| ||||
| Article XII, Section 7 | ||||
| Publication of Reports | ||||
|
2025 Review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy Preamble1 Recognizing the importance of transparency, the Fund will strive to disclose documents and information on a timely basis unless strong and specific reasons argue against such disclosure. This overarching principle is reflected in the specific provisions of the Decision set forth below and of other Fund policies on transparency. The principle respects, and will be applied to ensure, the voluntary nature of publication of documents that pertain to member countries consistent with the need for the Fund to safeguard confidential information and with the provisions of Article XII, Section 8 of the Articles of Agreement concerning publication by the Fund of its views with respect to a member. Further, in allowing for modifications to documents covered by this Decision, the Fund will give due regard to protecting the independence and candor of staff analysis, while recognizing the necessity of modifications under some limited and defined circumstances. I. General Provisions 1. Coverage. The Managing Director shall arrange for publication by the Fund of Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents and Multi-Country Documents in accordance with the principles set forth in this Decision and the attached Indicative List. Country Documents shall be documents pertaining to individual countries, including documents relating to surveillance, use of Fund resources, the Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI), 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. Fund 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 paragraphs 19 and 20 of this Decision 2. Publication a. The publication of Country Documents is subject to the consent of the member concerned. The publication of Fund Policy Documents requires the approval of the Executive Board. The publication of Multi-Country Documents requires the consent of the members concerned or the approval of the Executive Board, as the case may be, as set forth in paragraphs 22-28 of this Decision. The publication of documents jointly authored by the Fund and the World Bank requires the authorization of the World Bank. The Fund may publish documents prepared by third parties that are required for Executive Board consideration as set forth in paragraph 37 of this Decision. b. Under paragraphs 4(c), 16, 23(b), and 26 of this Decision, prompt publication shall mean that a document is expected to be published no later than (a) fourteen calendar days after the Executive Board has considered the document (or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis. to which the document relates), or (b) twenty-eight calendar days after the document has been issued to the Executive Board, whichever is later. 3. Modifications. Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents, and Multi-Country Documents submitted for Board consideration or information can be modified prior to publication pursuant to paragraphs 8 through 12, 13(c), 14(g),18, 29, and 30 of this Decision. II. Country Documents II.A. Consent to Publication 4. General principle a. A member’s consent to Fund publication of Country Documents shall be voluntary but presumed. This presumption shall mean that the Fund encourages each member to consent to the publication by the Fund of such documents. For the purposes of encouraging members and obtaining their consent to publication, the following procedures shall apply. Consent to Publication on a Non-Objection Basis b. Except as otherwise provided in this Decision, consent to publication of a relevant document is deemed to be provided by the member concerned on a non-objection basis 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 the document relates), the member concerned notifies the Fund that it (i) objects to the publication of the document, (ii) requires additional time to decide whether to publish, or (iii) consents to publication but subject to reaching agreement with the Fund on deletions to the document. c. In the absence of a notification referred to in paragraph 4.b above, 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). Where a member provides the Fund with a notification as provided for in paragraph 4(b)(i) above, the relevant document shall not be published unless the member’s explicit consent is subsequently received by the Fund. d. A member that notifies the Fund pursuant to paragraph 4(b)(ii) or (iii) above is expected to communicate to the Fund its decision whether to publish the document within fourteen calendar days of the Executive Board meeting at which the document was considered (or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates). (i) After fourteen calendar days, a member’s consent to publication will be deemed to be provided, and the document will be published by the Fund following the resolution of any pending modification requests, unless the member has explicitly objected to publication or notified the Fund that it requires additional time to decide whether to publish the document. (ii) After twenty-eight calendar days, if the member, that had requested additional time to decide whether to publish the document, has not explicitly objected to publication, the member’s consent to publication will be deemed to be provided, and the staff report will be published by the Fund, following the resolution of any pending modification requests. Opt-Out of Providing Publication Consent on a Non-Objection Basis e. A member may notify the Fund in writing at any time that it opts out of providing consent to publication for Country Documents pertaining to the member on a non-objection basis as provided for in paragraph 4(b) to (d) above. A member that has opted out is expected to communicate to the Fund its decision whether to publish the document (i) no later than fourteen calendar days from the date of the Executive Board meeting at which the document was considered (or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates), or (ii) no later than twenty-eight calendar