Abstract
The article discusses deputies’ information-related rights and obligations. It also analyses administrative courts’ judgments in cases concerning access to public information, in which deputies were requesters or addressees of requests. Administrative courts admit the possibility of exercising the right of access to public information by deputies, but without invoking the performance of the mandate. At the same time, deputies are not classified as entities obliged to provide public information. The article presents two theses. Firstly, deputies may exercise their right of access to public information, revealing their special status. Secondly, deputies are entities obliged to provide public information, because they exercise public authority, perform public tasks and manage public property. The theses are justified by the linguistic and functional interpretation of constitutional provisions, as well as the Act on Access to Public Information and the Act on the Performance of the Mandate of the Deputy and the Senator. The paper uses the method of dogmatic and legal analysis and the analysis of Polish administrative courts’ case law, and it presents de lege lata comments and de lege ferenda proposals.