ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will set out a comprehensive overlook of the regulation regarding the access to public information in Hungary and Romania, using the case of extraordinary rendition to highlight the role of NGOs in monitoring governments prone to secrecy. The term “extraordinary” or “irregular rendition” refers to a variety of practices, mostly by the US authorities, that involve the transfer of individuals from one country to another without any form of judicial or administrative process such as extradition. These practices, usually carried out in secret, include transferring “war on terror” detainees into the custody of other states, assuming custody of individuals from foreign authorities, and abducting suspects on foreign soil (Amnesty International 2006). The phenomenon provides a new angle and an additional degree of importance to state transparency, an issue that bears special significance in post-transitional societies, the newborn democracies.
