Abstract One of the innovations of the past 30 years has been the creation and subsequent use of the “right to information (RTI)” to deepen democracy, enhance citizen participation and generate transparent systems of governance. Transitional societies and existing democracies alike have embraced legal regimes on the right to information. An RTI law gives a person a right to demand information from a public body (and in some cases from private bodies as well) without having to disclose why the information is being sought. Such a right can enhance transparency in public administration, decrease the level of arbitrary decision-making, and facilitate citizen participation at local, regional and central government levels. It can also reduce corruption and prevent the abuse of public power. UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 commits States to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. More particularly, Target 16.10 aims to “ensure public access to information”. By examining the work of the Sri Lankan RTI Commission over the past 2 years, this Article assesses whether RTI regimes and RTI commissions can be transformative in their impact, including to help realize SDG Goal 16. Can they help generate transparent, participatory and less-corrupt development outcomes, foster a concept of active citizenship, provide genuine public scrutiny of government decision-making, and enable citizens to benefit from an inclusive development process?

中文翻译：

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知情权和变革性发展成果

摘要过去30年的创新之一是创建和随后使用“知情权（RTI）”以加深民主，增强公民的参与并建立透明的治理体系。过渡社会和现有的民主国家都接受了有关知情权的法律制度。RTI法赋予个人权利，要求其从公共机构（有时在某些情况下也从私人机构）获取信息，而不必透露为什么要寻求该信息。这项权利可以提高公共行政的透明度，减少任意决策的水平，并促进公民在地方，区域和中央政府各级的参与。它还可以减少腐败并防止滥用公共权力。联合国可持续发展目标16承诺各国促进和平与包容的社会促进可持续发展，为所有人提供诉诸司法的机会，并在各级建立有效，负责和包容的机构。具体而言，目标16.10旨在“确保公众获取信息”。通过检查斯里兰卡RTI委员会过去两年的工作，本条评估了RTI体制和RTI委员会的影响是否具有变革性，包括有助于实现SDG目标16。它们是否有助于产生透明，参与性强且不腐败的发展成果，树立积极的公民意识，对政府决策进行真正的公众审查，并使公民能够从包容性发展过程中受益？为所有人提供诉诸司法的机会，并在各级建立有效，负责和包容的机构。具体而言，目标16.10旨在“确保公众获取信息”。通过检查斯里兰卡RTI委员会过去两年的工作，本条评估了RTI体制和RTI委员会的影响是否具有变革性，包括有助于实现SDG目标16。它们是否有助于产生透明，参与性强且不那么活跃的目标？腐败的发展成果，树立积极的公民意识，对政府决策进行真正的公众审查以及使公民能够从包容性发展过程中受益？为所有人提供诉诸司法的机会，并在各级建立有效，负责和包容的机构。具体而言，目标16.10旨在“确保公众获取信息”。通过检查斯里兰卡RTI委员会过去两年的工作，本条评估了RTI体制和RTI委员会的影响是否具有变革性，包括有助于实现SDG目标16。它们是否有助于产生透明，参与性强且不那么活跃的目标？腐败的发展成果，树立积极的公民意识，对政府决策进行真正的公众审查以及使公民能够从包容性发展过程中受益？