ABSTRACT
International law on the journalist's privilege has emerged as an issue of increasing significance since the mid-1990s. Freedom of information (FOI) was referred to as part of freedom of expression in general, not as a specific right to access to government records, by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The FOI stories of three Asian nations—China, India, and South Korea—illuminate the right to information as a transformative agent in society. Access to information in China is through the government's voluntary actions or through the government's response to information requests. The regional human rights conventions for Europe, the Americas, and Africa prohibit hate speech. The growing need for an understanding of foreign law has become more acute in recent years because "broadcasts and publications transcend the boundaries of one state, or even one country, causing complicated problems for potential libel plaintiffs and defendants.".
