1. Principle of publicity vs. Arcana Empire
From classical philosophy, the distinction between the publicity of the acts of government and the so-called arcana imperii, according to the apt expression of Tacitus, already appears. Plato had the sad honor of initiating the defense of the secrets of power, and of the need for 'noble lies': "The truth deserves to be esteemed above all things [...] But the lie is something that, although it is of no use to the gods, it can be useful to men as a medicine, it is clear that such a drug must be reserved for doctors without private individuals being able to touch it [. . .] If there is anyone who is lawful to be untrue, it will be the rulers of the city, who can lie about their enemies or fellow citizens for the benefit of the community without anyone else being authorized to do so. And if an individual deceives the rulers, we will consider it a fault [. . .] so that if the ruler catches someone else lying in the city [. . .] will be punished for introducing such a pernicious and subversive practice in the city."
Keywords:
Principle of publicity, Constitutional reform, Acts of government
Vega Méndez, F. (2016). The principle of publicity after the constitutional reform of 2005. Revista De Derecho Público, (69), Págs. 174–185. https://doi.org/10.5354/rdpu.v0i69.40201
