIONS

ARTICLE I - Public information shall heretofore be defined as any information controlled, created, disseminated or managed by the government or an agency of the government.

ARTICLE II - Private information shall heretofore be defined as any information controlled, created, disseminated or managed by a domestic company or by an individual citizen.

SECTION II - PUBLIC INFORMATION

ARTICLE III - Any information that shall be analyzed to not be of a national security risk may such be disclosed upon public request unless an exception is met.

ARTICLE IV - Any information that is of a national security risk may such be disclosed in a redacted format upon public request unless an exception is met.

ARTICLE V - Information that requires disclosure upon request includes but is not limited to: Court records that are not under seal, water and power inspection reports, the investigative status of an open case, persons indicted with crimes under the Anti-Terrorism Act, police body camera footage, arrest records, criminal records stored on the NCIS for dead persons, criminal records for sex-related or security-related offenses stored on the NCIS for persons dead or alive.

ARTICLE VI - Redacted court records for cases under seal may be obtainable with the overview and consent of the Ministry of Justice's Office of Legal Review and the sign off of a judge in the Administrative Claims Court.

ARTICLE VII - Certain information that can be disclosed under this section may such be restricted from publication by those who received it if one or more articles under Section III are met.

ARTICLE VIII - Any information that could jeopardize public health if not disclosed shall be publicly disclosed with or without public inquiry unless an exception is met. The information can be disclosed in a redacted format should a related redaction provision apply.

SECTION III - RESTRICTED DISCLOSURE

ARTICLE IX - No information that is disclosed that could paint the Monarch or the judiciary in a bad light shall legally be permitted to be disclosed to the public.

ARTICLE X - No information that is disclosed that could paint the government in a bad light internationally shall legally be permitted to be disclosed to the public.

ARTICLE XI - No military information, or information disclosed by the Ministry of Defense or any of its agencies, shall legally be permitted to be disclosed to the public.

ARTICLE XII - In times of national emergency or martial law, the Minister of Internal Security reserves the right to prohibit any disclosure of information to the public.

SECTION IV - PUBLIC EXCEPTIONS

ARTICLE XIII - In times of martial law, this statute shall not apply, and no information shall be mandated for disclosure.

ARTICLE XIV - Any information labeled "top secret" shall not be disclosed until a period of at least 10 years has elapsed since its production, however, this period can be extended if the Monarch so determines that it is still relevant and should still be protected.

ARTICLE XV - No information concerning the Monarch or any persons in the Imperial Family shall such be disclosed in any manner.

ARTICLE XVI - No building plans for any building shall such be disclosed in any manner, unless the Minister of State Affairs so authorizes.

ARTICLE XVII - No information containing weapon or nuclear secrets shall be disclosed unless Article VIII applies. Shall Article VIII be applicable, the information shall be redacted as much as possible to only contain the relevant public health information, and disclosure shall be personally vetted and approved by the Monarch. Information under this article shall not be automatically disclosed under Article VIII and shall only be available upon request.

ARTICLE XVIII - No information concerning a deceased Monarch shall such be disclosed in any way, shape or form without approval of the reigning Monarch, who may such control what information is disclosed.

ARTICLE XIX - Any information labeled "secret" shall not be disclosed until a period of at least 5 years has elapsed since its production, however, this period can be extended if the Monarch so determines that it is still relevant and should still be protected. The Monarch can also override the disclosure period if they deem that it is applicable for redacted or full disclosure.

SECTION V - PRIVATE INFORMATION

ARTICLE XX - In times of martial law, this statute shall not apply, and no information shall be mandated for disclosure.

ARTICLE XXI - All companies shall disclose when they are under investigation for any crime, domestic or foreign, upon public inquiry.

ARTICLE XXII - All companies shall disclose hiring histories upon request, to include information such as history of hiring convicts, retention rate, what system(s) are used to help determine hiring, etc.

ARTICLE XXIII - All companies shall disclose to the public any layoffs that are planned at least three weeks prior to initiating them. Should a layoff disclosure be false, delayed or the layoff itself has been cancelled after disclosure, the company may be sued by the employees affected and prosecuted or penalized by the government.

SECTION VI - ENTITES WHO CAN REQUEST DISCLOSURES

ARTICLE XXIV - Any persons that are citizens of the empire as declared by the Nationality & Citizenship Bureau shall be able to request information disclosures under this act.

ARTICLE XXV - Any authorized public interest defined by Section VII shall be able to request information disclosures under this act.

ARTICLE XXVI - No entity not explicitly outlined within this act shall be able to request information disclosures.

SECTION VII - AUTHORIZED PUBLIC INTERESTS

ARTICLE XXVII - An authorized public interest shall be any entity outside of the norm that the government has deemed is an entity, that while normally would not be able to request information disclosures, is able to due to a vested public interest.

ARTICLE XXVIII - News organizations shall be authorized public interests under this article.

ARTICLE XXIX - Provincial governments and officials shall be authorized public interests under this article.

ARTICLE XXX - The state shall have the right to deny an information disclosure request made by an authorized public interest should there be a valid reason for doing so.

SECTION VIII - POLICE POWERS

ARTICLE XXXI - No warrantless searches of property or person shall such be conducted without reasonable cause or belief that such a person has evidence of a crime on them, or the law enforcement officer spotted them committing a crime actively.

ARTICLE XXXII - Article XXXI may be exempted if the person grants written consent for a search, known as a consented search.

ARTICLE XXXIII - An illegal warrantless search shall not such be allowed into evidence for any criminal hearing or trial, nor may it be used to launch any prosecutions.