days if there are pending modification requests fourteen calendar days after the Executive Board meeting. Coverage f. With respect to Documents 3, 7, 12, 17, 18, the consent procedures set out in paragraphs 4(b) to (d) will only apply if the 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, the member’s explicit consent must be provided to the Fund prior to publication and the document may be published immediately after circulation to the Executive Board pursuant to paragraph 33 of this Decision. g. The consent procedures set out in paragraphs 4(b) to (d) above, will not apply to a Press Release containing a Chairman’s Statement for the use of Fund resources (Document 9), a Press Release containing a Chairman’s Statement in the context of a PCI (Document 23), a Press Release for an Article IV consultation, a regional surveillance discussion, or a Board consideration of Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) report (Document 4). A member’s consent to the publication of these documents is governed by paragraphs 13 and 14 of this Decision. h. In respect of any document that is subject to the consent procedures set out in paragraph 4(b) to (d) above, 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 to which the document relates), unless the member concerned notifies the Fund as provided for in paragraph 4(b)(i), (ii), or (iii) above, or unless the member has opted out of providing publication consent on a nonobjection basis as provided for in paragraph 4(e) above. 5. a. The Managing Director will generally not recommend that the Executive Board approve a request for (i) access to resources in the General Resources Account, the PRGT or the Resilience and Sustainability Trust, or (ii) access to Fund resources under the HIPC Trust, or (iii) assistance through the PCI, unless the member explicitly consents to the publication of the associated staff report. For purposes of this paragraph 5(a), approval of the use of the Fund’s resources includes the completion of a review under an arrangement, and assistance through a PCI includes the completion of a review under a PCI. In the case of the PCI, where a member does not provide consent to publication of an interim performance update, the Managing Director may take this into account when determining whether to recommend that the Executive Board approve the completion of a subsequent review of the member’s PCI. b. The Managing Director will not recommend that the Executive Board approve (i) an arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) or the completion of a review under such arrangement, or (ii) a Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) decision point or completion point decision, if the member concerned does not explicitly consent to the publication of its Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP), Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), PRSP preparation status report, PRSP annual progress report (APR), or Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (PRGS) (Document 12). c. The Executive Board’s decision to approve a Short-Term Liquidity Line (SLL) arrangement for a member shall be conditioned on receipt of the member’s consent to publication at the time the member sends a written communication to the Fund confirming that the member wishes to avail itself of the SLL arrangement. The associated staff report and the authorities’ written communication would be expected to be published by the Fund no later than fourteen calendar days after the member’s SLL arrangement becomes effective. 6. Except as provided in paragraphs 13 and 14 of this Decision, a member’s explicit consent shall, for the purposes of this Decision, be communicated to the Fund in writing. Such consent may be communicated by the Executive Director elected or designated by the member. II.B. Member’s Statement Regarding Fund Staff Reports 7. If a Fund staff report (Documents 1, 5, 8, 18, and 22) on a member is to be published under this Decision, the member concerned shall be given the opportunity to provide a statement regarding the staff report and the Executive Board assessment. Such a statement shall be communicated to the Fund and published together with the staff report. II.C. Modifications to Country Documents II.C.1 Deletions 8. a. For purposes of publication, deletions may be made to Country Documents, except for country policy intention documents on poverty reduction strategies (Document 12), in accordance with paragraph 9 of this Decision. 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. For purposes of this Decision, highly-market sensitive material shall mean 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. 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, 8, and 13-14), or to any quantitative targets or structural benchmark (Documents 17-18), or to any quantitative targets or reform targets (Documents 1, 20-22), 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, as amended. b. If the Managing Director determines that the requested deletions satisfy criteria (i) or (ii) in paragraph 8(a), 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. 9. a. Requests for deletions to a Country Document, except for country policy intentions documents on poverty reduction strategies (Documents 12) may be made by the member concerned. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph 9, other members may also request deletions to Documents 1-3, 8, 18, and 22, 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 8 are met. Criterion (ii) in paragraph 9(a) shall not apply to staff reports for Article IV consultation and regional surveillance discussions (Documents 1 and 2). b. Deletions shall be requested in writing. Such requests are expected to be communicated to the Fund no later than two business days before the Executive Board meeting at which the document is discussed (or the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates). In any event, requests for deletions shall normally 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. Requests for deletions made after twenty-eight calendar days from Executive Board consideration will not be considered. c. Once approved by the Managing Director, deletions and related rephrasing shall be circulated to the Executive Board in redlined form. The modified document circulated to the Executive Board shall include the justification for each modification made. II.C.2 Corrections 10. Corrections to Country Documents covered under this Decision shall be limited to the correction of (i) typographical errors, (ii) data and other factual mistakes, (iii) mischaracterization of views expressed by the authorities concerned, and (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. 