Abstract
The subject-matter of the paper concerns the minimum formal requirements for a request for
releasing public information in terms of the need for the applicant to provide data necessary
to identify it. Pursuant to Article 2(1) of the Polish Public Information Access Act, “everyone”
is granted the right to access public information. The aim of this paper is to provide an answer
to the question whether, in view of such statutory regulation, there are grounds to require
applicants to provide additional information that identifies them or whether a request that
does not contain any data in this respect, i.e. an anonymous request, can constitute a sufficient
basis for releasing public information. With a hypothesis that an anonymous request is, in
principle, the basis for releasing public information, the paper addresses the question whether
such request can remain anonymous throughout the public information release process. The
analysis conducted confirmed the hypothesis adopted as to the admissibility of the anonymous
request and, at the same time, permitted formulating an opinion that this principle may be
restricted in exceptional instances in the event of releasing processed information. Furthermore,
the identification of the applicant will also be relevant if there are grounds for discontinuing the
proceedings or refusing to release the information in whole or in part and if it is necessary as
a result to issue an administrative decision where identifying the addressee is an indispensable
element.