European citizens have a right to information from public authorities under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), it has been ruled—in a decision that may force GCHQ to respond to Freedom of Information requests.

The judgment was made by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and was described by the UK Campaign for Freedom of Information as a "landmark decision."

The case concerned a dispute between Hungary's government and an NGO, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, over a freedom of information request filed by the latter. However, such was the wider importance of the case that others were permitted to submit their views to the court: the UK government, and a group of international privacy organisations, including the Campaign for Freedom of Information.

Article 10 of the ECHR says: "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers." In the past, this has been interpreted to mean governments cannot censor what one person wishes to communicate to another.

The novelty in the latest ECtHR ruling is that the court has decided that Article 10 also guarantees the right to obtain information from a government. However, as the Campaign for Freedom of Information points out, that right does not apply to all requests:

Only those where access 'is instrumental for the individual’s exercise of his or her right to freedom of expression.' This may apply where the requester’s purpose is to contribute to public debate on a matter of public interest. The requester would also have to fulfill a 'public watchdog' role, which the Grand Chamber said might apply not only to the press and NGOs but also to authors, academics, bloggers and 'popular users of social media'.

It's a broad class of professions and individuals, which means that the latest ruling is likely to have a big impact on permissible FoI requests, many of which aim to obtain information in order to stimulate public debate on matters of public interest.

The Campaign for Freedom of Information believes the ruling could also impose a new disclosure obligation on public bodies which are not currently subject to the Freedom of Information Act, "ranging from GCHQ and the National Crime Agency to electoral registration officers," provided the information is sought for public benefit.

In the UK, FoI matters are handled by the Cabinet Office. Ars sought comment from the Whitehall department on the ECtHR decision and its likely impact, but had not heard back at time of publication.