11. Corrections to a Country Document 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 date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates). In any event, requests for corrections shall normally 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. Requests for corrections made after twenty-eight calendar days from the Executive Board consideration will not be considered. Except for corrections of typographical errors and data and other factual mistakes, corrections made after Executive Board consideration shall be limited to (i) cases where the correction request is brought to the attention of the Executive Board before the conclusion of the Executive Board’s consideration of the document, or (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. Those corrections with significant implications for the substance of the document shall be discussed and justified in a supplementary staff report or in a corrections memorandum issued to the Executive Board. Additions to Authorities’ Views 12. Further to paragraphs 8-11 of this Decision, additions may be made to the authorities’ views in staff reports for Article IV consultations, regional surveillance discussions, and Financial System Stability Assessment Reports, (Documents 1, 3). Such additions shall be allowed with respect to views on main issues and policy recommendations covered in the staff report on which no authorities’ views were included when the report was issued to the Executive Board. Any such additions shall be parsimonious and can only refer to information available to staff and the authorities at the time of the consultation discussions. Additions to the authorities’ views under this paragraph 12 may be requested by the member to whom the document pertains and shall be issued to the Executive Board no later than two business days before the Executive Board meeting at which the document will be discussed (or the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates). II.D. Press Releases in Respect of Use of Fund Resources or the Policy Coordination Instrument 13. a. After the Executive Board (i) adopts a decision regarding a member’s use of Fund resources (including a decision completing a review under a Fund arrangement), (ii) adopts a decision approving a PCI, or conducts a review under a PCI, (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, APR, or PRGS in the context of the use of Fund resources,, a Press Release, which will contain a brief background section and a Chairman’s statement on the discussion, emphasizing the key points made by Executive Directors, will be issued to the public. A Press Release containing a Chairman’s statement on the discussion, emphasizing the key points made by Executive Directors, will also be issued to the public after an SLL arrangement becomes effective. b.Where relevant, the Chairman’s statement will contain a summary of HIPC Initiative decisions pertaining to the member and the Executive Board’s views on the member’s I-PRSP, PRSP, PRSP preparation status report, APR, or PRGS in the context of use of Fund resources. Waivers for nonobservance, or of applicability, of performance criteria, and any other matter as may be decided by the Executive Board from time to time (Document 24), will be mentioned in the Press Release or in a factual statement issued in lieu of a Chairman’s statement as provided for in paragraph 15(b) of this Decision. c. Consent to publication of a Press Release is deemed to be provided by the member concerned on a non-objection basis unless, prior to the conclusion of the relevant Executive Board meeting (or the date of adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis) on the matter to which the Press Release pertains, the member notifies the Fund that it (i) objects to the publication of the Press Release or (ii) requires additional time to decide whether to publish the Press Release. A member can opt out of providing consent to publication of a Press Release on a non-objection basis pursuant to the procedures set forth in paragraph 4(e) of this Decision. If a member opts out, the publication by the Fund of a Press Release pertaining to that member will require the explicit consent of the member. Before a Press Release is issued, it 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 at that time. The Executive Director elected or designated by the member concerned will have the opportunity to review the Press Release and to propose minor revisions if any, immediately after the Executive Board meeting, or, in the case of the SLL, immediately after the SLL arrangement becomes effective. d. Notwithstanding the above, no Press Release published 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 a discussion or decision with respect to a member’s overdue financial obligations, no Chairman’s statement will be published. II.E. Press Releases for Article IV Consultations, Regional Surveillance Discussions, or Stand-alone Executive Board Consideration of Financial System Stability Assessment Reports 14. a. Following the completion of an Article IV consultation for a member, a regional surveillance discussion, or a stand-alone Board consideration of an FSSA report, the Fund may issue a Press Release reporting on the results of the consultation or regional surveillance discussion (Document 1), or stand-alone Board consideration of an FSSA report (Document 3). A Press Release will be in accordance with the following terms: b. The Press Release