Marlena Sakowska-Baryła

Selected Aspects of the Complementarity of Information Rights to the Active Electoral Right

The text deals with the complementarity of information rights with respect to the active electoral right, using the example of the right of access to public information and the right to protection of personal data. These two information rights well reflect the most relevant aspects of an individual’s information status. At the same time, these rights interestingly interact with the exercise of the active electoral right. The article explains the concept of “information rights” and the concept of the sovereignty of the people, and identifies the obligations incumbent on public authorities to ensure the exercise of information rights and the active electoral right. From the analyses carried out, there are strong interactions between the right of access to public information and the active electoral right. The situation is different in the case of the right to protection of personal data. The analysis makes it possible to claim that the relationship between the right of access to public information and the active electoral right as political rights is more intense due to the goals set for them. The right to protection of personal data belongs to personal rights. Its exercise involves complying with a number of procedures for processing personal data and securing personal data in technical and organizational terms. Procedures defining the principles of personal data processing are currently described primarily in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The joint application of the Election Code and personal data protection procedures is not easy, and the Polish regulation in this regard is sometimes unclear and insufficient.