## Review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy (May 14, 2013) — Excerpts (_051413) ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [Review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy (May 14, 2013) — Excerpts (_051413)](https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/np/pp/eng/2013/_051413.pdf) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/np/pp/eng/2013/_051413.pdf.md) - [Structured JSON version](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/np/pp/eng/2013/_051413.pdf.json) --- ### Progress in transparency - Two decades of reforms have improved significantly the Fund’s transparency. - Over 90 percent of country documents and policy papers are now published. - The 2009 introduction of a “Transparency Principle” and extensions of the presumed publication regime since 2002 helped deliver a steady increase in publication rates. - The Fund has intensified efforts on three fronts: - Publication: moved from voluntary publication of Article IV and UFR staff reports to a “voluntary but presumed” regime for all country documents covered under the Transparency Policy. - Communication: developed and updated a comprehensive communications strategy since 1998 to engage market participants, civil society, media, and the public. - Archives access: progressively increased public access, with the Archives made available via the internet for the first time in 2012. ### Shortcomings and stakeholder concerns - Timeliness: the Fund is seen as lagging behind other institutions in timeliness of publication. - Multiple summary outputs (e.g., PINs and press releases) from some Board meetings raise risk that key policy messages get diffused. - Evenhandedness: doubts persist about whether the policy is being applied even-handedly; some members perceive bias. - Confidentiality: concerns about treatment of confidential information; some members reluctant to engage on sensitive issues for fear of disclosure. ### Evidence on publication rates and lags - Average publication rates and trends: - On average, 92 percent of country documents were published in 2009–12, up from 85 percent before the last review. - Share of published policy documents increased from 84 percent in 2006 to 89 percent in 2009–12, peaking at 98 percent in 2012. - Publication rates by country group: - Emerging markets (EMs) and low-income countries (LICs) are starting to converge with advanced markets (AMs). - FSSAs: publication rates lower and more volatile than other country report categories. - Fund-supported program documents: publication rate approached 100 percent at the peak of the crisis, but has fallen back in recent years. - Average publication lags: - Article IV, UFR, and combined reports: fell from 42 days in 2006–08 to 32 days in 2012. - FSSAs: average lags fell from around 80 days to below 20 days. - Around 8 percent of staff reports were published more than 90 days after the Board date. - Examples of long lags preserved from source: - Comoros: 238 days - Djibouti: 169 days - Jordan (August 2012, Request for Stand-By Agreement): 146 days ### Modifications — deletions and corrections (incidence and patterns) - 2012: some 17 percent of published staff reports were subject to deletions, compared with 10 percent before the last review. - Deletion rates by country group during 2009–12: - AMs: 35 percent - EMs: 24 percent - LICs: 11 percent - Increase in deletions related to financial sector issues: - from 4 percent of total deletions in 2006-2008 - to around 12 percent during 2009–12 - Correction incidence: - During 2009–12, 65 percent of all published staff reports were subject to corrections, compared with 56 percent before the last review. - Correction rates by country group during 2009–12: - AMs: about 90 percent - EMs: around 70 percent - LICs: just under 50 percent - Very low rate of corrections under “mischaracterization of authorities’ views” for LICs: 4 percent. - Stand-alone report counts and percent with deletions (2009–2012): - Stand-alone Article IV: - AM 113 19 - EM 166 19 - LIC 72 11 - Stand-alone UFR: - AM 26 58 - EM 124 18 - LIC 16 0 ### Interpretation and drivers of modification dynamics - Staff view: modification rates combine request rates (largely outside staff control) and acceptance rates (more relevant to evenhanded implementation); therefore modification rates are a poor indicator of evenhandedness. - Survey impressions: - Country authorities from AMs and EMs generally make more requests than those from LICs. - AMs believe they face higher perceived rejection rates for deletion requests than EMs or LICs. - For corrections, LICs have higher rates of perceived rejection. - Crisis-related drivers: - Markets more volatile and economies more vulnerable increased requests for deletions, especially on market sensitivity grounds. - Within AMs, many deletion requests on market sensitivity came from European crisis countries. - LICs tended to request fewer deletions on market sensitivity and more on premature disclosure of policy intentions. - Case sample analysis found only a few “gray zone” cases not fulfilling all policy criteria and little evidence of bias; tightened procedures and “evident ambiguity” corrections reduced “gray zone” deletions. ### Multi-country surveillance and policy gaps - Recent surveillance reforms (e.g., spillover reports, pilot ESR) increased multi-country content and cross-country analysis in Article IV reports under the Integrated Surveillance Decision (ISD). - Policy categorization challenge: multi-country products often do not fit neatly into existing categories (country vs policy documents). - Practical staff treatments noted: - Treat spillover main report as policy document; background papers treated as country documents for publication consents. - ESR pilot: pilot ESR published; separate Economy Assessments considered but not published; both treated as policy documents in pilot stage. - Euro area chapter treated as country document for publication consents and as policy document for deletions assessment. - Specific risks: - Treating background papers as country documents places publication consent with S5 members for those papers, potentially undermining multilateral report quality. - Clustered reports may generate inconsistent modification requests from multiple members and risk undermining candor, integrity, and publication rates. ### Archives and public access — timelines and comparators - 2009 reforms to Archives Policy implemented; many archival documents digitized and available online. - Time lags for public access reduced over time: - Initially 30-year lag for all documents. - Current lags include: - Board documents: 3 years - Board minutes: 5 years - Other documentary material: 20 years - Staff priorities: - Digitization of paper-based records. - Declassification of other documentary material on a lapse-of-time basis. - Comparator notes: - BIS: most records over 30 years old available for consultation. - OECD: after 10 years, public access allowed to historical documents with exceptions. - World Bank: three-tier declassification structure (5 years, 10 years, 20 years for different classes). ### Key recommendations and proposed changes (high-level) - Strengthen presumption of publication: - Extend stronger publication regime currently applying to exceptional access and certain other cases to all UFR and PSI staff reports; expected effect: add 1–2 percentage points to the overall publication rate for country staff reports (current overall rate 92 percent). - Define and shorten publication timelines: - Issue brief factual statements within 28 days of Board meetings for Article IV consultations, standalone FSSAs, and UFR cases if corresponding Board document not yet published. - Amend policy to define “prompt publication” as within 14 days (14 days after Board consideration or 28 days after issuance to the Board, whichever is later). - Strive to publish policy documents normally within seven days if the Board agrees to publication. - Introduce lower-profile publication for reports published more than 90 days after Board consideration, with disclaimers and potential management withholding in rare cases. - Reduce deadline for requests for deletions to seven days after Board consideration or 21 days after issuance of the staff report to the Board (down from 21 days after Board consideration or 35 days after issuance). - Streamline external communications: - Use only one term—press release—for external communications products; discontinue public information notices (PINs). - Issue a single press release for Board discussions or LOT items; translate press releases into languages other than English when feasible. - For UFR and combined reports, issue a single press release on the day of the Board meeting where feasible. - Clarify treatment of confidential information: - Provide further staff guidance on required inclusions in staff reports and what constitutes confidential information. - Clarify confidentiality rules to country authorities at mission start. - Strengthen departmental review to avoid leakage of confidential information into Article IVs. - Monitor and strengthen evenhandedness: - Issue an annual table to the Executive Board detailing all rejected modification requests (country name, specific request, reason for rejection). - Develop a database of modification requests and include summary statistics in the report on Key Trends starting in 2014. - Translate the guidance note on the Transparency Policy into languages other than English. - Adapt transparency to new surveillance landscape: - Create a new category for documents covering multiple countries with three sub-categories: Multilateral Policy Issues Documents; Country Background Pages; Cluster Documents. - Introduce safeguards and tailored modification/publication rules for multi-country documents (e.g., note when country-specific material is deleted; management option to recommend non-publication if deletion would substantially undermine analysis; factual statement in case of non-publication). - Amend modification rules for Article IV staff reports to take into account ISD (proposed withdrawal of requirement that primary country consent to third-party deletion requests; management/Board to consider third-party requests). - Replace the current “positive list” of documents subject to the policy with an indicative one to increase flexibility of coverage. - Archives improvements: - Complete implementation of the 2009 reforms; prioritize digitization and lapse-of-time declassification of other documentary material. ### Proposed procedural and definitional elements preserved verbatim - Presumption of consent and notification: - A member’s consent to Fund publication of Country Documents is voluntary but presumed. - Members may notify Fund before the Board meeting if they (i) object to publication, (ii) require additional time, or (iii) consent subject to deletions. - Members who notify under (ii) or (iii) are expected to reach a decision within twenty-eight calendar days of the Executive Board meeting or decision. - Deletions limited to: - (i) “highly market-sensitive material, mainly on the outlook for exchange rates, interest rates, the financial sector, and assessments of sovereign liquidity and solvency”; and - (ii) “material not in the public domain, on a policy the country authorities intend to implement, where premature disclosure of the operational details of the policy would, in itself, seriously undermine the ability of the member to implement those policy intentions.” - Definition of “prompt publication” in proposed Decision: - No later than fourteen calendar days after the Executive Board has considered the document, or twenty-eight calendar days after the document has been issued to the Executive Board, whichever is later. - Factual statement if non-publication within deadlines: - If a Board document relating to a country matter has not been published within 28 days of Board consideration then a factual statement will be issued confirming Board discussion date and indicating authorities’ publication intentions. ### Timelines and operational deadlines preserved - Proposed indicative timing elements: - Board Date (BD) - 7 days after BD - 28 days after BD - At the latest 2 days before Board consideration - 14 days after Board - Specific deadlines: - Deadline for requests for deletions: normally 7 days after the Board discussion or 21 days after issuance of Staff Reports to the Board. - Obtain Summing up from SEC: 24 hours for Article IV, same day for UFR. - Issue Press Release and Issue Staff Report sequencing: as specified in procedural timelines. - Prepare documents for publication: notify Executive Directors the expected date of publication (14 days after Board). - Implement modifications requests and ascertain authorities’ publication intention and notify SEC. ### Questions for Executive Board consideration (paragraph 55) - Executive Directors may wish to indicate views on: - Experience with implementation of the Transparency Policy since 2009. - Proposed adaptation of the Transparency Policy to the new surveillance architecture. - Specific proposals outlined in Section V. - Timing of the next review (based on standard five-year cycle, proposed in 2018). *Source: International Monetary Fund — REVIEW OF THE FUND’S TRANSPARENCY POLICY (excerpts from _051413).* ### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ### Progress in transparency - Two decades of reforms have improved significantly the Fund’s transparency. - Over 90 percent of country documents and policy papers are now published, with overall publication rates edging upwards, except for Use of Fund Resources (UFR) cases and financial surveillance, where publication rates are more volatile. - The 2009 introduction of a “Transparency Principle” and extensions of the presumed publication regime since 2002 helped deliver a steady increase in publication rates. - The Fund has intensified efforts on three fronts: - Publication: moved from voluntary publication of Article IV and UFR staff reports to a “voluntary but presumed” regime for all country documents covered under the Transparency Policy. - Communication: developed and updated a comprehensive communications strategy since 1998 to engage market participants, civil society, media, and the public. - Archives access: progressively increased public access, with the Archives made available via the internet for the first time in 2012. ### Shortcomings and concerns - Timeliness: the Fund is seen as lagging behind other institutions in the timeliness of publication. - Multiple summary outputs from some Board meetings raise the risk that key policy messages get diffused. - Evenhandedness: doubts persist about whether the policy is being applied even-handedly; some members perceive bias. - Confidentiality: concerns remain about the appropriate treatment of confidential information; some members are reluctant to engage on sensitive issues for fear of disclosure. ### Measures proposed in the review - Strengthen presumption of publication: - Extend the stronger publication regime currently applying to exceptional access and certain other cases to all UFR and Policy Support Instrument (PSI) staff reports. - Define and shorten publication timelines: - Issue brief factual statements within 28 days of Board meetings for Article IV consultations, standalone Financial System Stability Assessments (FSSAs), and UFR cases, if the corresponding Board document has not yet been published. - Amend the policy to define “prompt publication” as being within 14 days. - Strive to publish policy documents normally within seven days if the Board agrees to publication. - Introduce lower-profile publication for reports published more than 90 days after Board consideration. - Streamline external communications: - Use only one term—press release—for external communications products, discontinuing public information notices (PINs). - In rare cases of a standalone FSSA, issue a press release containing the Board’s summing up. - Translate more public communications (e.g., press releases) into languages other than English. - Clarify treatment of confidential information: - Provide further assurances through guidance to staff on kinds of information that need to be included in staff reports and what constitutes confidential information. - Clarify confidentiality rules to country authorities at the start of missions. - Strengthen departmental review to avoid leakage of confidential information into Article IVs. - Monitor and strengthen evenhandedness: - Issue an annual table to the Executive Board detailing all rejected modification requests to strengthen transparency on decisions relating to modifications. - Adapt transparency to new surveillance landscape: - Create a new category for documents covering multiple countries. - Introduce safeguards, through specific modifications and publication consent rules, to contain the risk that multi-country reports undermine candor, quality, or publication rates. - Amend modification rules for Article IV staff reports to take into account the Integrated Surveillance Decision (ISD). - Replace