will be brief and will consist of the following sections: (i) a background section, a draft of which should be attached to the staff report whenever possible, with (a) in the case of an Article IV consultation or a regional surveillance discussion, factual information on the economy of a member and a table of economic indicators, and (b) in the case of a standalone Board consideration of an FSSA report, factual information on the member’s financial system; (ii) the Fund’s assessment of (a) the member’s prospects and policies in the case of an Article IV consultation or a regional surveillance discussion, and (b) the stability of the financial system in the case of a standalone Board consideration of an FSSA report. This section will correspond closely to the Chairman’s summing up of the Executive Board discussion; (iii) any press release published separately from the related staff report shall indicate a member’s publication intentions for the related staff report. c. Consent to publication of a Press Release is deemed to be provided by a member on a non-objection basis unless, prior to the conclusion of the relevant Executive Board meeting (or the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis) on the matter to which the Press Release pertains, the member notifies the Fund that it (i) objects to the publication of the Press Release or (ii) requires additional time to decide whether to publish. A member may opt out of providing consent to publication of a Press Release on a non-objection basis as provided for in paragraph 4(e) of this Decision. If a member opts out, the publication of a Press Release pertaining to that member by the Fund will require the member’s explicit consent. d. Such Press Releases are expected to be published no later than two business days after the Executive Board has considered the relevant document (or the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis on the matter to which the press release pertains). e. If a member has consented to the publication of an Article IV consultation, regional surveillance discussions (Document 1) or a stand-alone Board consideration of the FSSA report (Document 3), the Executive Director for the member concerned may request that the Press Release be published within seven calendar days following the Executive Board’s consideration of the document (or the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the Press Release pertains), to allow time for the finalization of the staff report. f. If a member has consented to the publication of Documents 1 or 3, such publication will be made along with the publication of the related Press Release. Publication of the staff report will require that the member also consents to the publication of the related Press Release. g. The Executive Director for the member concerned will have the opportunity to review the draft Press Release prior to its issuance to propose, with respect to the background section, any necessary corrections, deletions, and related rephrasing. The Executive Director may also propose additions and revisions to the background section of the Press Release beyond the above-mentioned modifications to better reflect the wording used in the related staff report and associated documents submitted for Executive Board consideration, and to include other background information discussed during Board consideration and not included in the above-referenced documents. These additions and revisions should be parsimonious and be notified to the Board prior to the issuance of the Press Release. h. In a case of a combined Board consideration of an Article IV consultation with use of Fund resources a PCI, or the discussion of a PMB, as the case may be, a single Press Release covering these matters will normally be issued immediately after the Board consideration. In any event, a Press Release under this paragraph will not be issued before the circulation of the summing up as a Fund document. i. Issuance of Press Releases shall not affect the summing up process for Article IV consultations, regional surveillance discussions, or FSSA Board discussions. In particular, the Chairman’s summing up will continue to be provided to the Executive Director concerned for review following the Executive Board meeting, and the possibility of issuing Press Releases shall not affect in any way the staff’s reporting to the Executive Board on discussions with members. II.F. Non-publication of Country Documents—Issuance by the Fund of Factual Statements in Lieu 15. A brief factual statement will be issued in the circumstances and within the time frames set forth in paragraph 15. a. With respect to the Executive Board’s consideration of an Article IV consultation, a regional surveillance discussion, or an FSSA report: (i) Factual statement in lieu of Press Releases. If a Press Release pertaining to the Board consideration of a document is not published (a) after two business days from the relevant Board consideration (or the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis) to which the document relates, or (b) after seven calendar days from the relevant Board meeting (or the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates) as provided for in paragraph 14(e) of this Decision, the Fund will issue a brief factual statement stating the fact of the Board’s consideration of the matter and indicating the member’s publication intention with respect to the relevant staff report. (ii) Factual statement in lieu of staff reports. If, after fourteen calendar days from the relevant Board consideration (or the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates) the member that made a request pursuant to paragraph 4 (b)(ii) or (iii) of this Decision regarding its consent, objects to the publication of the staff report, a brief factual statement will be issued immediately stating the fact of the Board’s consideration of the matter and that the member has not consented to the publication of the staff report. If, within fourteen calendar days from the Board consideration (or after the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates), a