Most commercial contracts contain provisions by which the parties agree to protect the confidentiality of the contract terms as well as each other's commercially sensitive information (such as pricing and intellectual property) received in connection with the contract. When one of the parties is a public sector entity the interest of the parties in keeping certain information confidential needs to be weighed against the necessity for transparency and disclosure. While both private and public sector parties may want to keep certain information confidential the promotion of transparency and disclosure has increasingly been acknowledged by international50 and national law and become a key consideration for governments, non-governmental organizations and international organizations in their activities. The underlying objectives can be multiple, including reducing the level of corruption (as well as complaints of corruption, secrecy or unfairness in procurement processes), reassuring the general public in regard to probity, service standards and costs of public contracts, encouraging competition and facilitating a better informed market.
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50 The right to freedom of information is e.g. enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as interpreted in paras 18 - 19 of the General Comment no. 34 of the Human Rights Committee, CCPR/C/GC/34 of Sept. 12, 2011.