What’s New

  • 15 December 2002

    Freedom of Information Law Approved in India

    The Freedom of Information Bill 2002 By Prashant Bhushan National Campaign Committee for the People’s Right to Information Text of India’s Freedom of Information law (as passed by Lok Sabha): Word – PDF More than 5 years ago, the Shourie committee set up by the government had recommended the enactment of a legislation to effectuate […]

  • 11 October 2002

    Open Democracy Advice Centre Exposes Government for Failing to Implement 2-Year-Old Transparency Law

    At its Second Annual Open Democracy Review in Cape Town, ODAC reported that the majority of public servants have not heard of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2000, which came into operation in March of 2001. “We found that 54% of the public bodies we contacted were unaware of the Act, 16% were […]

  • 30 September 2002

    Secrecy and Openness in the European Union The Ongoing Struggle for Freedom of Information By Tony Bunyan, Statewatch

    Acknowledgements I would like to thank everyone in the Statewatch office (Trevor, Ben, Yasha, Katrin and Eleanor) without whom I would not have had the time to take out the cases to the European Ombudsman let alone complete this project; Steve Peers (for hours of exchanging views and experiences), Deirdre Curtin (for the stimulating sharing […]

  • 8 August 2002

    PERU: New freedom of information law approved

    On August 2, 2002 Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo formally promulgated the Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information, which was then published on August 3, 2002 in the official government daily El Peruano. Only minor changes had been made to the second draft of the law, which had been approved by the Peruvian Congress […]

  • 27 July 2002

    Japan – Breaking Down the Walls of Secrecy: The Story of the Citizen’s Movement for an Information Disclosure Law

    By Information Clearinghouse Japan A new national disclosure law took effect in Japan in April 2001. This essay by Information Clearinghouse Japan shows how citizen’s groups, opposition parties and freedom of information advocates had lobbied for such an act for 20 years. While local governments had passed access laws since the 1980s, efforts to enact similar […]

  • 17 July 2002

    REPORT: A Landmark Law Opens Up Post-Apartheid South Africa

    By Mukelani Dimba, Training Consultant, Open Democracy Advice Centre UPDATE – Media Release, 11 OCTOBER 2002 The Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC) today released the results of a study that exposes the government for failing to implement a crucial Transparency Law passed over two years ago. A Landmark Law Opens Up Post-Apartheid South Africa Throughout […]

  • 15 July 2002

    World’s Right to Know

    By Thomas Blanton Published in Foreign Policy, July/August 2002 During the last decade, 26 countries have enacted new legislation giving their citizens access to government information. Why? Because the concept of freedom of information is evolving from a moral indictment of secrecy to a tool for market regulation, more efficient government, and economic and technological […]

  • 9 July 2002

    REPORT: In Mexico, a New Law Guarantees the Right to Know

    By Kate Doyle <kadoyle@gwu.edu>, Senior Analyst and director of the Mexico Project, National Security Archive Mexico is a country where a powerful executive branch has historically overshadowed a weak Congress, a dysfunctional judicial system and a malleable press. Its citizens are unaccustomed to demanding – and receiving – their rights. For the longest time, the […]

  • 5 July 2002

    ANALYSIS: Japanese Government Information: New Rules for Access – the 2001 Information Disclosure Law, and a Comparison with the U.S. FOIA

    By Lawrence Repeta and David M. Schultz Click here to view the Information Disclosure Matrix: A Comparison of Information Disclosure in Japan and the United States INTRODUCTION After more than 20 years of lobbying by Japanese citizen’s groups, opposition political parties and others, Japan’s national Information Disclosure Law came into effect on April 1, 2001 […]

  • 29 June 2002

    JAMAICA: New Disclosure Law Passes

    While the regulations still have to be drafted and approved, and the Civil Service still needs to be adequately trained, the Jamaican Senate yesterday passed the Access to Information Bill. According to a news report in the Jamaican Observer, the passage of the information bill by the Senate concludes a 10-year process to provide the […]

  • 29 May 2002

    JAPAN: Official Compiles Data on Information-Seekers

    The Japan Times reports that a Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) officer compiled personal data on individuals requesting disclosure of Defense Agency information and passed it along to other agency officials. According to the Defense Agency, the MSDF officer compiled personal data on 142 individuals who requested agency-related information between April 2001, when the information disclosure […]