member has requested more time to decide on publication and subsequently objects to publication, a brief factual statement will be issued after twenty-eight calendar days from the Board consideration (or the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis) indicating the members’ decision not to publish the staff report. (iii) Factual statement in lieu of staff report for members that have opted out of non-objection procedure. If a member has opted out of providing consent to publication of the staff report on a non-objection basis, and, after fourteen calendar days from the relevant Board consideration (or the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates), has not consented to its publication, a brief factual statement will be issued stating that the member has taken no publication decision with respect to the staff report. No factual statement will be issued at such time if there are pending modification requests. In this latter case and, if, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration (or the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates), a member has not communicated to the Fund its decision on publication, a brief factual statement will be issued, stating that the member has taken no publication decision with respect to the staff report. b. With respect to the Executive Board’s consideration of use of Fund resources, a PCI, a brief factual statement shall be issued in accordance with the following provisions: (i) Factual statement in lieu of Press Releases. If a member does not consent to the publication of a Press Release containing a Chairman’s statement (Documents 9 and 23) under paragraph 13 of this Decision 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 10), waivers (Document 24), and consideration of PRSP documents, and PRGSs (Document 12), when relevant), or (b) the approval of a PCI for that member, or the conduct of a review under that member’s PCI. (ii) Factual statement in lieu of staff reports. If, after fourteen calendar days from the relevant Board consideration (or the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates), the member objects to the publication of the staff report, a brief factual statement will be issued immediately stating the fact of the Board’s consideration of the matter and that the member has not consented to the publication of the staff report. If, within fourteen calendar days from the Board consideration (or after the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates), a member has requested more time to decide on publication and subsequently objects to publication, a brief factual statement will be issued immediately after twenty-eight calendar days from the Board consideration indicating the members’ decision not to publish the staff report. (iii) Factual statement in lieu of staff report for members that have opted out of non-objection procedure. If a member has opted out of providing consent to the publication of staff reports on a non-objection basis, and, after fourteen calendar days from the relevant Board consideration (or the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates), has not consented to its publication, a brief factual statement will be issued stating that the member has taken no publication decision with respect to the staff report. No factual statement will be issued at such time if there are pending modification requests. In this latter case and, if, after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration (or the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates), a member has not communicated to the Fund its decision on publication, a brief factual statement will be issued, stating that the member has taken no publication decision with respect to the staff report. (iv) Factual statements in lieu of SLL staff report. With respect to the consent provisions set forth in paragraph 5(c) of this Decision, paragraphs 15(b)(ii) and 15(b)(iii) above shall apply, except that the deadlines will be calculated from the effective date of an SLL arrangement and the brief factual statement will state the fact of the effectiveness of an SLL arrangement for a member and clarifying the authorities’ publication intention with respect to the staff report. c. With respect to the Executive Board’s consideration of a stand-alone post-financing assessment, or an ex-post evaluation, if after twenty-eight calendar days from the relevant Board consideration, a member does 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. d. Factual statement in lieu of staff report. With respect to the Executive Board’s consideration of a staff report not mentioned under paragraph 15(a) to (c) above, a brief factual statement will be issued in accordance with the provisions set forth in paragraphs 15(a)(ii) and 15(a)(iii) above. III. Fund Policy Documents III.A. Authorization 16. After the Executive Board meets on Fund policy issues in a formal Board meeting or informal session, or adopts a decision on a lapse-of-time basis, it shall be presumed that the staff report under consideration (Document 25) and/or a Press Release (Document 27) pertaining to the consideration will be published. This presumption will, inter alia, apply to matters upon which deliberation is ongoing, but it is recognized that the risk of undermining the Fund’s decision-making process may constitute a reason not to publish immediately in such cases. The presumption will 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) and other documents on the Indicative List of Documents Covered by the Decision and Not Presumed to be Published (Appendix I to this Decision). Publication of a policy paper or Press Release will require a decision of the Executive Board. Staff is expected to set out a recommendation on publication of a Board policy paper and/or its related Press Release in the Secretary’s cover memorandum of the relevant document and, where publication is not recommended, to explain why. Except as specified in paragraph 18 of this Decision, 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 documents relate. Whenever publication is proposed of a paper or Press Release prepared for an informal Executive 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. III.B. Press Releases on Fund Policy Issues 17. A Press Release pertaining to 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. In a case where a 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. III.C. Corrections, Deletions and Related Rephrasing with Respect to Fund Policy Staff Reports 18. 