the current “positive list” of documents subject to the policy with an indicative one to increase flexibility of coverage. - Archives improvements: - Complete implementation of the 2009 reforms to the Archives Policy, with digitization of paper-based records a priority. - Declassify other documentary material on a lapse-of-time basis. ### Evidence and analysis underlying recommendations - Staff analyzed key trends in publication rates and lags and undertook an in-depth ex-post review of corrections and deletions to assess policy effectiveness. - Surveys and consultations: - Surveys of IMF Executive Directors, country authorities, IMF mission chiefs, and the media were conducted to gather stakeholder views. - Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) contributed views via an online consultation and a conference call; CSOs acknowledge parity with similarly sensitive institutions but see gaps relative to other international institutions (extent of documents excluded, timeliness, clarity of communication). - Historical reforms: - The presumption on publication of policy papers excludes certain internal administrative matters and papers prepared under Executive Board committees. - “Voluntary” publication means subject to the member’s consent; “presumed” means the Fund encourages consent and typically obtains it on a “non-objection” basis. - Currently, some 25 members have opted out of using the non-objection modality. ### Adaptation to new surveillance products - The review responds to recent surveillance reforms by proposing a new publication regime for multi-country documents to ensure candid multilateral surveillance while respecting members’ needs. - Modification rules for country documents will need adaptation in light of the ISD. ### Archives and public access - Major reforms to the Archives Policy took place in 2009 and are being implemented; many archival documents are now available online, including Board papers, Board minutes, and a catalog of other documentary material. - Time lags for public access to Archives have been shortened over time: - Initially a 30-year lag for all documents. - Current lags include three years for most Board documents, five years for Board minutes, and 20 years for other documentary material. - Staff sees a case for further digitization of documentary material and streamlined procedures for declassifying other documentary material. ### Key recommendations (Table 1 highlights) - Increase publication rates by extending the stronger publication regime to all UFR and PSI staff reports. - Reduce publication lags by: - Issuing factual statements within 28 days when Board documents are not yet published. - Defining “prompt publication” as within 14 days. - Striving to publish policy documents normally within seven days of Board agreement. - Introducing lower-profile publication for reports published more than 90 days after Board consideration. - Clarify external communications by using a single term, discontinuing PINs, and translating more communications. - Better explain confidentiality rules to staff and country authorities and strengthen departmental review to prevent leaks. - Strengthen monitoring of evenhandedness by publishing an annual table of rejected modification requests. - Adapt the Transparency Policy to the new surveillance framework by creating a new document category for multi-country reports, introducing safeguards, amending modification rules for Article IVs to reflect the ISD, and replacing the positive list with an indicative one. - Facilitate public access to the Archives with digitization prioritized and lapse-of-time declassification of other documentary material. *Source: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY — Review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy, May 14, 2013* ### Box 1. How the 2009 Review Changed Transparency ### Box 1. How the 2009 Review Changed Transparency ### Impetus to publish more Board documents, on a timely basis - Established a “transparency principle”, stating that the Fund will “strive to disclose documents and information on a timely basis unless strong and specific reasons argue against such disclosure.” - Strengthened the presumption of publication, extending the regime to policy documents for informal sessions and LOT consideration, and adding more country documents to the “voluntary, but presumed” regime. - Changed the way members consent to publication, bringing in consent on a “non-objection” basis, i.e., unless members object, or need more time to decide, their country documents would be published promptly after Board consideration. ### Broadened options for modifications (safeguards and changes) - Strengthened safeguards to protect the integrity of documents, by ruling out deletions that risk undermining the overall assessment and credibility of the report. - Introduced the possibility of third-party deletions, to allow requests to delete material in country documents by other members as long as the primary member concerned consents. - Introduced corrections for evident ambiguity. The review recognized the need to allow some corrections to clarify texts on grounds of “evident ambiguity”. ### Enhanced accountability and legitimacy - Accelerated public access to the Archives: - Lags for public access to Board minutes reduced from 10 to five years. - Lags for Board documents reduced from five to three years. - The review allowed for web posting of processed digital or digitized material. - Improved document declassification: Procedures were introduced for more automatic declassification of Board documents. ### Findings on publication rates and lags (2009–12 and comparisons) - On average, 92 percent of country documents were published in 2009–12, up from 85 percent before the last review. - The share of published policy documents increased from 84 percent in 2006 to 89 percent in 2009–12, peaking at 98 percent in 2012. - Publication rates for emerging markets (EMs) and low-income countries (LICs) are starting to converge with those for advanced markets (AMs). - Publication rates for FSSAs have been lower and more volatile than for the other main categories of country reports. - The publication rate for Fund-supported program documents approached 100 percent at the peak of the crisis, but has fallen back again in recent years. - Average publication lags: - The average lag for Article IV, UFR, and combined reports fell from 42 days in 2006–08 to 32 days in 2012. - For FSSAs, average lags fell from around 80 days to below 20 days. - Although the vast majority of staff reports are published within 45 days of Board consideration, a non-trivial share of reports (around 8 percent) were published more than 90 days after the Board date. - Examples of long publication lags included Comoros (238 days), Djibouti (169 days), and Jordan (August 2012, Request for Stand-By Agreement, 146 days). ### Reasons for publication delays and practical issues - Main factors identified: - Weak enforcement of the “voluntary, but presumed” publication regime. - Staff often continues to seek the authorities’ explicit consent for publication and the policy does not define “promptly”, leading to delays. - Time needed for communications with the authorities to clear modifications in documents before publication. - Regional disparities possibly related to resource differences and the need to translate documents in some cases. - Around 27 percent of mission chiefs surveyed indicated that seeking explicit consent contributed to some or a great extent to publication delays. ### Communication, candor, and evenhandedness concerns - Overlapping communication outputs: some Board meetings generate two summary outputs (PINs and press releases) with different objectives, raising the risk of inconsistencies or diffusion of key policy messages. - CSOs urged cutting back on jargon and using language more accessible to the general public; the review proposes translating press releases into languages other than English. - Tension noted between the Fund’s role as trusted advisor and its function as global watchdog; intensified focus on risks and financial issues increases need for sensitive information, including strictly confidential disaggregated institution-by-institution data and third-party confidential data. - IEO findings and surveys: - A clear majority (95 percent) of respondents to the IEO survey conveyed satisfaction with the IMF’s handling of confidential issues. - Almost 60 percent of the authorities from large EMs cited concern about confidentiality on sensitive topics as a factor inhibiting them from seeking the Fund’s advice. - Around 20 percent of mission chiefs covering AMs considered that the policy does not allow for the preparation of candid staff reports; however, the majority of survey respondents took the contrary view that the rules on modifications do allow for the preparation of candid staff reports, and that no important economic information was omitted from reports as a result of modifications. - Evenhandedness: - Recourse to deletions has varied across the membership since the policy was introduced, prompting concerns about biases in favor of members with the highest deletion rates. - Surveys show a significant share of respondents worry about whether the Fund applies the policy evenhandedly; Executive Directors were the most skeptical, with half believing the policy is not being applied evenhandedly, while country authorities and mission chiefs tended to be more positive. ### Incidence of deletions (2009–2012) — published report counts and percent with deletions - Stand-alone Article IV: - AM 113 19 - EM 166 19 - LIC 72 11 - Stand-alone UFR: - AM 26 58 - EM 124 18 - LIC 16 0 *Source: Box 1, "How the 2009 Review Changed Transparency", Review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy.* ### 17. The rate of deletions, one of the factors behind the concerns, has increased during the ### _051413 - 17. The rate of deletions, one of the factors behind the concerns, has increased during the ### Modifications: deletions and corrections — incidence and patterns - In 2012, some 17 percent of published staff reports were subject to deletions, compared with 10 percent before the last review. - Deletion rates by country group during 2009–12: - AMs: 35 percent (averaging during 2009–12) - EMs: 24 percent - LICs: 11 percent - Increase in deletions related to financial sector issues: - from 4 percent of total deletions in 2006-2008 - to around 12 percent during 2009–12 - Deletions on grounds of premature disclosure of policy intentions have increased; such requests tend to be made by EMs and LICs but rarely by AMs. - Overall correction incidence: - During 2009–12, 65 percent of all published staff reports were subject to corrections, compared with 56 percent before the last review. - Correction rates by country group during 2009–12: - AMs: about 90 percent - EMs: around 70 percent - LICs: just under 50 percent - Very low rate of corrections under “mischaracterization of authorities’ views” for LICs: 4 percent. ### Interpretation of modification and request/rejection dynamics - Staff considers modification rates a poor indicator of evenhanded implementation because they combine: - the rate of requests (largely outside staff’s control) - the rate at which those requests are accepted (more relevant to evenhanded implementation) - Survey-derived impressions examined: - Request rates: country authorities from AMs and EMs generally make more requests than those from LICs; this likely explains much of the observed difference in modification rates. Supported by surveys on corrections; evidence on deletions is inconclusive. - Perceived rejection rates: surveys provide impressionistic evidence: - AMs believe they are subject to higher rates of rejection for deletion requests than EMs or LICs. - For corrections, LICs have higher rates of perceived rejection. ### Case sample analysis and “gray zone” concerns - A detailed examination of a sample of recent deletions and corrections for “evident ambiguity” found: - only a few cases that do not fulfill all the criteria under the policy - little evidence of bias - Contrast with past: previously high incidence of “gray zone” modifications prompted concerns about bias toward AMs; this has markedly changed. - Reasons for reduction in “gray zone” deletions: - tightened operational procedures, including the 2009 reform to exclude deletions that reduce candor or affect the overall integrity of the report - addition of “evident ambiguity” as grounds for corrections, allowing some corrections previously rejected - Study found no evidence of bias toward any particular group of countries; “gray zone” modifications covered all types of countries. ### Drivers related to the global crisis and surveillance practice - During the crisis: - markets became more volatile - economies became more vulnerable to adverse news - staff reports increasingly provided more candid assessments of sensitive issues (systemic risks, vulnerabilities, financial spillovers, including from individual institutions) - Consequences: - members facing vulnerabilities requested more deletions - within AMs, a large share of deletion requests on grounds of market sensitivity came from European crisis countries - LICs tended to request fewer deletions on market sensitivity and more on premature disclosure of policy intentions - Possible explanations for group differences: - greater incidence of Fund-supported programs among EMs and LICs involves close engagement with Fund staff (including Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies) before Board circulation, helping reduce corrections and certain correction categories for EMs and LICs - Fund relationship with AMs mainly through surveillance means staff reports often reach country authorities only when circulated to the Board ### Multilateral surveillance, multi-country products, and transparency policy gaps - Recent surveillance reforms expanded multilateral surveillance and multi-country products (e.g., spillover reports, pilot External Sector Report (ESR)). - Integrated Surveillance Decision (ISD) requires more in-depth coverage of outward spillovers in certain Article IV consultations, increasing cross-country content in country documents. - Policy categorization challenge: - Board documents have been categorized as country documents, policy documents, administrative documents, or Board Committee documents; Transparency Policy generally covers only country and policy documents. - New multilateral and multi-country products often contain sensitive country-specific analysis that does not fit neatly into existing categories. - Practical responses and complications: - Staff has applied policy principles flexibly for recent multilateral products: - Spillover Report treatment: main report as policy document; background papers treated as country documents for publication consents. - ESR pilot: pilot ESR published; separate Economy Assessments considered by the Board but not published; both treated as policy documents in the pilot stage. - Euro area chapter in Spillover Report: treated as country document for publication consents (each Euro area country had to provide consent) and as policy document for assessing undue singling out for deletions. - Third-party deletion requests have increased (e.g., references to banks or stress tests in foreign countries); selective removal of illustrative third-party references did not undermine overall quality when those references were illustrative. - Specific challenges identified: - Treating background papers as country documents places publication consent in the hands of S5 members for those papers, potentially undermining a multilateral report’s quality. - Treating multilateral reports wholly as policy documents is complicated when reports contain significant country-specific references and one or more countries object. - Clustered reports (clusters of interconnected countries) blur the line between country and multilateral documents and could lead to inconsistent and hard-to-reconcile modification requests from multiple members. - Post-ISD Article IV reports will incorporate more references to other countries, making deletions of third-party references potentially undermine candor, integrity, and the Fund’s reputation and credibility. ### Archives policy changes (contextual to transparency) - 2009 review changes to Archives Policy included: - Access to the Archives via an electronic web portal approved for the first time; most Board documents and minutes since 1946 have been digitized and those available to the public are accessible online; the web catalog describes non-digitized materials (except Bretton Woods Conference collection). - Reduction in release lags: - Board documents: from five years to three years - Board minutes and certain other materials: from 10 years to five years - Minutes of Executive Board committees: from 20 years to five years *Source: REVIEW OF THE FUND’S TRANSPARENCY POLICY (excerpts covering paragraphs 17–31).