Kushakova-Kostytska N. Information and the right to information: definition issues and reasonable restrictions on use

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33098/2078-6670.2025.19.31.152-162

Purpose. The purpose of the work is to analyze the human right to information and its possible restrictions at the constitutional and regulatory levels, their legality and feasibility in Ukraine in today’s conditions. Methodology. The research methodology is focused on a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of the concepts of “information” and “right to information” based on scientific research, regulatory and other documents. The work used methods of synthesis and analysis of scientific achievements in the analysis of the concept of “information”, as well as systemic and comparative methods in the study of the concept of “right to information”. Results: The paper explores various aspects of the concept of information in the context of legal regulation of the right to information and its possible limitations. The regulation of the right to information in national legislation, its content and structure are analyzed, and the definitions of its components are formulated. It has been established that since the beginning of the 21st century, there has been an exclusively digital orientation in the development of human information rights, which is associated with the development of digitalization of all spheres of life and the need to make appropriate changes to the legislation in general and changes to individual norms regarding the use of information in various branches of law in particular. This also applies to the rethinking and updating of legal norms related to the regulation of the right to information and its restrictions, which are influenced not only by technological development, but also by social changes – crisis situations, in particular, military conflicts. It is summarized that the further democratization of the Ukrainian state depends on the effective resolution of the issue of the implementation and protection of the right to information. Originality. The research identified certain inconsistencies in the regulation of the right to information in various regulatory legal acts and indicated ways to eliminate them. The emphasis was placed on the need to take into account the specifics of the implementation of the right to information and its restrictions during martial law and post-war reconstruction in Ukraine. Practical significance. The results of the study can be used in law-making and law enforcement activities during the consideration of court cases related to the violation of citizens’ information rights, in particular their unlawful restriction.

Key words: information, right to information, informational legal relations, freedom of information, restrictions on human rights, information legislation.

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