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). However, following Board consideration, staff’s proposals in the report shall not be modified prior to its publication. In cases where confusion might arise from differences between staff’s proposals in the report and the Executive Board’s conclusions regarding those proposals as reflected in the Press Release pertaining to the Executive Board consideration, it would be clearly indicated in the published version of the report which staff proposals the Executive Board did not endorse. IV. Multi-Country Documents IV.A. Coverage 19. 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 are documents that include analysis of issues affecting a group of countries where each individual country analysis is integrated into the broader analysis. 20. Multi-Country Documents pertain to both individual documents and material sections within individual documents. Material sections shall mean whole chapters or appendices. A single Multi Country Document may comprise (i) a Multilateral Policy Issues Document, (ii) a Country Background Pages, (iii) a Cluster Document, or (iv) some combination of the above. 21. For Multi-Country Documents, the Secretary’s cover memorandum will indicate the publication rules governing the document. IV.B. Multilateral Policy Issues Documents The provisions applicable to the publication of Fund policy staff reports and Press Releases pertaining thereto set forth in paragraphs 16-17 of this Decision shall apply to Multilateral Policy Issues Documents and Press Releases for Multilateral Policy Issues Documents. Paragraph 18 of this Decision regarding modification rules for Fund policy staff reports shall apply to all Multilateral Policy Issues Documents, except for the World Economic Outlook (WEO), the Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), and the Fiscal Monitor (FM). In accordance with established practice, staff may modify the WEO, GFSR, and FM prior to publication in order to, inter alia, take into account views expressed at the relevant Executive Board meeting. IV.C. Country Background Pages 23. For the purpose of publishing Country Background Pages, the following provisions shall apply: a. The consent of the 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. b. Fund publication of a Country Background Pages or material sections within such a 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 the document relates), a member concerned notifies the Fund that it has opted out of providing consent to publication on a non-objection basis or that it (i) objects to publication, (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 such a notification, the document or section 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. c. In a case where 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(s), or (ii) recommend to the Executive Board not to publish the Country Background Pages and/or, 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. 24. For the purpose of deletions and corrections, the 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 8-11 of this Decision. IV.D. Cluster Documents 25. The consent of each member to which a Cluster Document pertains (the “members concerned”) is required for publication of the report and a Press Release pertaining to the report. In a case where one or more members concerned object to publication, the document will not be published. If the members concerned have consented to the publication of the report, such publication will be made along with the publication of a Press Release. 26. The publication of a Cluster Document would occur promptly after the relevant Executive Board meeting (or the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis), 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), one or more members concerned notify the Fund regarding their consent to publication as provided for in paragraph 4(b) to (e) of this Decision. In such case, the publication of the Cluster Document will follow the procedure set forth in these provisions. 27. For the purpose of deletions and corrections, each member concerned has the right to request deletions or corrections to Cluster Documents in accordance with the criteria and procedures applicable to Country Documents as set forth in paragraphs 8-11 of this Decision and to Press Releases pursuant to the procedures set in paragraph 14(g) of this Decision, subject to the considerations set forth in paragraph 32(c) of this Decision. 28. a. A Press Release pertaining to a Cluster Document is expected to be published no later than two business days after the Executive Board has considered the document (or after the adoption of a decision on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates), if the members concerned consent to publication of the Press Release. For the purpose of providing a member’s consent to the publication of a Press Release pertaining to a Cluster Document, procedures set forth in paragraph 14(c) of this Decision apply. If the members concerned have consented to the publication of a Cluster Document, the Executive Director(s) for one or more members concerned may request that the Press Release be published within seven calendar days after the Executive Board’s consideration of the document (or after the date of the adoption of a decision on a lapse of-time basis to which the document relates), to allow time for the finalization of the Cluster Document. Any Press Release published ahead of a Cluster Document will indicate the members’ publication intentions for such document. 