ATI law and policy #

What legal framework supports Urumuri? #

Urumuri operates within Rwanda's Access to Information framework. The principal legal basis is Law N° 04/2013 of 08/02/2013 relating to Access to Information, read together with the Constitution and the ministerial orders that explain disclosure duties, response timelines, fees, scope, and protected information.

Why does this legal framework matter? #

Urumuri does not create a new legal right. It provides digital infrastructure that helps the public and institutions use an existing legal framework through a clearer request, tracking, and publication process.

Which ministerial orders are most relevant? #

The main orders currently reflected in the platform's public guidance are:

• Ministerial Order No. 006/07.01/13 of 19/12/2013 on detailed categories of information to be disclosed
• Ministerial Order No. 007/07.01/13 of 27/12/2013 on time limits for providing information or explanations for non-disclosure
• Ministerial Order No. 008/07.01/13 of 19/12/2013 on fees related to access to information
• Ministerial Order No. 009/07.01/13 of 19/12/2013 on private organs covered by the ATI framework
• Ministerial Order No. 005/07.01/13 of 19/12/2013 on categories of information whose disclosure could destabilize national security

How does Urumuri help implement the framework? #

Urumuri helps put the legal framework into practice by making the process easier to use and easier to track. The platform supports:

• routing requests to the institution most likely to hold the information
• tracking request dates, response history, and ordinary deadline expectations
• preserving lawfully disclosed responses and documents in a searchable archive
• reducing duplicate requests by helping people find records that have already been disclosed
• giving institutions a clearer and more traceable response path
• moderation, restriction, and removal where privacy, safety, or legal limits require it

What are the legal limits? #

Access to information is important, but it is not absolute. Some information may be lawfully protected because of privacy, national security, legal proceedings, trade secrets, or other recognized exemption grounds. Where part of a record can lawfully be disclosed and another part cannot, redaction or partial publication may be appropriate.

What should not be submitted through Urumuri? #

Urumuri is not intended for private disputes, emergency complaints, personal-record access through a public archive route, whistleblowing submissions, or abusive content. Those matters should be handled through more appropriate channels.

Why is this useful for both the public and institutions? #

For the public, the framework becomes easier to understand and use. For institutions, requests can arrive in a clearer structure, timelines and explanations are easier to trace, and previously disclosed records are easier to find instead of being recreated through repeated requests.

What software powers Urumuri? #

Urumuri is powered by Alaveteli, the open source platform created by mySociety for running Access to Information request sites in different legal systems.