CONFIDENTIALITY AND TRANSPARENCY: THE DISPUTE OVER ACCESS TO STATE CONTRACTS WITH LABORATORIES FOR ACQUISITION OF VACCINES AGAINST COVID-19

Abstract

This article analyzes the decisions adopted by the Council for Transparency regarding access to information on the processes of negotiating and signing contracts between the Chilean State and different laboratories to vaccines against COVID-19. Based on a review of the jurisprudence on the subject, this article studies the way in which conflicting rights have been weighed, how access to public information in those contracts is operationalized, as well as the scope and way in which the grounds for confidentiality in Chilean legislation are interpreted. The article shows that although the Council established the public character of the acts of State bodies on this matter, critical data from the above-mentioned agreements were considered confidential. This is because it was considered that publicizing this information would affect the national interest, the public health of the country. At the same time, it was established that the disclosure of certain sensitive and strategic data would harm commercial and economic interests and rights of the contracting laboratories.