Launched on 18 May 2010, the electronic database of public mail records (Offentleg elektronisk postjournal - OEP, in Norwegian) grants online access to documents of the central administration to anyone interested in obtaining them; the OEP constitutes the first initiative of this kind worldwide. 

The Minister of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs, Ms. Rigmor Aasrud stated in this regard, "From this day on, everyone is able to get access to the documents of the central civil service. Up until today, only journalists had the right to do so. OEP is democracy and openness in practice."

All documents sent from ministries, directorates and state agencies are indexed and stored in the online records system. Through OEP, anyone can access the database, search for a document of their interest and order it. This order will then be sent to the public agency responsible for the document; it will be considered as a disclosure request. Then, the user will receive an answer to their request directly from the public agency in charge of the document.

If a disclosure request has been rejected, the refusals may be appealed against; information on the right to complain and what time limit applies will appear in the refusal message. On another note, the responsible public agencies have an obligation to consider that the principles of public openness and confidentiality concern information only and not to the entire documents.

"Openness depends on accessibility. With the OEP, expert users as well as beginners may easily obtain an overview and get an insight into what the civil service is doing." the Minister said. He added that for many years, it has been crucial for the press to have access to the public electronic mail records as it increases journalists' critical view. The Minister hopes that the OEP becomes a tool for democracy and citizen participation.

The possibility to obtain access to public documents existed for some time, with the condition that the person interested would have knowledge of the given case. "Thanks to the OEP service, everyone is granted access to public records. In addition, more public enterprises are making their records accessible." the Minister added. Hence, along with all ministries, the Prime Minister's office and a number of state enterprises are to join the service, as soon as they are ready.

OEP was developed by the Ministry of Government Administration and Reform, while the Agency for Public Management and eGovernment (Difi) is in charge of its management.

Further information:

• Official Press Release - Ministry of Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs
• Electronic database of public mail records (in Norwegian)