Erna Viktoria Xalter, the President of the Administrative Court in Berlin, has voiced strong concerns regarding proposed limitations to the Freedom of Information Act, criticizing the plans put forward by the federal government. Speaking to “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland,” Xalter warned that if, for instance, cost caps on information access applications were introduced and maintained, the financial burden could become prohibitive for requestors. She suggests that this could ultimately render information freedom meaningless for a large segment of the population. Instead, she is calling for greater legal transparency, arguing that establishing more proactive transparency obligations for government agencies would be a more effective way to reduce bureaucracy. This shift, she states, would lessen the necessity for citizens to litigate over every single piece of information. Xalter, who has served as President of the Administrative Court for 20 years, is scheduled to retire at the end of July.
Politics