* ### 32. In some other areas, progress has been slower. A large volume of other material remains ### V. GOING FORWARD: CONSOLIDATE PROGRESS, WHILE RESPONDING TO NEW NEEDS ### A. Increasing the Amount and Timeliness of Information - Staff view: policy is comprehensive and does not require major overhaul; need to (i) continue to increase the amount and timeliness of information; (ii) refine external communications; (iii) enhance accountability; and (iv) adapt policy to new realities. - Proposed changes to raise publication rates and transparency on publication decisions: - Extend the stronger publication regime currently applying to exceptional access and certain other cases to all UFR and PSI staff reports. - Rationale: the stricter rule for exceptional access and FCL cases has led to many reports being published on the day of the Board meeting. - Expected effect: add 1–2 percentage points to the overall publication rate for country staff reports, which is currently 92 percent. - Issue brief factual statements within 28 days of Board consideration of country documents if the corresponding Board document has not yet been published. - Current practice: a brief factual statement is issued 45 days after an Article IV Board meeting if the authorities do not consent to publication of the PIN. - Proposed scope: expand to all country documents issued to the Board (including Article IV staff reports, UFR, PSI and FSSAs) and cluster documents; factual statement would confirm Board discussion date and indicate authorities’ publication intentions. - Legal constraints and proposed indicative norms: - The Transparency Principle respects voluntary publication and Article XII, Section 8 on unpublished views of the Fund about members; an absolute mandatory deadline for publication without consent would be incompatible with voluntary publication. - Proposals to encourage faster publication: - Amend the policy to define “prompt publication” for all documents as being within 14 days of the Board meeting. - Note in source: "* Over 90 percent of country reports on AMs are already published within this deadline." - The 14 days after Board consideration (or 28 days after issuance of the staff report to the Board) would be an indicative upper bound. The share of reports published promptly would be monitored. - Support measure: reduce deadline for requests for deletions to seven days after Board consideration or 21 days after issuance of the staff report to the Board (down from 21 days after the Board consideration or 35 days after issuance of the staff report to the Board). - Strive to publish policy documents normally within seven days if the Board agrees to publication. - The seven-day limit would apply from the date of the Board meeting, adoption of LOT decision, or informal session. - Use lower-profile publication for reports published more than 90 days after the Board discussion: - Such reports would carry a disclaimer clarifying that publication has been delayed and would not be presented on the Fund’s external website as if they represent new information. - In rare cases, management could withhold publication if publication would be seriously misleading because of the time elapsed. ### B. Streamlining External Communications Channels - Objective: consolidate external communication products to provide clearer sense of Fund activities. - Key proposals: - Use the term “press release” for all external communications; discontinue term Public Information Notice (PIN). - Press releases will normally state in the headline the nature of the subject and whether they cover a decision by the Board. - Press releases will be translated into languages other than English when feasible. - Issue a single press release for Board discussions or LOT items. - For UFR and combined reports: - Issue a single press release on the day of the Board meeting in combined cases where feasible, comprising a background section, the summing up (for the Article IV) and the chairman’s statement on UFR. - The Executive Director for the country concerned would review the summing up on the day of Board consideration as is done for the chairman’s statement. - Standalone Article IV/Policy and multi-country documents: - Issue a press release or factual statement soon after the Board consideration when the member has consented to publication but the staff report is not expected to be published within seven days. - If authorities do not consent, issue a short factual statement within 28 days of the Board meeting. - Issue a press release for standalone FSSAs when there is standalone Board discussion with the member’s consent; if authorities do not consent, issue a short factual statement soon after the Board meeting confirming Board discussion. - Cross-reference and coordination: - In exceptional cases where Board assessment is not cleared on the day, a separate UFR press release and a second press release for other issues would be issued, each cross-referenced. ### C. Candor and Confidentiality - Assessment: framework for treatment of confidential information appears adequate. - Nearly 75 percent of country authorities responding to the survey agreed that safeguards under the Transparency Policy were broadly adequate. - Staff stance: does not favor expanding scope for acceptable deletions beyond current categories (highly market sensitive or premature disclosure of policy intentions) to avoid loss of candor. - Proposed operational guidance and safeguards: - Provide additional guidance to staff on what must be included in staff reports and what constitutes confidential information (as recommended by the IEO). - Mission chiefs to provide country authorities with an explanation clarifying the Fund’s policy on treatment of confidential information at the start of missions. - Strengthen departmental review processes to ensure no leakage of confidential information from FSAP teams into Article IVs. - For Fund policy or multi-country documents, management may approve factual corrections, deletions, and rephrasing to address confidentiality concerns, including highly market-sensitive material and country-specific references. ### D. Evenhandedness - Finding: little evidence of bias towards specific country groups, but measures could help allay concerns. - Proposed measures: - Issue an annual table to the Executive Board on all modification requests. - The table would detail modification requests that have been rejected with the country name, the specific request and the reason why it was rejected. - Staff is developing a database of modification requests to generate summary statistics on rejected modifications for inclusion in the report on Key Trends in the Implementation of the Fund’s Transparency Policy starting in 2014. - Translate the guidance note on the Transparency Policy and other documents into languages other than English to help level the playing field. - Survey evidence: 55 percent of country authorities in AM and EMs were familiar with the IMF’s rules on corrections, compared with less than 40 percent in LICs. - Note: higher rate of modification requests from AMs may reflect interconnectedness, complexity, and familiarity with the Fund’s rules. ### E. Transparency Policy in the New Surveillance Era - Guiding principles: continue to disclose information on a timely basis unless strong reasons argue against disclosure (Transparency Principle, 2009). - Staff view: do not favor expanding criteria for deletions beyond highly market sensitive information and premature disclosure of policy intentions. - Need for flexible solutions to cope with future challenges given infrequency of transparency reviews. - Creation of a new category of multi-country documents — three possible paths considered: - Status quo: - Continue to apply current policy principles and fit new products into existing categories of country and policy documents. - Pros: flexibility; allows more experience with new products. - Cons: increased scope for staff discretion; operational burden as clustering and spillover analysis increase. - Treat all new document types that do not focus on a single country as policy documents: - Pros: facilitates publication since Board approves publication for policy documents; quick transition using established rules. - Cons: problematic for background papers with individual country pages or papers discussing a group of countries because they may cover sensitive country-specific policy issues. - Create a new category of multi-country documents: - Pros: allow a new set of modification and publication rules tailored to multi-country documents and provide clarity for implementation of transparency rules. - Consideration: judgment required whether to introduce the new category now or wait until more experience is developed with multi-country documents. *Source: REVIEW OF THE FUND’S TRANSPARENCY POLICY — excerpts from the provided content unit.* ### 45. Staff proposes creating a new category of documents, while also specifying guiding ### _051413 - 45. Staff proposes creating a new category of documents, while also specifying guiding ### Proposed taxonomy for multi-country documents - Staff proposes dividing multi-country documents into three sub-categories to capture the full spectrum of existing and potential multi-country documents and to allow adaptation of the policy to specific products. - Material sections are defined as whole chapters or appendices; a paragraph or a box cannot be considered a material section. - Multilateral Policy Issues Documents - Defined as documents, or “material sections” within a multi-country document, covering global economic issues, such as the Spillover Report and the pilot ESR main report. - Proposed publication/decision treatment: Executive Board would decide on publication; staff and management would decide on modifications (treatment similar to policy documents). - Staff proposes that individual background papers of the Spillover Report be treated under this category given their multilateral surveillance spillover analysis content. - The WEO and GFSR (previously treated as policy documents for publication) would be included in this category and continue to be exempt from the provisions on modifications. The same treatment will henceforth also apply to the Fiscal Monitor (FM). - Country Background Pages - Defined as documents or material sections within a multi-country document, normally accompanying an overview paper, that have extensive specific references to individual countries and country data but do not integrate the analyses of individual countries and country data (pilot ESR background paper is an example). - Proposed treatment: similar to that used for country documents — individual countries have the right to approve publication and request deletions — with safeguards to preserve report quality and avoid a reduction in publication rates. - Cluster Documents - Defined as documents or material sections within a multi-country document that include analysis of issues affecting a group of countries where individual country analysis is integrated into the broader analysis (clustered reports are an example). - Because country references are fully integrated, all primary countries covered in the document would be allowed to request deletions relating to their country and each country’s consent to publication will be required. - In case of disagreements on deletion requests, management would make a proposal to the relevant parties based on staff’s assessment of the requests. - Third-party deletions would also be possible. ### Treatment of multi-section multi-country documents and procedural guidance - Different material sections in a single multi-country document would be treated differently according to the principles above. Example: a main multilateral or cluster analysis followed by individual country background pages — each section treated differently. - The Secretary’s cover memorandum transmitting the document to the Board would specify the principles that would guide documents or material sections. - For material sections defined as whole chapters or appendices, a paragraph or box cannot be considered a material section. ### Safeguards and handling of deletion requests and non-publication risks - Risk: involvement of multiple countries could undermine the quality of published reports or reduce publication rates. - For country background pages or material sections: if a member objects to publication of material pertaining to it, staff proposes that the published versions would contain a note that the information relating to country X was deleted for publication at the authorities’ request. - Management option: propose to the Board not to publish the entire country background pages document or material sections if the non-publication of references to the member would substantially undermine the overall analysis and substance of the document/material section. - This implies a risk of one country blocking publication of documents/material sections relating to a large number of countries. - Safeguard proposed: where the Board agrees with management’s proposal not to publish the entire document/material section, a factual statement would be published on the Fund’s external web site indicating that the document/material section has been discussed by the Executive Board but not published because country X has objected to the publication of references pertaining to it, thus substantially undermining the overall analysis and substance of the document/material section. - Inconsistent modification requests in cross-country documents (e.g., clustered reports) create a risk of non-publication if a mutually agreeable solution cannot be found. - In such cases, staff recommends proposals be presented to management and, if management cannot find a commonly agreed solution with the countries, the proposals should be considered by the Executive Board. - Countries not satisfied with staff’s assessment of their policies would continue to have the right of reply, and their views would be published along with other relevant documents. - Note: The proposal that published versions contain a note and the factual statement proposal was not endorsed by the Executive Board (see Supplement 2).* ### New modification procedures for country documents post ISD - Staff proposes updating provisions for handling third party requests for deletions in country documents to reflect ISD requirements. - Current rule: third party requests for deletions can be considered only when the member to whom the document relates consents to the deletion. - With ISD implementation, third-party references are expected to increase substantially in Article IV staff reports, and deletion requests by different parties may not be consistent. - Proposed change: - Requests for third party deletions in Article IV staff reports be considered by management, and the Executive Board if needed, but the requirement for the consent of the primary country would be withdrawn. - If the primary country does not support third-party deletions that are approved, it could bring the matter to the attention of the Executive Board for consideration. ### Table 2 — Proposed Document Categories (selected procedural points preserved as in source) - Policy Documents - Definition: Fund policy documents. - Publication consent: Executive Board by a majority of votes cast. - Corrections approval: Management (delegated to staff). - Deletions approval: Staff or management, depending on the type of deletions. - Status: No change. - Country Documents - Definition: Documents related to country matters. - Publication consent: Country mostly on a non-objection basis. - Corrections approval: Staff. - Deletions approval: Staff, Management on multilateral issues. - Third party requests in Article IV staff reports: subject to staff/Management approval. If primary country objects to the third party request, it could bring the matter to the attention of the Executive Board. - Multilateral policy issues - Definition: Discuss global economic issues and policies. - Publication consent: Executive Board by a majority of votes cast. - Corrections approval: Management (delegated to staff). - Deletions approval: Staff or Management, depending on the type of deletions (same as for policy documents). - Status: New (e.g., Spillover Report). - Country Background Pages - Definition: Include extensive specific references to individual countries and country data. The analysis of the individual countries and country data is not integrated. - Publication consent: Covered countries for own references. If a country objects to publication of its country-specific references, a blank page will be published indicating this. Management may decide not to publish if central analysis is compromised, in which case a Press Release will be issued explaining the decision. - Corrections approval: Staff. - Deletions approval: Staff. Management (or Executive Board) decides in case of disagreement (same as for country documents). - Status: New (e.g., Pilot ESR Individual Economy Assessments). - Cluster - Definition: Include analysis of issues affecting a group of countries where individual country analysis is integrated into the broader analysis. - Publication consent: All