ABSTRACT
Right-to-know is a legal principle affording individuals an entitlement to information from governmental authorities and private entities. Mandatory disclosure of information is now a widespread requirement for state actors in democratic political systems, with extensive but selective use in the private sector, notably company reporting rules and labeling obligations. The relation between global and domestic transparency practices structures the transnational diffusion of right-to-know. International environmental law contains multilateral obligations which advance transparency between states, notably rights to notification and prior informed consent concerning cross-border risk-bearing activities. Scholarship on transparency has generated mixed findings on policy impacts: it is more likely to work when transparency is embedded in the decision processes of both disclosers and recipients. This creates challenging conditions for broad right-to-know obligations—a burden compounded for access to information on transboundary environmental risks and harm.
