News
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10 March 2014
Philippines Senate Passes FOI Bill Without Dissent
The Philippines Senate on March passed a freedom of information bill on third and final reading. All senators present voted in favor of the measure, according to a report by the Philippines Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and one in The Inquirer. “While the Senate breezed through the FOI, the House version continues to meander […]
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10 March 2014
Crowdfunding FOI Requests Gains in Use, Seems to Work
By Toby McIntosh The use of crowdfunding to raise money for freedom of information requests is occurring at modest levels in the Australia, Canada, Germany and the United States, according to reports gathered by FreedomInfo.org. The number of instances may be too few to be called a trend, but too intriguing to be ignored. And […]
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10 March 2014
FOI Notes: India, US, Nepal, OGP, Research, UK, Fellowship
India: The Ministry of Personnel and Training has issued a Volume 1 of a “Compendium of Best Practices on RTI.” including The chapter titles are: SARATHI (System of Assisting Residents And Tourists through Helpline Information), RTI Library, Transparency Desk, RTI Online, Central Monitoring Mechanism, Pro-Active Disclosure, Jaankari, MCA21, Information Kiosks, Chakravyuh, Digitization and RTI Foundation […]
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7 March 2014
Colombia President Signs Information Access Law
President Juan Manuel Santos March 6 signed a new access to information law in Colombia saying it will help fight corruption. It will come into effect in six months for national government agencies and in a year for local governments. The law in May of 2013 was approved by the constitutional court with a few […]
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7 March 2014
US Advisory Body Meets on FOIA Dispute Resolution
A government advisory body in the United States is considering preliminary suggestions to improve dispute resolution for freedom of information requests. A committee of the Administrative Conference of the United States met on the topic March 6, and will continue deliberating on the recommendations, derived from a lengthy research paper on FOIA disputes. A main focus is the […]
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7 March 2014
EU Ombudsman Says ECB Being Too Secretive
European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has chastised the Governing Council of the European Central Bank for blocking disclosure of an ECB letter called on the Irish government to take swift action to protect the stability of the Irish financial system. “I regret that the Governing Council of the ECB has wasted an opportunity to apply the […]
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7 March 2014
Two Pakistani States Implementing New Laws
Two Pakistani states have taken somewhat delayed steps to implement recently passed right to information laws. The Punjab government has established the Punjab Information Commission and appointed the commissioners. One of them is Mukhtar Ahmed Ali. He is the founding director of a group that advocated for the new law, the Centre for Peace and […]
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6 March 2014
Bahrain Sets Penalties for Leaking Information
The Bahrian Shura Council has approved a government-drafted bill to penalize leaks of government information. The categories are top secret, secret and limited/classified” according to a Gulf Daily article. Under the amended law, government officials who leak “top secret” information could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to BD5,000 ($13,263). Officials […]
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6 March 2014
Slovenian Assembly Expands Reach of Access Law
The Slovenian National Assembly March 6 unanimously voted to extend freedom of information disclosure requirements to state- and municipality-owned firms, according to Slovenian Press Agency report. An amendment to make public all non-performing loans at state banks was defeated. Senior executives of state-owned companies lobbied strongly against the proposed changes to the Access to Public […]
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4 March 2014
Philippines Senate Nears Passage of FOI Bill
The Philippines Senate March 3 approved on second reading a freedom of information bill, after making some amendments. The FOI bill (Senate Bill 1733) is expected to pass on third and final reading on March 10. Senate passage has occurred regularly in recent years, but passage in the House has been the hang-up. Once again, the […]
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4 March 2014
Turkish Groups RTI Experiences, Make Plans
A focus group meeting on right to information was held Jan. 14 in Ankara, Turkey, and civil society participants summarized their goals in a report. The session was organized jointly by TACSO Turkey and STGM and brought together 16 CSO participants. The purpose of the meeting was to share their opinions and experience in relation […]
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4 March 2014
Bermuda Premier Plans Hunt for First Info Commissioner
Bermuda Premier Craig Cannonier has told parliament that the recruitment process for an information commissioner to oversee the 2010 freedom of information law will start this spring. He said further legislation on public access to information — to set fees, establish the organization and deal with maintenance of public records — would be introduced in […]
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4 March 2014
FOI Notes: Research, Oscars, OGP, Open Data, RTI Video
Research: The Governance Lab (The GovLab) at New York University announced the formation of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Opening Governance, which will seek to develop blueprints for more effective and legitimate democratic institutions to help improve people’s lives. It is made possible by a three-year grant of $5 million from the John D. […]
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28 February 2014
Mexican Senate Declines to Reappoint Commissioners
The Mexican Senate has rejected the requests of the four current commissioners of the Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI) to stay in office. The four commissioners — Sigrid Arzt, Maria Elena Perez-Jaen, Angel Trinidad Zaldivar and Gerardo Laveaga (the chairman) – will likely be gone by the first week in […]
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28 February 2014
UN Body Includes Access to Information on Agenda
The United Nations Open Working Group on Sustainable Development has included “improved public access to information” among many topics addressed in a “focus areas” document announced Feb. 21. The relevant focus area, among 19, states: Focus area 19. Peaceful and non-violent societies, capable institutions Creating peaceful, non-violent and inclusive societies, based on respect for all […]
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28 February 2014
Study Rates Chinese Government Websites
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on Feb. 24 issued a report evaluating government agencies on information transparency. The National Railway Administration ranked last, according to the blue book report, with a score of zero out of 100, according to a Global Times article. Number on in the index was the Ministry of Education, […]
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28 February 2014
US House Approves Bill to Improve FOIA Operations
The US House Feb. 25 voted 410-0 to pass a bill (H.R. 1211) intended to improve the operation of the Freedom of Information Act. No similar bill exists in the Senate, but the Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to hold a hearing on FOIA on March 11. FOIA advocates are hoping that a Senate bill […]
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28 February 2014
FOI Notes: World Bank, Honesty Oscars, Contracting, Big Data
IFTI Watch: The Bank Information Center has updated its how-to guide called “Unlocking the World Bank’s Access to Information Policy.” The principal author of the “toolkit” is Veronique Danforth. Honesty Oscars: The Accountability Lab and ONE is conducting voting for the Honesty Oscars 2014 Feb. 24-28 “to honor groundbreaking people and creative that make our […]
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21 February 2014
House Group Starts Working on Philippines FOI Bill
Slow progress has been made by a Philippines House Committee to write a freedom of information bill. The Technical Working Group appointed last year began substantive talks on the bill for the first time Feb. 18, several days after a self-imposed Feb. 14 deadline for completing the job. After getting through the first six sections, the […]
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21 February 2014
EU Court Rules for ECB, Against Bloomberg News
The European Union Court of Justice in a Feb. 6 decision rejected an appeal of a lower court decision saying the European Central Bank does not need to disclose its reports on how Greece used derivatives to hide its debt. The suit was brought in December 2010 by Bloomberg News. “European taxpayers, bearing the cost of […]