countries covered. - Corrections approval: Staff after consultation with countries concerned. - Deletions approval: Staff after consultation with countries concerned. In case of disagreement, Management (or Executive Board) based on staff's independent assessment. - Third party deletions requests possible. - Status: New. ### Increasing the flexibility of coverage - Staff proposes establishing a principle to clarify the scope of the policy and replacing the current “positive list” (designed to be exhaustive) with an indicative one, to accommodate new and transitory documents. - The policy would be amended to include a principle clarifying that country documents, policy documents and the new multi-country documents, including those submitted for informal sessions, are covered by the policy. - An indicative list of documents that are covered would be provided to guide application of the principle (see Appendix V in source). ### Archives and access timing - Further work required to complete implementation of the 2009 decision; digitization of paper-based records is a priority to reduce physical deterioration and increase accessibility. - Management would arrange that the declassification of other documentary material be carried out by staff on a lapse-of-time basis to reduce resource requirements. - Comparison with peers: Fund compares well with other IFIs in transparency and comprehensiveness of Board meeting records; all views are recorded in minutes, including final summing up and written and oral statements of Executive Directors. - Timing of release of minutes: - Other institutions publish minutes earlier, in most cases within 3 weeks. - The Fund publishes the summing up in most cases within two weeks of the Board meeting and releases detailed minutes earlier than most other IFIs. - Working Group recommended quicker release of Board minutes; CSOs and around 30 percent of Executive Directors responding to surveys called for earlier release, but a large share favored retaining status quo to preserve candor. - Staff favors retaining the existing five-year lag for release of minutes, noting earlier release than five years could increase accountability but risk releasing sensitive information on some Fund arrangements before they expire and could require accelerating clearance processes that currently require clearance by each Board member. - Note: Some arrangements can now extend up to five years. ### Issues for discussion (paragraph 55) - Executive Directors may want to indicate their views on: - The experience with the implementation of the Transparency Policy since 2009. - The proposed adaptation of the Transparency Policy to the new surveillance architecture. - The specific proposals outlined in Section V. - The timing of the next review, which, based on the standard five-year review cycle for policy papers, would take place in 2018. ### Proposed Transparency Policy Decision — selected general provisions (as presented) - Preamble summary: The Fund will strive to disclose documents and information on a timely basis unless strong and specific reasons argue against such disclosure. The principle respects voluntary publication by members consistent with safeguarding confidential information and Article XII, Section 8 of the Articles of Agreement. - I. General Provisions on Authorization and Consent - 1. Managing Director shall arrange for publication of Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents and Multi-Country Documents in accordance with the principles set forth in the attached Indicative List. Definitions reiterated: Country Documents; Fund Policy Documents; Multi-Country Documents as defined in paragraph 17. - 2.a. Publication consent rules: - Publication of Country Documents is subject to the consent of the member concerned. - Publication of Fund Policy Documents requires the approval of the Executive Board. - Publication of Multi-Country Documents requires the consents of the members concerned or the approval of the Executive Board, as set forth in paragraphs 20–26. - Publication of documents jointly authored by the Fund and the World Bank requires the authorization of the World Bank. - 2.b. Prompt publication definition: Under paragraphs 3(b), 14, 21(b) and 24, prompt publication shall mean a document is expected to be published no later than (a) fourteen calendar days after the Executive Board has considered the document, or (b) twenty-eight calendar days after the document has been issued to the Executive Board, whichever is later. *This proposal regarding notes on deleted country material and related publication procedures was not endorsed by the Executive Board (see Supplement 2).* *Italic source attribution:* International Monetary Fund — REVIEW OF THE FUND’S TRANSPARENCY POLICY (excerpts from _051413 - 45. Staff proposes creating a new category of documents, while also specifying guiding) ### 3. a. A member’s consent to Fund publication of Country Documents shall be voluntary but ### 3. a. A member’s consent to Fund publication of Country Documents shall be voluntary but presumed. ### Presumption of consent and notification procedures - The Fund “encourages each member to consent to the publication by the Fund of such documents.” - Fund publication will occur unless, prior to the conclusion of the Executive Board meeting at which the document is considered or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which that document relates, the member notifies the Fund that it: - (i) objects to the publication of the document; or - (ii) requires additional time to decide whether or not to publish; or - (iii) consents to publication but subject to reaching agreement with the Fund on deletions to the document. - In the absence of such notification, Country Documents “shall be published by the Fund promptly after the relevant Executive Board meeting or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates.” - Members who notify the Fund under (ii) or (iii) “are expected to reach a decision on publication of the document in question within twenty-eight calendar days of the Executive Board meeting or decision.” - Where a member provides a notification under (i), (ii) or (iii), the applicable document “shall not be published unless the member’s explicit consent is received by the Fund.” ### Exceptions and special cases for specific Documents - Paragraph 3(b) applies to Documents 3, 5, 10 and 15–16 only if the applicable document “has been circulated to the Executive Board in the context of a meeting or a proposal for lapse-of-time approval of a decision.” - If the document “has been circulated for information only, paragraph 28 will apply and the member’s explicit consent must be provided to the Fund prior to publication.” - Paragraph 3(b) will not apply to: - a Press Release containing a Chairman’s Statement for the use of Fund resources (Document 7), - a Press Release containing a Chairman’s Statement in the context of a PSI (Document 20), - or a Press Release for an Article IV consultation, a regional surveillance discussion or a Board consideration of a Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) report (Document 4). - A member’s consent to publication of these documents is governed by paragraphs 11 and 12 of this Decision. - For any document subject to paragraph 3(b), “the Secretary’s cover memorandum will indicate that the document will be published promptly after the relevant Executive Board meeting or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis, unless the member concerned notifies the Fund as provided for in paragraph 3(b)(i), (ii) or (iii) above.” ### Managing Director recommendations tied to explicit consent - The Managing Director will not recommend that the Executive Board approve: - (i) an arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) or completion of a review under such arrangement, - (ii) a Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) decision point or completion point decision, - or (iii) a member’s request for a PSI or the completion of a review under a PSI, - if the member does not explicitly consent to the publication of its I-PRSP, PRSP, PRSP preparation status report, or PRSP annual progress report (Document 10 or Document 15 as the case may be). - The Managing Director will generally not recommend that the Executive Board approve: - (i) a request for access to Fund resources in the General Resources Account or the PRGT, - (ii) access to Fund resources under the HIPC Trust, - or (iii) assistance through a PSI, - unless that member explicitly consents to the publication of the associated staff report. - “For purposes of this paragraph 4(b), approval of the use of the Fund resources includes the completion of a review under an arrangement and assistance through a PSI includes the completion of a review under a PSI.” ### Form of explicit consent and member statements - Except as provided in paragraphs 11 and 12, “a member’s explicit consent shall, for the purposes of this Decision, be communicated in writing, normally to the Secretary of the Fund.” - Such consent “may be communicated by the Executive Director elected, appointed, or designated by the member.” - If a Fund staff report (Documents 1, 6, 14 and 19) on a member is to be published, the member “shall be given the opportunity to provide a statement regarding the staff report and the Executive Board assessment.” - Such statement “shall be communicated to the Fund and published together with the staff report.” ### Deletions and rephrasing in Country Documents - Deletions may be made to Country Documents except for PRSP country policy intention documents (Documents 10 and 15) in accordance with paragraph 8. - Deletions should be limited to: - (i) “highly market-sensitive material, mainly on the outlook for exchange rates, interest rates, the financial sector, and assessments of sovereign liquidity and solvency”; and - (ii) “material not in the public domain, on a policy the country authorities intend to implement, where premature disclosure of the operational details of the policy would, in itself, seriously undermine the ability of the member to implement those policy intentions.” - Definition of “highly market-sensitive material”: - (a) is not in the public domain, - (b) is market relevant within the near term, - (c) is sufficiently specific to create a clear risk of triggering a disruptive market reaction if disclosed. - “Politically sensitive material shall not be deleted unless the material satisfies (i) or (ii) above.” - Information relating to any performance criterion or structural benchmark (Documents 1, 6 and 11–12), or to any quantitative or structural benchmark (Documents 13–14), or to any assessment criterion or structural benchmark (Documents 1 and 17–19), “may not be deleted, unless the information is of such character that would have enabled it to be communicated to the Fund in a side letter pursuant to Decision No. 12067-(99/108), September 22, 1999.” - If the Managing Director determines that proposed deletions satisfy the criteria, the Managing Director “may decide that the deletions shall be accompanied by minor rephrasing of text, whenever such rephrasing would help retain maximum candor or minimize the risks of misinterpretation.” ### Procedures for requesting deletions and resolving disputes - Requests for deletions to a Country Document (except PRSP country intention documents Documents 10 and 15) may be made by the member concerned. - Other members may request deletions to Documents 1–3, 6, 14 and 19 if: - (i) the text to be deleted relates to that other member, - (ii) the member to whom the document relates consents to the deletion, - (iii) the criteria set out in paragraph 7 are met. - The criterion (ii) “shall not apply to staff reports for Article IV consultation and regional surveillance discussions (Documents 1 and 2).” - Timing for deletion requests: - Requests shall be in writing and are expected to be communicated to the Fund no later than two business days before: - (i) the Executive Board meeting at which the document is discussed, or - (ii) the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates. - In any event, requests for deletions shall be made no later than: - (a) seven calendar days after the Executive Board has considered the document, or - (b) twenty-one calendar days after the document was issued to the Executive Board, whichever is later. - Once approved by the Managing Director, deletions and related rephrasing “shall be circulated to the Executive Board in redlined form” and “shall include the justification for each modification made.” - Dispute resolution: - (i) In a serious disagreement between the Managing Director and a member regarding that member’s request for deletions, the Managing Director, or the Executive Director elected, appointed, or designated by that member, may refer the matter to the Executive Board. - (ii) For staff reports for Article IV consultation and regional surveillance discussion (Documents 1 and 2), if the Managing Director approves deletions requested by other members and the member to whom the document relates disagrees with the Managing Director’s assessment, the Managing Director, or the Executive Director elected, appointed, or designated by that member, may refer the matter to the Executive Board. - (iii) If the Managing Director believes the requested deletions would result in a document that “would undermine the overall assessment and credibility of the Fund,” the Managing Director shall recommend to the Executive Board that the document not be published. ### Corrections to Country Documents - Corrections are limited to: - (i) data and typographical errors, - (ii) factual mistakes, - (iii) mischaracterization of views expressed by the authorities concerned, - (iv) evident ambiguity. - Corrections “shall normally take the form of substitution of text in existing sentences rather than the addition or deletion of entire sentences.” - Timing for corrections: - Corrections are expected to be requested no later than two business days before the conclusion of the Executive Board’s consideration of the document or the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates. - Corrections made after Executive Board consideration shall be limited to: - (i) cases where the correction is brought to the attention of the Executive Board before the conclusion of the Executive Board’s consideration of the document, - (ii) cases where the failure to make the correction would undermine the overall value of publication. - Corrections shall be circulated to the Executive Board in redlined form. - Corrections with significant implications for the substance “shall be discussed and justified in a supplementary staff report or in a corrections memorandum issued to the Executive Board.” ### Press Releases in respect of use of Fund resources or the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) - After the Executive Board: - (i) adopts a decision regarding a member’s use of Fund resources (including completing a review under a Fund arrangement), - (ii) adopts a decision approving a PSI or conducts a review under a PSI, - (iii) completes a discussion on a member’s participation in the HIPC Initiative, - or (iv) completes a discussion on a member’s I-PRSP, PRSP, PRSP preparation status report, or APR in the context of the use of Fund resources or a PSI, - “a Press Release, which will contain a Chairman’s statement on the discussion emphasizing the key points made by Executive Directors, will be issued to the public.” - The Chairman’s statement will, where relevant, summarize HIPC Initiative decisions and the Executive Board’s views on I-PRSP/PRSP matters in the context of use of Fund resources or a PSI. - Waivers for nonobservance or applicability of performance criteria (Document 21) and waivers for nonobservance of assessment criteria (Document 22) “will be mentioned in the factual statement section of the Press Release or in a factual statement issued in lieu of a Chairman’s statement as provided for in paragraph 13(b).” - Before issuance, the Press Release will, if any Executive Director so requests, be read by the Chairman to the Executive Board and Executive Directors will have an opportunity to comment. - The Executive Director elected, appointed, or designated by the member “will have the opportunity to review the Chairman’s statement, to propose minor revisions, if any, and to consent to its publication immediately after the Executive Board meeting.” - Limitations: - No Press Release under this paragraph shall contain any reference to a discussion or decision pertaining to a member’s overdue financial obligations to the Fund, where a Press Release following an Executive Board decision to limit the member’s use of Fund resources because of the overdue financial obligations has not yet been issued. - In the case of an Executive Board meeting pertaining solely to overdue financial obligations, “no Chairman’s statement will be published.” ### Press Releases for Article IV consultations, regional surveillance discussions, and FSSA Board consideration - The Fund may issue a Press Release for: - Article IV consultations