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. The Fund will issue a brief factual statement stating the fact of the Board’s consideration of the Cluster Report and clarifying the publication intention of the members concerned with respect to that report, in the circumstances and within the time periods specified in paragraph 15(a) of this Decision. V. Other Matters V.A. Administrative Errors 29. a. The rectification of administrative errors in Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents, or Multi-Country Documents shall be limited to the following cases: (i) the document issued to the Executive Board does not correspond to the version approved by management, or (ii) key elements necessary for 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 are missing or incomplete. b. The rectification of administrative errors shall be made before the Executive Board’s consideration of the document or the deadline to request a Board meeting for a decision proposed on a lapse-of-time basis to which the document relates. The administrative error should be rectified at least two business days before the Executive Board’s consideration of the corrected document or the deadline to request a Board meeting for a decision proposed on a lapse-of-time basis to which the corrected document relates. V.B. Other Changes to Documents 30. a. 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 of the Articles of Agreement 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, and (iv) confidential information provided by a member or a third party. Removal of confidential information requires approval by the Managing Director. b. For Country Documents that include debt sustainability assessments (DSA) under the debt sustainability framework for market access countries, the following items shall be removed before publication, if included in the DSA issued to the Executive Board: (i) the results of the near-term sovereign risk assessment, (ii) the mechanical signal for debt sustainability, (iii) any mention of whether debt is sustainable “with high probability” or sustainable “but not with high probability,” for Article IV consultations or for Fund arrangements where this qualification is not required for use of Fund resources under such arrangements, and (iv) the near-term risk analysis table, chart, and commentary. V.C. Post-Publication Modifications 31. As a general principle, after publication, Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents and Multi-Country Documents shall not be modified except in the following exceptional circumstances: (i) the published document does not correspond to the version that was considered by the Executive Board in material ways or does not contain elements considered integral to the publication, or (ii) the published document, or part thereof, poses significant legal, reputational, or operational risks for the Fund. V.D. Dispute Resolution2 32. a. Procedures for resolving disputes arising from modification requests are set forth below: In the case of a serious disagreement between the Managing Director and a member regarding that member’s request for modification pursuant to paragraphs 8 through 12, 13(c), 14(g), .and 30(a)(iv) of this Decision, the Managing Director, or the Executive Director elected or designated by that member, may refer the matter to the Executive Board. b. In the case of staff reports for Article IV consultations and regional surveillance discussions (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 assessment of the Managing Director, the Managing Director, or the Executive Director elected or designated by that member, may refer the matter to the Executive Board. c. In the case of a serious disagreement amongst the members concerned regarding requests for deletions to a Cluster Document, the Managing Director shall propose a solution to the members concerned. If a commonly acceptable solution cannot be found, then the Managing Director, or Executive Directors elected or designated by the members concerned, may refer the matter to the Executive Board. d. If the Managing Director is of the view that the requested deletions would result in a document that, if published, 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. V.E. Timing and Means of Fund Publication 33. Documents may be published under this Decision only after their consideration by the Executive Board, except for documents that are circulated for information only including (i) I-PRSPs, PRSPs, and PRGSs; and (ii) Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs) and Assessment of Financial Sector Supervision and Regulation (AFSSR) Reports, which may be published immediately after circulation to the Executive Board. 34. Publication by the Fund under this Decision shall normally mean publication on its website but may include publication through other media. V.F. Article XII, Section 8 35. Nothing in this Decision shall be construed to be inconsistent with the power of the Fund to decide under Article XII, Section 8 of the Articles of Agreement, by a 70 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. V.G. Non-Members 36. In the case of 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 or designated by that member” shall be taken to refer to the appropriate authorities of the country concerned. V.H. Documents Prepared by Other Institutions 37. Documents prepared by other institutions and required for Executive Board consideration will be published together with the related staff report in the version considered by the Executive Board, provided the related staff report is published, there is no objection to publication from the institution that produced the documents, and the Executive Board has not decided against publication of the specific category of documents. These documents do not require the member’s consent to publication and are not subject to the modification rules set forth in this Decision. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Decision, such documents may not be modified after Executive Board consideration. V.I. Review 38. This Decision is expected to be reviewed in light of experience in five years or more, as needed. Appendix I. Documents Covered by the Decision The Transparency Policy covers Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents and Multi-Country Documents. When a document is covered by the policy both the publication and modification rules of the policy apply, unless otherwise specified in the decision. This appendix provides the updated indicative list of documents covered by the Transparency Policy. The appendix also provides an indicative sub-list of Board documents covered by the policy that deal with the administrative matters of the Fund and, under the policy, are not presumed to be published (the “negative” list). While the presumption of publication does not apply to such documents, they can however be published on a case-by-case basis on approval by the Executive Board. The lists presented here are indicative and are not intended to be exhaustive. Country Documents, Fund Policy Documents, and Multi-Country Documents that may be created in between reviews of the Transparency Policy will be subject to the Transparency Policy Decision, unless the Executive Board decides otherwise on a case-by-case basis. Indicative List of Documents Covered by the Decision I. Country Documents A. Surveillance and Combined Documents 1.Staff Reports for Article IV consultations, Combined Article IV consultations/Use of Fund Resources, Combined Article IV consultations/PCI, Combined Article IV consultations/SMP, Combined Article IV consultations/PMB, and regional surveillance discussions 2.Selected Issues Papers 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 5.Stand-alone Debt Sustainability Analysis reports3 6.Documents prepared for informal Board briefings for countries with excessively delayed Article IV consultations or mandatory financial stability assessments B. Use of Fund Resources Documents 7.Joint Fund/World Bank Staff Advisory Notes (JSANs) on Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (I-PRSPs), Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), PRSP Preparation Status Reports, RSP Annual Progress Reports (APRs), and Poverty Reduction Growth Strategy Papers (PRGS) 8.Staff Reports for Use of Fund Resources, Post-Financing Assessments, Ex-Post Peer-Reviewed Assessments (PRAs), and Ex-Post Evaluations of exceptional access arrangements (excluding staff reports dealing solely with a member’s overdue financial obligations to the Fund) 9.Press Releases containing a Chairman’s Statement for Use of Fund Resources 10.Preliminary, decision point, and completion point documents under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative 11.Press Releases following Executive Board discussions on Post-Financing Assessment, PRAs or Ex-Post Evaluations of exceptional access arrangements (excluding staff reports dealing solely with a member’s overdue financial obligations to the Fund) 12.I-PRSPs, PRSPs, PRSP Preparation Status Reports and APRs and PRGSs. 13.Letters of Intent (LOIs), Written Communications from authorities, and Memoranda of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFPs) 14.Technical Memoranda of Understanding (TMUs) 15.Staff Notes on preliminary evaluation of high and/or exceptional access 16.Overdue Financial Obligations Documents C. Staff Monitored Program (SMP) and Program Monitoring with Board Involvement (PMBs) Documents 17.LOIs/MEFPs for SMPs and Program Monitoring with Board Involvement (PMBs) 18.Stand-alone Staff Reports on SMPs and PMBs 19.Press Releases following Executive Board discussions on PMBs D. Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI) Documents 20.Program Statements for PCIs 21.Technical Memoranda of Understanding (TMUs) 22.Staff Reports for PCIs 23.Press Releases containing a Chairman’s Statement for PCIs E. Statements on Fund Decisions 24. 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 II. Fund Policy Documents 25.Fund Policy Issues Papers 26.Background papers to Fund Policy Papers 27.Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of policy issues 28.Internal Fund Administrative Documents 29.Stand-alone Enterprise Risk Assessments (ERA) III. Multi-Country Documents 30.Multilateral Policy Issues Documents such as the World Economic Outlook, the Global Financial Stability Report, the Fiscal Monitor4 31.Other Multilateral Policy Issues Documents such as External Sector Reports and Spillover Reports 32.Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Multilateral Policy Issues 33.Country Background Pages 34.Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Country Background Pages 35.Cluster Documents 36.Press Releases following Executive Board consideration of Cluster Documents Indicative List of Documents Covered by the Decision and Not Presumed to be Published (“Negative List”) 1.Internal Fund Administrative Documents 2.Documents prepared for informal Board briefings for countries with excessively delayed Article IV consultations or mandatory financial stability assessments 3.Staff Notes on preliminary evaluation of high and/or exceptional access 4.Overdue Financial Obligations Documents 5.Stand-alone Enterprise Risk Assessments (ERA) Decision No. 15420-(13/61), June 24, 2013, as amended by Decision No.15805-(15/62, June 22, 2015, 16231-(17/62), July 14, 2017, 16519-(19/42), May 24, 2019, and Decision D in 16747-(20/43), April 15, 2020 17231-(22/37), April 13, 2022, 17291-(22/62), June 29, 2022, and 17848-(24/107), November 15, 2024 1 Ed. Note: The text of this decision, as amended as Decision No. 17848-(24/107), is found as Attachment I of SM/24/257, Sup. 1, 11/08/2024. 2 Ed. Note: [A]ny dispute resolution on modifications to documents covered by the Transparency Policy will continue to be guided by the procedures under Decision 15420-(13/61) in effect at the time of the adoption of this decision and the new procedures set forth in paragraph 32 shall become effective on May 15, 2025. (SM/24/257, Sup. 1, 11/08/24) 3 The sharing of a stand-alone DSA with the Executive Board can also be done in a UFR context. 4 Under the Decision, these documents are not subject to the policy’s standard modification rules. | ||||
| ||||
