Requested Disclosure of Board Records:
                      Access to Information Consultation Memorandum 2017-7
                                      (Case Number AI5324)


1.     Notification: The Executive Directors are hereby notified that the Board record noted in
paragraph 2 of this consultation memorandum is responsive to a public request for access to certain
records (Access to Information Case No. AI5324). The record has been identified by the Corporate
Secretariat to be eligible for immediate declassification and disclosure under the Bank’s Policy on
Access to Information (“AI Policy”).

2.     Type, Information Classification and Nature of the Board Record Requested: This public
request is for:
    •    Chairman’s Summing-up of Board meeting of November 26, 1991 – Policy on
         Tobacco, dated December 10, 1991 (SecM91-1565).
The record has the information classification Official Use Only, contains information subject only to
the “Deliberative Information” exception under the AI Policy, and has satisfied its applicable
declassification schedule.

3.       Access to Information Policy Considerations: Under the AI Policy, information restricted
under the “Deliberative Information” exception is eligible for immediate declassification and
disclosure in accordance with the AI Policy’s declassification schedule, if the documents concerned do
not also contain or refer to restricted information not eligible for declassification. 1 The declassification
schedule for Chairman’s Summings-up of Board meetings prepared before January 1, 2002 is five
years. 2

Because the requested Board record is restricted only under the “Deliberative Information” exception
and satisfies its corresponding declassification schedule age requirements, it is eligible for immediate
declassification and disclosure. The AI Policy provides that the Board may, under exceptional
circumstances, exercise the Bank’s prerogative to restrict access to Board Records that would normally
be disclosed, if it determines that the disclosure of the records would likely cause harm that would
outweigh the benefits of the disclosure. 3

4.     Process: Under procedures approved by the Board, this consultation memorandum is being
submitted to Executive Directors so they have an opportunity to review and comment on the eligible
Board record noted in paragraph 2 4. Management is also being consulted about the disclosure of this
record. After the closing date for comments, if concerns/objections have not been expressed by an
Executive Director or management, the record will be disclosed by management in accordance with



1
  See AI Policy, Section III.B.6(a) and (b).
2
  See AI Policy, Section III.B.6(b)(i).
3
  See AI Policy, Section IV.2(a).
4
  Access to Information Policy: Streamlining Procedures for Disclosure of Board Records; R2016-0213[IDA/R2016-0256]
dated November 2, 2016, section 5(A).

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the AI Policy. If concerns/objections from an Executive Director and/or management are received, this
record will be submitted to COGAM, and subsequently to the Board, for further consideration. 5

5.       Views of the Access to Information Committee: Based on the AI Policy’s declassification
schedule noted above and the Corporate Secretariat’s indication of the type, information classification
and nature of the record at issue, it is the AIC’s view that the Board record noted in paragraph 2 above
is eligible for immediate declassification and disclosure under the AI Policy.

6.     To Facilitate Executive Directors’ Review: The requested Board record can be accessed
through the link provided in paragraph 2 and through the EDs’ Portal under “Access to Information
Requests”. Assistance can also be arranged through the Corporate Secretariat’s Board Resource Center
(brc@worldbank.org).




5
    Id at 5(A)(ii)-(iii).

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