or regional surveillance discussions (Document 1), - stand-alone Board consideration of an FSSA report (Document 3). - If a member has consented to publication of Documents 1 and 3, such publication will be made along with the Press Release. - Press Release format and content: - The Press Release will be brief (normally 3–4 pages) and consist of two sections: - (i) a background section (a draft of which should be attached to the staff report whenever possible) containing: - (a) for Article IV consultation or regional surveillance discussion: factual information on the economy of a member and a table of economic indicators; - (b) for a stand-alone FSSA Board consideration: factual information on the member’s financial system; - (ii) the Fund’s assessment: - (a) for Article IV consultation or regional surveillance discussion: the member’s prospects and policies; - (b) for stand-alone FSSA Board consideration: the stability of the financial system. - This assessment section “will correspond closely to the Chairman’s summing up of the Executive Board discussion.” - The Executive Director concerned will have the opportunity to review the draft Press Release prior to issuance to propose changes consistent with paragraphs 7 through 10. - In case of serious disagreement between the Managing Director and the Executive Director concerned on the draft, either may request the Executive Board to consider the matter. - Timing rules: - If a staff report is not expected to be published within seven calendar days of the Board consideration, a Press Release will be issued shortly after the Board consideration, if the member has consented to publication of the staff report. - In a combined Board consideration of an Article IV consultation with use of Fund resources or a PSI, a single Press Release covering these matters will normally be issued immediately after the Board consideration. - A Press Release under this paragraph will not be issued before the circulation of the summing up as a Fund document. - Issuance of Press Releases “shall not affect the Article IV consultation, regional surveillance discussion or FSSA Board discussion summing up process.” - The Chairman’s summing up will continue to be provided to the Executive Director concerned for review following the Executive Board meeting. - The possibility of issuing Press Releases “shall not affect in any way the staff’s reporting to the Executive Board on Article IV consultation or regional surveillance discussions with members, or on FSSA reports.” ### Non-publication of Press Releases—Factual statements in lieu - The Fund will issue a brief factual statement in specified circumstances and time frames. - For Executive Board consideration of an Article IV consultation, regional surveillance discussion, an FSSA report, a post-program monitoring, an ex post assessment or an ex post evaluation: - (i) If, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, a member does not consent to publication of a Press Release pertaining to the Board consideration, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration of the matter. - (ii) If, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, the staff report has not been published, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration and clarifying the authorities’ publication intention with respect to the staff report. - For Executive Board consideration of use of Fund resources or a PSI: - (i) If a member does not consent to publication of a Press Release containing a Chairman’s statement (Documents 7 and 20) under paragraph 11 where one would be applicable, or if no Chairman’s statement has been issued because a decision was taken on a lapse-of-time basis, a brief factual statement will be issued immediately after the Board consideration. The factual statement will describe the Executive Board’s decision relating to: - (a) that member’s use of Fund resources (including HIPC initiative decisions (Document 8), Document 21, and consideration of Document 10, when relevant), or - (b) the approval of a PSI for that member, or the conduct of a review under that member’s PSI (including Document 22 and consideration of Document 15, when relevant). - (ii) With respect to paragraph 4(b), if, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, the staff report has not been published, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration and clarifying the authorities’ publication intention with respect to the staff report. ### Fund policy documents—presumption of publication - After the Executive Board meets on Fund policy issues in a formal Board meeting or an informal Board session or adopts a decision on a lapse-of-time basis, “it shall be presumed that the staff report under consideration (Document 23) and/or a Press Release (Document 24) pertaining to the consideration will be published.” - This presumption applies even to matters where deliberation is ongoing, although “the risk of undermining the Fund’s decision-making process may constitute a reason not to publish immediately.” - The presumption does not apply to policy issues dealing with administrative matters of the Fund, except for matters pertaining to the Fund’s income, financing or budget matters that do not involve market sensitive information. - Publication of a Fund policy paper or Press Release “will require a decision of the Executive Board.” - Staff is expected to set out a recommendation on publication in the cover memorandum and, where publication is not recommended, to explain why. - Whenever publication is approved, the paper and/or Press Release “will normally be published promptly after an Executive Board meeting or an informal session, or date of adoption of a lapse-of-time decision to which the document relates.” - For papers or Press Releases prepared for an informal Board session, “publication will be deemed to have been approved by the Board unless an Executive Director objects by the date set forth in the Secretary’s cover memorandum.” *Source: _051413 - 3. a. A member’s consent to Fund publication of Country Documents shall be voluntary but presumed.* ### 15. A Press Release pertaining to a Board consideration of Fund policy issues will be based ### _051413 - 15. A Press Release pertaining to a Board consideration of Fund policy issues will be based ### Press Releases; Corrections, Deletions and Related Rephrasing for Fund Policy Staff Reports - Paragraph 15: A Press Release pertaining to a Board consideration of Fund policy issues will be based on the decision adopted by the Executive Board and/or the Chairman’s summing-up, or the Chairman’s Concluding Remarks, as the case may be; it will also include a short section setting out background information. - If a Fund policy staff report is not expected to be published within seven calendar days of the Board consideration, a Press Release will be issued shortly after the Board consideration. - Paragraph 16: Prior to publication of a Fund policy staff report, the Managing Director may make necessary factual corrections, deletions, and related rephrasing (including of highly market-sensitive material and country-specific references). - Staff’s proposals in a report shall not be modified prior to its publication. - If differences between staff’s proposals and the Executive Board’s conclusions might cause confusion, the published report will clearly indicate which staff proposals the Executive Board did not endorse. ### IV. Multi-Country Documents — Definitions and Publication Rules - Paragraph 17: Multi-Country Documents comprise: - (i) Multilateral Policy Issues Documents - (ii) Country Background Pages - (iii) Cluster Documents - Paragraph 17 definitions: - Multilateral Policy Issues Documents address multilateral global economic issues. - Country Background Pages: specific information pertaining to individual countries and individual country data but analysis of respective individual countries and individual country data is not integrated. - Cluster Documents: analysis of issues affecting a group of countries where each individual country analysis is integrated into the broader analysis. - Paragraph 18: Multi-Country Documents pertain to both individual documents and material sections within individual Multi-Country documents. Material sections shall mean whole chapters or appendices. - Paragraph 19: For Multi-Country Documents, the Secretary’s cover memorandum will indicate the publication rules governing the document. ### A. Multilateral Policy Issues Documents - Paragraph 20: Publication provisions applicable to Fund policy staff reports and Press Releases in paragraphs 14-15 apply to Multilateral Policy Issues Documents and Press Releases for such documents. - Paragraph 20: Paragraph 16 regarding modification rules applies to all Multilateral Policy Issues Documents, except for the World Economic Outlook (WEO), the Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) and the Fiscal Monitor (FM). - Established practice: staff may modify the WEO, GFSR and FM prior to publication to take into account views expressed at the relevant Executive Board meeting. ### B. Country Background Pages — Consent, Publication, Deletions and Corrections - Paragraph 21 provisions for Country Background Pages: - a. Consent of each member to which a document or material section pertains (the “member concerned”) is required to publish such a document or section. - b. Publication will occur unless, prior to the conclusion of the Executive Board meeting at which that document is considered or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which that document pertains, a member concerned notifies the Fund that it: - (i) objects to publication; or - (ii) requires additional time to decide whether or not to publish; or - (iii) consents to publication but subject to reaching agreement with the Fund on deletions. - If no member concerned provides a notification referred to in (i), (ii) or (iii), the document or section shall be published promptly after the relevant Executive Board meeting or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis. - c. If one or more members concerned object to publication of information pertaining to it, the Managing Director may: - (i) decide to publish the Country Background Pages without the information pertaining to the objecting member, or - (ii) recommend to the Executive Board not to publish the Country Background Pages and, as the case may be, the associated Multilateral Policy Issues Document or Cluster Document, if the non-publication would substantially undermine the overall analysis and substance of the document. - In case (i), the published version shall contain a statement that the information was removed at the request of the objecting member. - In case (ii), where the Executive Board agrees not to publish, a factual statement shall be published indicating consideration by the Executive Board but non-publication because the objecting member objected and publication without that information would substantially undermine the overall analysis and substance. - Paragraph 22: For deletions and corrections, each member concerned has the right to request deletions or corrections to information pertaining to it in accordance with the criteria and procedures applicable to Country Documents as set forth in paragraphs 7-10 of this Decision. ### C. Cluster Documents — Consent, Publication Timing, Deletions and Escalation - Paragraph 23: Consents of the members to which a Cluster Document pertains (the “members concerned”) are required for publication of the report and a Press Release pertaining to the report. If one or more members concerned object to publication, the document shall not be published. If members concerned consent, publication will be made along with a Press Release. - Paragraph 24: Publication of a Cluster Document will occur promptly after the relevant Executive Board meeting or date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis, unless, prior to the conclusion of the Executive Board meeting or the date of adoption, one or more members concerned notifies the Fund that it: - (i) objects to the publication; or - (ii) requires additional time to decide; or - (iii) consents to publication but subject to reaching agreement with the Fund on deletions to the document. - Paragraph 25: For deletions and corrections, each member concerned has the right to request deletions or corrections in accordance with paragraphs 7-10, subject to: - In cases of serious disagreement among members concerned regarding deletion requests, the Managing Director shall propose a solution. If a commonly acceptable solution cannot be found, the Managing Director, or Executive Directors elected, appointed, or designated by the members concerned, may refer the matter to the Executive Board. - Paragraph 26 timing rules: - a. If a Cluster Document is not expected to be published within seven calendar days of the Executive Board consideration, a Press Release will be issued shortly after the Board consideration, if the members concerned consent to issuance of the Press Release. In any event, a Press Release pertaining to a Cluster Document will not be issued before the circulation of the summing up as a Fund document. - b. If, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, one or more members concerned do not consent to the publication of a Press Release, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration of the matter. - c. If, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, the staff report has not been published, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration of the matter and clarifying the publication intention of the members concerned with respect to the staff report. ### V. Other Matters — Pre-publication Removals; Timing and Means; Article XII, Section 8; Non-Members; Review - Paragraph 27: Before publication, remove: - (i) references to unpublished Fund documents, - (ii) references to certain internal processes not disclosed to the public under existing policies, including inquiries regarding possible misreporting and breaches of members’ obligations, - (iii) any discussion of a breach of obligation under Article VIII, Section 5 or misreporting that the Managing Director has proposed be treated as de minimis as defined in paragraph 1 of Decision No. 13849-(06/108), December 20, 2006. - Paragraph 28: Documents may be published under this decision only after their consideration by the Executive Board, except for documents circulated for information only including: - (i) I-PRSPs and PRSPs; - (ii) joint staff advisory notes (JSANs); - (iii) Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs) and Assessment of Financial Sector Supervision and Regulation (AFSSR) Reports. - Documents under item (ii) may be published only after the stated period within which an Executive Director may request placement on the agenda. Other documents covered by this paragraph may be published immediately after circulation to the Executive Board. - Paragraph 29: Publication by the Fund under this decision shall normally mean publication on its website but may include publication through other media. - Paragraph 30 (Article XII, Section 8): Nothing in this decision shall be construed inconsistent with the Fund’s power under Article XII, Section 8, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, to publish a report made to a member regarding its monetary or economic conditions and developments which directly tend to produce a serious disequilibrium in the international balance of payments of members. - Paragraph 31 (Non-Members): For a document pertaining to a country not a member of the Fund: - (i) all references to “member” shall be taken to mean “country”; - (ii) all references to “Executive Director elected, appointed, or designated by that member” shall be taken to refer to the appropriate authorities of the country concerned. - Paragraph 32 (Review): This decision is expected to be reviewed in light of experience no later than 2018. ### Indicative List of Documents Covered by the Decision — Structure and Examples - Paragraphs (1)-(4): The list is indicative and not exhaustive. Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents and Multi-Country Documents created between reviews will be subject to this Decision unless the Executive Board decides otherwise. Secretary’s cover memorandum will explain publication rules for Multi-Country Documents. - I. Country Documents — Surveillance and Supporting Documents (selected items listed): - 1. Staff Reports for Article IV consultations, Combined Article IV consultations/Use of Fund Resources, Combined Article IV consultations/PSI, and regional surveillance discussions - 2. Selected Issues Papers and Statistical Appendices - 3. Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs), Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) Reports, and Assessment of Financial Sector Supervision and Regulation (AFSSR) Reports - 4. Press Releases following Article IV consultations, regional surveillance discussions and stand-alone Board consideration of FSSA reports - I.B Use of Fund Resources Documents (selected items): - 5. Joint Fund/World Bank Staff Advisory Notes (JSANs) on I-PRSPs, PRSPs, PRSP Preparation Status Reports, and PRSP Annual Progress Reports (APRs) - 6. Staff Reports for Use of Fund Resources, Post-Program Monitoring, Ex Post Assessment, and Ex Post Evaluation of exceptional access arrangements (excluding staff reports dealing solely with a member’s overdue financial obligations to the Fund - 7. Press Releases containing a Chairman’s Statement for Use of Fund Resources - 8. Preliminary, decision point, and completion point documents under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative - 9. Press Releases following Executive Board discussions on post-program monitoring, ex post assessments or ex post evaluations - I.C Use of Fund Resources Country Policy Intention Documents: - 10. I-PRSPs, PRSPs, PRSP Preparation Status Reports, and APRs - 11. Letters of Intent and Memoranda of Economic and Financial Policies (LOIs/MEFPs) - 12. Technical Memoranda of Understanding (TMUs) with policy content - I.D Other Country Documents and Country Policy Intentions Documents (selected): - (i) Staff Monitored Program (SMP) Documents and Related Policy Intention Documents: - 13. LOIs/MEFPs for SMPs - 14. Stand-alone Staff Reports on SMPs - (ii) Policy Support Instrument (PSI) Documents and Related Policy Intention Documents: - 15. I-PRSPs, PRSPs, PRSP Preparation Status Reports, and APRs in the context of PSIs - 16. Joint Fund/World Bank Staff Advisory Notes (JSANs) on I-PRSPs and PRSPs in the context of PSIs - 17. Letters of Intent and Memoranda of Economic and Financial Policies (LOIs/MEFPs) for PSIs - 18. Technical Memoranda of Understanding (TMUs) with policy content for PSIs - 19. Staff Reports for PSIs - 20. Press Releases containing a Chairman’s Statement for PSIs - I.E Statements on Fund Decisions: - 21. Statements on Fund decisions on waivers of applicability, or for nonobservance, of performance criteria, and any other matter as may be decided by the Executive Board from time-to-time - 22. Statements on Fund decisions on waivers of nonobservance of assessment criteria, and any other matter as may be decided by the Executive Board from time-to-time - II. Fund Policy Documents: - 23. Fund Policy Issues Papers - 24. Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Fund policy issues - III. Multi-Country Documents (selected): - 25. Multilateral Policy Issues Documents such as, the World Economic Outlook, the Global Financial Stability Report, the Fiscal Monitor and Spillover Reports - 26. Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Multilateral Policy Issues - 27. Country Background Pages - 28. Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Country Background Pages - 29. Cluster Documents - 30. Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Cluster Documents ### Proposed Transparency Policy Decision — Preamble and I. General Provisions on Authorization and Consent (excerpt) - Preamble: The Fund will strive to disclose documents and information on a timely basis unless strong and specific reasons argue against such disclosure; principle respects voluntary nature of publication of documents that pertain to member countries consistent with safeguarding confidential information and Article XII, Section 8. - I. General Provisions (selected excerpt, Paragraph 1): - The Managing Director shall arrange for publication by the Fund of Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents and Multi-Country Documents on the attached list in accordance with the principles set forth in the attached Indicative List subject to the consent of the member concerned in the case of Documents 1–11, 13, and 16–23 and to the authorization of the World Bank in the case of Documents 6, 11, and 19. - Country Documents shall be documents pertaining to individual countries, including documents relating to surveillance, use of Fund resources and the Policy Support Instrument (PSI), and certain reports arising from Fund technical assistance. Documents pertaining to regional surveillance discussions on common policies of a currency union shall be considered to be Country Documents. - For purposes of this decision: (i) Documents 1–4, 6, 9–10, 11, 13, 17, 19, and 22–23 will be referred to as “Country Documents Country Policy Intentions Documents;” (iii) Documents 14 and 15 will be referred to as “Fund Policy DocumentsFund Policy Documents shall be documents on general policy issues, including but not limited to, surveillance, use of Fund resources, technical assistance and Fund administrative matters. Multi-Country Documents shall be documents covering multiple countries as further defined in paragraph 17. *Source: _051413 - 15. A Press Release pertaining to a Board consideration of Fund policy issues will be based* ### 2. a. The publication of Country Documents is subject to the consent of the member concerned. ### _051413 - 2. a. The publication of Country Documents is subject to the consent of the member concerned. ### Publication authorizations and timing - The publication of Country Documents is subject to the consent of the member concerned (paragraph 2.a). - The publication of Fund Policy Documents requires the approval of the Executive Board. - The publication of Multi-Country Documents requires the consents of the members concerned or the approval of the Executive Board, as set forth in paragraphs 20–26. - The publication of documents jointly authored by the Fund and the World Bank requires the authorization of the World Bank. - Under paragraphs 3(b), 14, 21(b) and 24, "prompt publication" means publication no later than: - fourteen calendar days after the Executive Board has considered the document, or - twenty-eight calendar days after the document has been issued to the Executive Board, - whichever is later (paragraph 2.b). ### Country Documents — Consent framework (Section II.A) - A member’s consent to Fund publication of Country Documents 1–11, 13, 16–23 shall be voluntary but presumed; the Fund encourages each member to consent (paragraph 3.2.a). - Fund publication of an applicable document will occur unless, prior to the conclusion of the Executive Board meeting at which that document is considered or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which that document relates, the member notifies the Fund that it: - (i) objects to the publication of the document; or - (ii) requires additional time to decide whether or not to publish; or - (iii) consents to publication but subject to reaching agreement with the Fund on deletions to the document (paragraph 3.2.b). - In the absence of such notification, Country Documents 1–11, 13 and 16-23 shall be published promptly after the relevant Executive Board meeting or lapse-of-time decision date (paragraph 3.2.b). - Members who notify the Fund under (ii) or (iii) are expected to reach a decision on publication within twenty-eightthirty calendar days of the Executive Board meeting or decision (paragraph 3.2.b). - Where a member provides a notification under (i), (ii) or (iii), the applicable document shall not be published unless the member’s explicit consent is received by the Fund (paragraph 3.2.b). ### Special expectations linked to requests for Fund resources (paragraph 3.c) - A member requesting access to Fund resources through: - approval of a Fund arrangement or completion of a review under an arrangement in the General Resources Account or the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), - access under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Trust, - assistance through approval of a Policy Support Instrument (PSI) or completion of a review under a PSI, will be expected to indicate that it intends to consent to publication of the related Board documents (Documents 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 18-22 and staff reports on the use of Fund resources included in Document 9) before the Board meeting or lapse-of-time decision date. ### Circulation context and exceptions (paragraph 3.cd–ef) - Paragraph 32(b) will only apply to Documents 3, 5-6 and 18-193, 5, 10 and 15–16 if the document has been circulated to the Executive Board in the context of a meeting or a proposal for lapse-of-time approval; if circulated for information only, paragraph 287 will apply and the member’s explicit consent must be provided prior to publication. - Paragraph 3(b) will not apply to: - a Press Release containing a Chairman’s Statement for the use of Fund resources (Document 710), - a Press Release containing a Chairman’s Statements in the context of a PSI (Document 2023), - Article IV Press Releases for an Article IV consultation, a regional surveillance discussion or a Board consideration of a Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) report Public Information Notices (Document 4). - Consent for these documents is governed by paragraphs 110 and 121 of this Decision. - For documents subject to procedures in paragraph 32(b), the Secretary’s cover memorandum will indicate prompt publication unless the member notifies the Fund as provided in paragraph 32(b)(i), (ii) or (iii) (paragraph 3.ef). ### Managing Director recommendations tied to consent (paragraph 4) - The Managing Director will not recommend Board approval of: - (i) a PRGFarrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) or completion of a review under such arrangement, - (ii) a HIPC decision point or completion point decision, - (iii) a member’s request for a PSI or completion of a review under a PSI, if the member does not explicitly consent to publication of the I-PRSP, PRSP, PRSP preparation status report, or PRSP annual progress report (Document 510 or Document 1815 as the case may be) (paragraph 4.a). - The Managing Director will generally not recommend Board approval for: - access to Fund resources in the General Resources Account or the PRGT, - access to resources under the HIPC Trust, - assistance through a PSI, that would result in the member obtaining exceptional access, unless that member explicitly consents to publication of the associated staff report (paragraph 4.b). - For purposes of paragraph 4(b): - approval of the use of the Fund’s general resources includes the completion of a review under an arrangement and assistance through a PSI includes the completion of a review under a PSI; and - exceptional access means access by a member to the Fund’s general resources, under any type of Fund financing, in excess of an annual limit of 200 percent of the member’s quota, or a cumulative limit (net of scheduled repurchases) of 600 percent of the member’s quota (paragraph 4.b). ### Communication of explicit consent (paragraph 5) - Except as provided in paragraphs 11 and 12, a member’s explicit consent must be communicated in writing, normally to the Secretary of the Fund, and may be communicated by the Executive Director elected, appointed, or designated by the member (paragraph 5). ### Member’s statement regarding Fund staff reports (Section II.B) - If a Fund staff report (Documents 1, 9, 17, and 221, 6, 14 and 19) on a member is to be published, the member shall be given the opportunity to provide a statement regarding the staff report and the Executive Board assessment; such statement shall be communicated to the Fund and published together with the staff report (paragraph 6). ### Deletions and rephrasing in Country Documents and Country Policy Intentions Documents (Section II.C) - For publication, deletions may be made to a Country Document except for PRSP country intention documents or a Country Policy Intentions Document (Documents 10 and 157–8, and 20–21) that has been the basis of a Fund decision, or of Document 16, in accordance with paragraph 87 (paragraph 7.a). - Deletions should be limited to: - (i) highly market-sensitive material, mainly on the outlook for exchange rates, interest rates, the financial sector, and assessments of sovereign liquidity and solvency; and - (ii) material not in the public domain, on a policy the country authorities intend to implement, where premature disclosure of operational details would seriously undermine implementation (paragraph 7.a). - Definition of highly market-sensitive material: material that (a) is not in the public domain, (b) is market relevant within the near term, and (c) is sufficiently specific to create a clear risk of triggering a disruptive market reaction if disclosed (paragraph 7.a). - Politically sensitive material shall not be deleted unless it satisfies (i) or (ii) above (paragraph 7.a). - Information relating to performance criteria or structural benchmarks (Documents 1, 7–9 and 16–171, 6 and 11–12), or to any quantitative or structural benchmark (Documents 13–14), or to any assessment criterion or structural benchmark (Documents 1 and 17–19), may not be deleted unless the information could have been communicated to the Fund in a side letter pursuant to Decision No. 12067-(99/108), September 22, 1999 (paragraph 7.a). - If the Managing Director determines the proposed deletions satisfy criteria (i) or (ii), the Managing Director may decide deletions be accompanied by minor rephrasing to retain candor or minimize misinterpretation (paragraph 7.b). ### Requests for deletions and dispute resolution (paragraph 8) - Requests for deletions to a Country Document (except for PRSP country intention documents Documents 10 and 15, or a Country Policy Intentions Document Documents 7–8, and 20–21 that has been the basis of a Fund decision, or of Document 16) may be made by the member concerned; other members may also request deletions to Documents 1–3, 6 9, 1417 and 1922 if: - (i) the text to be deleted relates to that other member, - (ii) the member to whom the document relates consents to the deletion, and - (iii) the criteria set out in paragraph 76 are met (paragraph 8.a). - The criterion (ii) shall not apply to staff reports for Article IV consultation and regional surveillance discussions (Documents 1 and 2) (paragraph 8.a). - Deletions shall be requested in writing and are expected to be communicated to the Fund no later than two business days before: - (i) the Executive Board meeting at which the document is discussed, or - (ii) the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates (paragraph 8.b). - In any event, requests for deletions shall be made no later than: - (ai) seventwenty-one calendar days after the Executive Board has considered the document, or - (bii) twenty-onethirty-five calendar days after the document was issued to the Executive Board, - whichever is later (paragraph 8.b). - Once approved by the Managing Director, deletions and related rephrasing shall be circulated to the Executive Board in redlined form and include the justification for each modification (paragraph 8.c). - Dispute procedures: - In a serious disagreement between the Managing Director and a member regarding deletions, the Managing Director or the member’s Executive Director may refer the matter to the Executive Board. If the Managing Director believes deletions would undermine the Fund’s overall assessment and credibility, the Managing Director shall recommend to the Executive Board that the document not be published (paragraph 8.d(i) and 8.d(iii)). - For staff reports for Article IV consultation and regional surveillance discussion (Documents 1 and 2), if the Managing Director approves deletions requested by other members and the member to whom the document relates disagrees with the Managing Director’s assessment, the Managing Director or that member’s Executive Director may refer the matter to the Executive Board (paragraph 8.d(ii)). ### Corrections to Country Documents and Country Policy Intentions Documents (Section II.D) - Corrections shall be limited to: - (i) data and typographical errors, - (ii) factual mistakes, - (iii) mischaracterization of views expressed by the authorities concerned, and - (iv) evident ambiguity (paragraph 8). - Corrections shall normally take the form of substitution of text in existing sentences rather than adding or deleting entire sentences (paragraph 8). - Corrections are expected to be requested no later than two business days before the conclusion of the Executive Board’s consideration or the lapse-of-time adoption date to which the document relates (paragraph 9). - Corrections after Executive Board consideration shall be limited to cases where: - (i) the correction is brought to the attention of the Executive Board before the conclusion of its consideration of the document, and - (ii) the failure to make the correction would undermine the overall value of publication (paragraph 9). - Corrections shall be circulated to the Executive Board in redlined form; those with significant implications for substance shall be discussed and justified in a supplementary staff report or in a corrections memorandum (paragraph 9). ### Press Releases / Chairman’s statements for use of Fund resources and PSIs (Section II.E) - After the Executive Board: - (i) adopts a decision regarding a member’s use of Fund resources (including completing a review under an arrangement), - (ii) adopts a decision approving a PSI, or conducts a review under a PSI, - (iii) completes a discussion on a member’s