Interpretation

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, “applicant” means a person who has made a request; “Department” means a Department of the Government of Belize; “document” includes public contracts, grants or leases of land, or any written or printed matter, any map, plan or photograph, and any article or thing that has been so treated in relation to any sounds or visual images that those sounds or visual images are capable, with or without the aid of some other device, of being reproduced from the article or thing, and includes a copy of any such matter, map, plan, photograph, article or thing, but does not include library material maintained for reference purposes; “enactment” means an Act or an instrument (including rules, regulations or by-laws) made under an Act; 7 “exempt document” means a document which, by virtue of a provision of Part IV, is an exempt document; “exempt matter” means matter the inclusion of which in a document causes the document to be an exempt document; “Minister” or “Minister administering this Act” means the Minister who has been assigned responsibility under the Constitution, Cap. 4 for information; “Ministry” means a Ministry of the Government and includes a Minister, Minister of State and officers and servants of that Ministry; “Ombudsman” means the Ombudsman established under the Ombudsman Act, Cap. 4; “prescribed authority” means, (a) a local authority (a city council, town council or a village council); (b) a public statutory corporation or body; or (c) a body corporate or an unincorporated body, established for a public Purpose, which may be prescribed by the Minister by Order published in the Gazette; “principal officer” means, (a) in relation to a Ministry, the Permanent Secretary of that Ministry; (b) in relation to a Department, the Head of that Department; and 8 (c) in relation to a prescribed authority, the chief executive officer, general manager or other similar officer of that authority; “regulations” means regulations made under this Act; “record” shall have the same meaning as assigned to the term (a) in relation to a Ministry - the Minister who has been assigned responsibility under the Constitution, Cap. 4 for that Ministry; or (b) in relation to a prescribed authority - the Minister who has been assigned responsibility under the Constitution, Cap. 4 for the subject-matter of that authority. (2) References in this Act to a Ministry shall include a reference to a Department of Government.