participation in the HIPC Initiative, or - (iv) completes a discussion on a member’s I-PRSP, PRSP, PRSP preparation status report, or APR in the context of use of Fund resources or a PSI, a Press Release containing a Chairman’s statement emphasizing key points by Executive Directors will be issued to the public (paragraph 10). - The Chairman’s statement will, where relevant, summarize HIPC Initiative decisions pertaining to the member and the Executive Board’s views on I-PRSP, PRSP, PRSP preparation status report, or APR in the context of use of Fund resources or a PSI (paragraph 10). - Waivers for nonobservance, or of applicability, of performance criteria and any other matter (Document 1221), and waivers for nonobservance of assessment criteria (Document 2422), will be mentioned in the factual statement section of the Press Release containing the Chairman’s statement or in a factual statement issued in lieu (paragraph 10). - Before issuance, if any Executive Director requests, the Chairman will read the Press Release/Chairman’s statement to the Executive Board and Executive Directors will have an opportunity to comment; the Executive Director elected, appointed, or designated by the member will have the opportunity to review the Chairman’s statement, propose minor revisions, and consent to its publication immediately after the Executive Board meeting (paragraph 10). - No Press Release or Chairman’s statement under this paragraph shall contain any reference to a discussion or decision pertaining to a member’s overdue financial obligations to the Fund where a Press Release following an Executive Board decision to limit the member’s use of Fund resources because of overdue financial obligations has not yet been issued; if the meeting pertains solely to overdue obligations, no Chairman’s statement will be published (paragraph 10). ### Press Releases / Public Information Notices for Article IV consultations, regional surveillance discussions, and FSSA Board considerations (Section II.F) - Following completion of an Article IV consultation, a regional surveillance discussion, or a stand-alone Board consideration of an FSSA report, the Fund may issue a Press Release Public Information Notice (PIN) reporting results (Document 1 for consultations/regional surveillance; Document 3 for FSSA) (paragraph 11). - If a member has consented to publication of Documents 1 and 3, such publication will be made along with the Press ReleaseIN (paragraph 11). - Press ReleaseIN characteristics: - Brief (normally 3–4 pages) and consist of two sections: - (i) background section with factual information (including a table of economic indicators for Article IV/regional surveillance or factual information on the financial system for FSSA), and - (ii) the Fund’s assessment corresponding closely to the Chairman’s summing up (paragraph 11.a). - The Executive Director concerned may review the draft Press ReleaseIN prior to issuance to propose changes consistent with paragraphs 76 through 109 (paragraph 11.b). - In case of serious disagreement between the Managing Director and the Executive Director concerned on the draft, either may request the Executive Board consider the matter (paragraph 11.c). - If a staff report is not expected to be published within seven calendar days of Board consideration, a Press Release will be issued shortly after the Board consideration, if the member has consented to publication of the staff report (paragraph 11.d). - The PIN will be released shortly following completion of the Article IV consultation, but a Press Release under this paragraph will not be issued before circulation of the summing up as a Fund document (paragraph 11.d). - Issuance/release of Press ReleaseINs shall not affect the current summing up process or the staff’s reporting to the Executive Board (paragraph 11.e). ### Non-publication of Press Releases/Chairman’s statements and issuance of brief factual statements (Section II.G) - A brief factual statement will be issued in the circumstances and time frames set out (paragraph 12). - For Board consideration of an Article IV consultation, a regional surveillance discussion, an FSSA report, a post-program monitoring, an ex post assessment or an ex post evaluation: - If, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, a member does not consent to publication of a Press Release pertaining to the Board consideration, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration (paragraph 12.a.i). - If, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, the staff report has not been published, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration and clarifying the authorities’ publication intention with respect to the staff report (paragraph 12.a.ii). - For Board consideration of use of Fund resources or a PSI: - (i) If a member does not consent to publication of a Press Release containing a Chairman’s statement (Documents 7 and 20) where one would be applicable, or if no Chairman’s statement has been issued because a decision was taken on a lapse-of-time basis, a brief factual statement will be issued immediately after the Board consideration describing the Executive Board’s decision relating to that member’s use of Fund resources (including HIPC initiative decisions (Document 8), Document 21, and consideration of Document 10, when relevant), or the approval of a PSI or conduct of a review under a PSI (including Document 22 and consideration of Document 15, when relevant) (paragraph 12.b(i)). - (ii) With respect to the consent provisions in paragraph 4(b), if, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, the staff report has not been published, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration and clarifying the authorities’ publication intention with respect to the staff report (paragraph 12.b(ii)). *Source: _051413 - 2. a. The publication of Country Documents is subject to the consent of the member concerned.* ### 11. a. If a member does not consent to the publication of a PIN following the Executive Board’s ### _051413 - 11. a. If a member does not consent to the publication of a PIN following the Executive Board’s ### Publication of PINs and Chairman’s Statements - Paragraph 11.a: If a member does not consent to the publication of a PIN following the Executive Board’s conclusion of an Article IV consultation with that member (Document 4), or following a post-program monitoring, ex post assessment or ex post evaluation discussion by the Executive Board pertaining to that member (Document 13) a brief factual statement announcing that the Executive Board has concluded that consultation orwill be release instead. - Paragraph 11.b: If a member does not consent to the publication of a Chairman’s statement (Documents 10 and 23) under paragraph 10 where one would be applicable, or if no Chairman’s statement has been issued because a decision was taken on a lapse-of-time basis, a brief factual statement describing the Executive Board’s decision relating to: - (i) that member’s use of Fund resources (including HIPC initiative decisions (Document 11), Document 12, and consideration of Documents 5, when relevant), or - (ii) the approval of a PSI for that member, or the conduct of a review under that member’s PSI (including Document 24 and consideration of Document 18, when relevant) will be released instead. ### Fund Policy Documents — Authorization and Publication Presumptions - Paragraph 13: After the Executive Board meets on Fund policy issues in a formal Board meeting or an informal Board sessionmeeting, or in an Executive Board seminar, or adopts a decision on a lapse-of-time basis, it shall be presumed that the staff report under consideration (Document 1423) and/or a Press ReleaseIN (Document 1524) pertaining on to the considerationdiscussion will be published. - Presumption applies inter alia to matters upon which deliberation is ongoing, subject to risk of undermining the Fund’s decision-making process. - Presumption does not apply to policy issues dealing with the administrative matters of the Fund, except with respect to matters pertaining to the Fund’s income, financing or budget matters that do not involve market sensitive information. - Publication of a Fund policy paper or Press ReleaseIN requires a decision of the Executive Board. - Staff expected to set out recommendation on publication in the cover memorandum and explain if publication is not recommended. - Whenever publication is approved, the paper and/or Press ReleaseIN will normally be published promptly after an Executive Board meeting or an informal sessionseminar, or date of adoption of a lapse-of-time decision. - Publication proposed for informal Board sessionExecutive Board seminars will be deemed approved unless an Executive Director objects by the date set forth in the Secretary’s cover memorandum. ### Press Releases on Fund Policy Issues - Paragraph 14: A Press ReleaseIN pertaining to on a Board consideration of Fund policy issuespolicy discussions will be based on the decision adopted by the Executive Board and/or the Chairman’s summing-up, or the Chairman’s Concluding Remarks, as the case may be. It will also include a short section setting out background information. - If a Fund policy staff report is not expected to be published within seven calendar days of the Board consideration, a Press Release will be issued shortly after the Board consideration. ### Corrections, Deletions and Rephrasing for Fund Policy Staff Reports - Paragraph 15.a: Prior to the publication of a Fund policy staff report, the Managing Director may make necessary factual corrections, deletions, and related rephrasing with respect to the report (including of highly market-sensitive material and country-specific references). Staff’s proposals in a report shall not be modified prior to its publication. - Where confusion might arise from differences between staff’s proposals and the Executive Board’s conclusions as reflected in the Press ReleaseIN, the published report will indicate which staff proposals the Executive Board did not endorse. - Paragraph 15.b: Paragraph 15(a) shall not apply tothe World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report. In accordance with established practice, staff may modify these documents prior to their publication in order to, inter alia, take into account views expressed at the relevant Executive Board meeting. ### Multi-Country Documents — Definitions and Publication Rules - Paragraph 17: Multi-Country Documents comprise (i) Multilateral Policy Issues Documents (ii) Country Background Pages and (iii) Cluster Documents. - Multilateral Policy Issues Documents address multilateral global economic issues. - Country Background Pages are characterized by specific information pertaining to individual countries and to individual country data but the analysis of respective individual countries and individual country data is not integrated. - Cluster Documents include analysis of issues affecting a group of countries where each individual country analysis is integrated into the broader analysis. - Paragraph 18: Multi-Country Documents pertain to both individual documents and material sections within individual Multi-Country documents. Material sections shall mean whole chapters or appendices. - Paragraph 19: For Multi-Country Documents, the Secretary’s cover memorandum will indicate the publication rules governing the document. #### A. Multilateral Policy Issues Documents - Paragraph 20: Publication provisions in paragraphs 14-15 apply to Multilateral Policy Issues Documents and Press Releases for such documents. - Paragraph 20 (continued): Paragraph 16 regarding modification rules applies to all Multilateral Policy Issues Documents, except for the WEO, GFSR and FM; staff may modify WEO, GFSR and FM prior to publication to take into account views expressed at the Executive Board meeting. #### B. Country Background Pages - Paragraph 21.a: The consent of each member to which a document or a material section of a document pertains (the “member concerned”) is required to publish such a document or section. - Paragraph 21.b: Fund publication of a Country Background Pages or material sections will occur, unless, prior to the conclusion of the Executive Board meeting at which that document is considered or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which that document pertains, a member concerned notifies the Fund that it: - (i) objects to publication; or - (ii) requires additional time to decide whether or not to publish; or - (iii) consents to publication but subject to reaching agreement with the Fund on deletions. - If no notification under (i), (ii) or (iii) is provided, the document or section shall be published promptly after the relevant Executive Board meeting or the date of adoption of a lapse-of-time decision. - Paragraph 21.c: If one or more members object to publication: - Managing Director may (i) decide to publish the Country Background Pages without the information pertaining to the objecting member, or (ii) recommend to the Executive Board not to publish the Country Background Pages and, as the case may be, the associated Multilateral Policy Issues Document or Cluster Document, if non-publication would substantially undermine the overall analysis and substance of the document. - In case (i), the published version shall state that the information was removed at the request of the objecting member. - In case (ii), if the Executive Board agrees, a factual statement shall be published indicating the document was considered but not published because the objecting member objected and publication without that information would substantially undermine the overall analysis and substance of the document. - Paragraph 22: For deletions and corrections, each member concerned has the right to request deletions or corrections in accordance with criteria and procedures applicable to Country Documents as set forth in paragraphs 7-10. #### C. Cluster Documents - Paragraph 23: Consents of the members concerned are required for publication of the report and a Press Release pertaining to a Cluster Document. If one or more members object, the document shall not be published. If members consent, publication will be made along with a Press Release. - Paragraph 24: Fund publication of a Cluster Document will occur promptly after the relevant Executive Board meeting or lapse-of-time adoption, unless, prior to conclusion of the Board meeting or lapse-of-time date, one or more members concerned notifies the Fund that it: - (i) objects to publication; or - (ii) requires additional time to decide whether or not to publish; or - (iii) consents to publication but subject to reaching agreement with the Fund on deletions. - Paragraph 25: For deletions and corrections, each member concerned has the right to request deletions or corrections per paragraphs 7-10, subject to: - In case of serious disagreement among members regarding deletion requests, the Managing Director shall propose a solution to the members concerned. - If no commonly acceptable solution is found, the Managing Director, or Executive Directors elected, appointed, or designated by the members concerned, may refer the matter to the Executive Board. - Paragraph 26.a: If a Cluster Document is not expected to be published within seven calendar days of the Executive Board consideration, a Press Release will be issued shortly after the Board consideration, if the members concerned consent to issuance of the Press Release. A Press Release pertaining to a Clustered Document will not be issued before the circulation of the summing up as a Fund document. - Paragraph 26.b: If, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, one or more members concerned do not consent to the publication of a Press Release pertaining to the Board consideration, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration of the matter. - Paragraph 26.c: If, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, the staff report has not been published, a brief factual statement will be issued stating the fact of the Board’s consideration and clarifying the publication intention of the members concerned with respect to the staff report. ### Other Matters #### A. Other Changes to Documents - Paragraph 16 (27): Before a document is published, the following shall be removed: - (i) references to unpublished Fund documents, - (ii) references to certain internal processes that are not disclosed to the public under existing policies, including inquiries regarding possible misreporting and breaches of members’ obligations, and - (iii) any discussion of a breach of obligation under Article VIII, Section 5 or misreporting under applicable Fund policies that the Managing Director has proposed be treated as de minimis in nature as defined in paragraph 1 of Decision No. 13849-(06/108), December 20, 2006. #### B. Timing and Means of Fund Publication - Paragraph 17 (28): Documents may be published under this decision only after their consideration by the Executive Board, except for documents circulated for information only including: - (i) I-PRSPs and PRSPs; - (ii) joint staff advisory notes (JSANs); and - (iii) Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs) and Assessment of Financial Sector Supervision and Regulation (AFSSR) Reports. - Documents under item (ii) may be published only after the stated period within which an Executive Director may request that the document be placed on the agenda of the Executive Board. Other documents covered by this paragraph may be published immediately after circulation to the Executive Board. - Paragraph 18 (29): Publication by the Fund under this decision shall normally mean publication on its website but may include publication through other media. #### C. Article XII, Section 8 - Paragraph 19 (30): Nothing in this decision shall be construed to be inconsistent with the power of the Fund to decide under Article XII, Section 8, by a seventy percent majority of the total voting power, to publish a report made to a member regarding its monetary or economic conditions and developments which directly tend to produce a serious disequilibrium in the international balance of payments of members. #### D. Non-Members/Other Matters - Paragraph 20 (31): For a document pertaining to a country which is not a member of the Fund: - (i) all references to “member” in this decision shall be taken to mean “country” and - (ii) all references to “Executive Director elected, appointed, or designated by that member” shall be taken to refer to the appropriate authorities of the country concerned. #### E. Review - Paragraph 21 (32): This decision is expected to be reviewed in light of experience no later than 2012 2018. and thereafter at intervals not to exceed five years. ### Indicative List of Documents Covered (selected highlights) - The list is indicative and not exhaustive; Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents and Multi-Country Documents created between reviews will be subject to this Decision unless the Executive Board decides otherwise. - Multi-Country Documents publication rules will be explained in the Secretary’s cover memorandum. - Country Documents and Fund Policy Documents pertain to individual documents. Multi-Country Documents pertain to both individual documents and material sections (whole chapters or appendices). - I. Country Documents — Surveillance and Supporting Documents (selected items): - 1. Staff Reports for Article IV consultations, and Combined Article IV consultations/Use of Fund Resources, Combined Article IV consultations/PSI, and regional surveillance discussions - 2. Selected Issues Papers and Statistical Appendices - 3. Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs), Financial Systemector Stability Assessment (FSSA) Reports, and Assessment of Financial Sector Supervision and Regulation (AFSSR) Reports - 4. Press Releasesublic Information Notices (PINs) following Article IV consultations, and regional surveillance discussions and stand-alone Board consideration of FSSA reports - II. Use of Fund Resources Documents by a Member (selected items): - 5. Joint Fund/World Bank Staff Advisory Notes (JSANs) on I-PRSPs, PRSPs, PRSP Preparation Status Reports, and PRSP Annual Progress Reports (APRs) - 6. Staff Reports for Use of Fund Resources, Post-Program Monitoring, Ex Post Assessment, and Ex Post Evaluation of exceptional access arrangements (excluding staff reports dealing solely with a member’s overdue financial obligations to the Fund) - 7. Press Releases containing a Chairman’s Statement for Use of Fund Resources - 8. Preliminary, decision point, and completion point documents under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative - 9. Press Releases following Executive Board discussions on post-program monitoring, ex post assessments or ex post evaluations - III. Use of Fund Resources Country Policy Intention Documents (selected items): - 5. Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (I-PRSPs), Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), PRSP Preparation Status Reports, and PRSP Annual Progress Reports (APRs) - 6. Joint Fund/World Bank Staff Advisory Notes (JSANs) on I-PRSPs, PRSPs, PRSP Preparation Status Reports, and APRs - 7. Letters of Intent and Memoranda of Economic and Financial Policies (LOIs/MEFPs) - 8. Technical Memoranda of Understanding (TMUs) with policy content - 9. Use of Fund Resources, Post-Program Monitoring, Ex Post Assessment, and Ex Post Evaluation of exceptional access arrangements Staff Reports (excluding staff reports dealing solely with a member’s overdue financial obligations to the Fund) - 10. Chairman’s Statements - 11. Preliminary, decision point, and completion point documents under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative - 12. Statements on Fund decisions on waivers of applicability, or for nonobservance, of performance criteria, and any other matter as may be decided by the Executive Board from time-to-time - 13. PINs following Executive Board discussions on post-program monitoring, ex post assessments or ex post evaluations - IV. Other Country Documents and Country Policy Intentions Documents (selected items): - LOIs/MEFPs for SMPs and stand-alone Staff Reports on SMPs - I-PRSPs, PRSPs, PRSP Preparation Status Reports, and APRs in the context of PSIs - JSANs on I-PRSPs and PRSPs in the context of PSIs - Letters of Intent and Memoranda of Economic and Financial Policies (LOIs/MEFPs) for PSIs *Source: REVIEW OF THE FUND’S TRANSPARENCY POLICY (excerpts).* ### 18. Technical Memoranda of Understanding (TMUs) with policy content for PSIs ### 18. Technical Memoranda of Understanding (TMUs) with policy content for PSIs ### PSI-related documents and disclosures - Lists of PSI documents referenced (items preserved verbatim): - 18. I-PRSPs, PRSPs, PRSP Preparation Status Reports, and APRs in the context of PSIs - 19. Joint Fund/World Bank Staff Advisory Notes (JSANs) on I-PRSPs and PRSPs in the context of PSIs - 20. Letters of Intent and Memoranda of Economic and Financial Policies (LOIs/MEFPs) for PSIs - 21. Technical Memoranda of Understanding (TMUs) with policy content for PSIs - 22. Staff Reports for PSIs - 23. Chairman’s Statements for PSIs - 24. Statements on Fund decisions on waivers of nonobservance of assessment criteria, and any other matter as may be decided by the Executive Board from time-to-time. (SM/05/343, Sup. 1, 9/22/05) ### Press releases and statements - PSI-related press/statement items: - Press Releases containing a Chairman’s Statement for PSIs - Statements on Fund decisions on waivers of applicability, or for nonobservance, of performance criteria, and any other matter as may be decided by the Executive Board from time-to time - Statements on Fund decisions on waivers of nonobservance of assessment criteria, and any other matter as may be decided by the Executive Board from time-to-time ### Cross-reference to other program types (as listed) - Staff Monitored Programs (SMPs): - 16. LOIs/MEFPs for SMPs - 17. Stand-alone Staff Reports on SMPs ### Document categorization context (preservation of structure) - Multi-Country Documents enumerated (preserved verbatim): - 25. Multilateral Policy Issues Documents such as, the World Economic Outlook, the Global Financial Stability Report, the Fiscal Monitor and Spillover Reports - 26. Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Multilateral Policy Issues - 27. Country Background Pages - 28. Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Country Background Pages - 29. Cluster Documents - 30. Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Cluster Documents ### Procedural citation - Reference included in the source: (SM/05/343, Sup. 1, 9/22/05) --- ### Appendix II: The Fund’s Legal Framework for the Treatment of Confidential Information — key legal rules and application - Three broad legal protections of confidentiality (preserved wording and authorities): - Article IX, Section 5 of the Fund’s Articles of Agreements: archives of the Fund shall be inviolable; non-public documents produced by the Fund are protected by the Fund’s immunities and cannot be published, or otherwise produced (including in response to a subpoena) without the Fund’s approval. - Article XII, Section 8 of the Articles: Fund not to publish its views (meaning the Executive Board’s views) with regard to a member without the member’s consent, except under certain specific circumstances. - Rules and Regulations, Staff Code of Conduct and General Administrative Orders: Fund staff prohibited from making unauthorized disclosures to third parties of confidential information; Code of Conduct for Members of the Executive Board adopts the same regime. - Operational principles on confidential information: - Determination of whether information was provided in confidence is based on examination of all surrounding circumstances, including whether there was an understanding (expressed or implied) that information would not be disclosed without consent. - Where doubts exist, Fund approach is to give the benefit of the doubt to the member or other party. - Circumstances where management/staff may not withhold information from the Executive Board (three broad categories preserved): - Information required to be reported to the Fund as a result of members’ obligations under the Articles of Agreement. - Where the Board has established a policy requiring that certain information received from members must be disclosed to the Board (members are understood to have consented to such disclosure). - Where, absent a policy mandating disclosure, information is judged to be of such a nature that it is critical for the Board to be able to exercise its responsibility in a meaningful way. - Context-specific applications (preserved examples): - Surveillance: members, management, and staff may not on grounds of confidentiality withhold from the Board any information required to be reported under Article VIII, Section 5 or otherwise judged necessary for the conduct of surveillance. - Use of Fund resources: Board policy requires disclosure to the Board of confidential information provided by a member in the form of a side letter. (See Decision No. 12067-(99/108), adopted September 22, 1999 and Side Letters and the Use of Fund Resources at Paragraph 23.) - Technical assistance: TA reports are treated as confidential vis-à-vis the Board, but certain TA-derived reports (Reports on Standards and Codes and Assessment of Financial Sector Supervision and Regulations) are shared with the Board to inform surveillance. - Procedural constraint: - If management believes confidential information must be disclosed to the Board to enable informed Board action, management should not recommend Board action unless the member consents to disclosure. - Internal classifications for staff access (preserved exact labels): - “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY”— accessible to all staff; - “CONFIDENTIAL”— accessible on a need to know basis; - “STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL”— accessible on a strict need to know basis. - Legal and archival references cited verbatim: - Decision No. 14498-(09/126), December 17, 2009, as amended, on the Open Archives Policy at Paragraph 5; Dissemination of Technical Assistance Information at Paragraph 10; Review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy at Appendix I. - Decision No. 12067-(99/108), adopted September 22, 1999. --- ### Appendix I and archival/disclosure comparisons (selected numeric timelines preserved) - IMF archival access and timelines (preserved exact figures): - Executive Board documents are available to the public after 3 years. - Board minutes are available after 5 years. - Other institutional archives are available after 20 years, except for certain classified items. - Comparator institutional timelines (preserved exact figures from table): - BIS: Most records relating to business and operational activities over 30 years old are available for consultation. - OECD: After 10 years, public access is allowed to historical documents with a few exceptions. - World Bank: a three-tier declassification structure cited: - after 5 years for documents that were prepared before the revised policy goes into effect and were supposed to be disclosed immediately under the new policy; - after 10 for other non confidential documents (e.g., verbatim transcripts of Board meetings); - after 20 years for Board papers classified as ‘confidential’ or strictly confidential. - Board minutes/transcripts disclosure practices (preserved statements): - IMF: Summing-ups of Executive Board meetings or Public Information Notices are generally promptly published; detailed quasi verbatim Board minutes are available in the Archives after 5 years. - BIS: Board minutes are made available to researchers after 30 years. - OECD: Some Board papers may be disclosed simultaneously when issued to the Board; final versions of papers seen only after the Executive Board has concluded its discussions. - World Bank: Deliberative Board records, minutes of Executive Board sessions, transcripts and summaries are not disclosed until eligible for release through the Archives; minutes defined as information on when the Board met, the topic it considered, and final decisions and outcomes are available to the public immediately or within a few weeks of the meeting, after Board approval. --- ### Appendix III: Proposed timeline elements and publication deadlines (exact timing preserved) - Timeline markers shown in the source: - Board Date (BD) - 7 days after BD - 28 days after BD - At the latest 2 days before Board consideration - 14 days after Board - Specific deadlines and procedures (preserved wording): - Deadline for requests for deletions: - Normally 7 days after the Board discussion or - 21 days after issuance of Staff Reports to the Board - Obtain Summing up from SEC (24 hours for Art IV, same day for UFR) - Issue Press Release - Issue Staff Report - Prepare documents for publication: Notify Executive Directors the expected date of publication (14 days after Board) - Explain policy to authorities (consent, deadlines, modifications, etc.) - Implement modifications requests - Ascertain authorities’ publication intention & notify SEC - Submit draft Summing up to Management & SEC - Obtain corrections request (or request own corrections) - Obtain corrections before the Board consideration (corrections are made before the Board meeting; deletions are made only after Board consideration—see Appendix I text) *Source: REVIEW OF THE FUND’S TRANSPARENCY POLICY (excerpts preserved verbatim from supplied content)* ### Appendix IV. Factual Statement in Case of Non Publication ### Appendix IV. Factual Statement in Case of Non Publication within Deadlines ### Purpose and Trigger - If a Board document relating to a country matter (including Article IV consultations, standalone FSSAs, UFR, and PSI ) has not been published within 28 days of Board consideration then a factual statement will be issued, even if a press release has been issued. - The factual statement will confirm that the document was discussed by the Board on a given date, and indicate the authorities’ publication intentions. ### Preparation and Consultation - The area department will prepare this statement in consultation with SEC and COM. - The factual statement will be drafted along the following lines: - “On [date], the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund concluded the consideration of the [discussion type] of [country name].” ### Content Elements of the Factual Statement - A description of which activity the statement falls under, for example for Article IV consultations: - “Under Article IV of its Articles of Agreement, the IMF has a mandate to exercise surveillance over the economic, financial and exchange rate policies of its members in order to ensure the effective operation of the international monetary system. The IMF’s appraisal of such policies involves a comprehensive analysis of the general economic situation and policy strategy of each member country. IMF economists visit the member country, usually once a year, to collect and analyze data and hold discussions with government and central bank officials. Upon its return, the staff submits a report to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion. The Board’s views are subsequently summarized and transmitted to the country authorities.” - Information on the publication intentions of the country authorities, e.g., for Article IV consultations: - “The authorities have [consented to publication and it is expected that the report will be posted on this website shortly] or [not consented to publication of the staff report] or [need more time to conclude their consideration of the document].” ### Context within the Review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy - The factual-statement requirement is part of the broader transparency framework described in the Review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy, and connects to the listing of Board documents subject to the Transparency Policy. *Source: Appendix IV. Factual Statement in Case of Non Publication within Deadlines (excerpt).* --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/np/pp/eng/2013/_051413.pdf_