Posts Tagged ‘rti litigation’
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18 May 2012
U.S. Judge Declines to Release Bay of Pigs History
More than year after the National Security Archive sued the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to declassify the full “Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation,” a U.S. District Court judge May10 sided with the Agency’s efforts to keep the last…
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27 April 2012
Indian State Commission Pulls Bank Under RTI Law
An Indian State Information Commission April 24 ruled that the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited is a public authority under the 2009 Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act.
The bank was created by legislative act, is majority-owned by the… -
23 April 2012
FOI Amendments in Poland Illegally Passed, Court Says
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal April 18 has annulled amendments to the freedom of information law passed in 2011.
The court ruled that the rules of the legislation process under which the changes were approved violated the Polish Constitution.
Polish transparency activists had… -
13 April 2012
Is Europe’s Top Court Finally Embracing Right to Know?
By Darian Pavli
Pavil is Senior Attorney, Open Society Justice Initiative
On April 3, the top body of the European Court of Human Rights upheld the right of two social science researchers to access research data held by a public… -
13 March 2012
U.S. Judge Orders Release of FTAA Trade Talks Document
A U.S. district court judge has ordered the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to release a “classified” one-page document concerning a U.S. position on an issue in the failed negotiations aimed at creating a Free Trade Area of the…
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28 February 2012
United States Court Rules Mug Shots Protected
By Harry Hammit
Hammit is publisher of Access Reports, a bi-monthly report on U.S. and Canadian freedom of information legal developments.
After the Supreme Court put most personal information off limits in its 1989 Reporters Committee decision, appellate courts in… -
23 February 2012
Indian Health Foundation Told to Comply With RTI
India’s Central Information Commission has ruled that the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) had falls under the Right to Information Act, using the decision to underscore its position that other public-private partnerships are also covered, a contentious issue.
Commissioner… -
17 February 2012
Indian CIC Orders Agency to Post More on Website
The Indian Central Information Commission has told the Ministry of Environment & Forests to put more information on its website.
The Jan. 18 decision by Commissioner Sailesh Gandhi resulted from a complaint brought by Shibani Ghosh of The Access Initiative… -
10 February 2012
Bangladesh Court Upholds Penalty for Impeding Access
The High Court of Bangladesh on Feb. 8 upheld an Information Commission fine for a government official who refused to provide information under the 2009 Right to Information Act.
The court rejecting a petition filed by a government official challenging… -
6 February 2012
Indonesia Groups Appeal Denial of Water Agreement
A group of Indonesian NGOs led by the People’s Coalition on the Right to Water (KRuHA) is appealing to the National Information Commission the government’s refusal to provide details about the privatization of the water utility in Jakarta.
The groups… -
10 August 2011
Indian Supreme Court Orders Disclosure of Reviewed Tests
The Indian Supreme Court Aug. 8 said students had the right to access their evaluated answer sheets under the Right to Information Act.
In its decision, the court upheld a 2009 Calcutta high court that the materials are not exempt… -
22 July 2011
Alliance Backs Case on Transparency in Ecuador
The Regional Alliance for Freedom of Expression and Information (Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e Información) has submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica that seeks to establish standards for dissemination…
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8 July 2011
Indian CIC Criticizes Exemption for CBI
The Indian Central Information Commission has crossed swords with the government over its exemption of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the Right to Information Act as the matter heads toward a likely conclusion in the courts.
The Cabinet… -
27 June 2011
EU Parliament Bows to Court Ruling on Access to Report
The European Parliament June 22 decided to surrender a report on the abuse of payments made to members of parliament.
The so-called Galvin report was the subject of a court case recently decided in favor of the Irish lawyer who… -
23 March 2011
Court Clears Way for Disclosures About U.S. Bailout
The U.S. Supreme Court March 21 decided not to overturn two related federal appeals court rulings requiring the Federal Reserve to disclose details about financial aid to banks and other institutions during the 2008 financial crisis.
Bloomberg and Fox News… -
23 March 2011
EU Court Supports Disclosing Names of Countries
The Council of the European Union was not justified in refusing to disclose the identities of countries taking positions on reform of the European Union’s access to information rules, the General Court of the EU has decided.
The Court found that… -
23 September 2010
Campaigns for FOI Laws Under Way World-Wide
Active efforts to pass new or amended freedom of information laws are ongoing in more than a dozen countries, according to a FreedomInfo.org tally.
The number suggests the continuation of the trend toward more national FOI laws, but the landscape… -
12 July 2010
Nigerian Legislator Discounts FOI Bill’s Chances
The long-running effort to pass a Freedom of Information law in Nigeria continues to face serious challenges, according to recent media reports.
Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, the new chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Information and National Orientation, told… -
25 August 2009
US Torture Files and Access to Human Rights Information
By Jesse Franzblau and Emilene Martinez-Morales
Washington, DC — The US government’s August 24, 2009, release of a controversial CIA 2004 Inspector General report on torture brings new attention to the issue of how information on human rights abuses is… -
14 April 2009
European Court of Human Rights: Right to Information Essential to Free Expression
Társaság a Szabadságjogokért v. Hungary a Landmark Decision in the Right to Know
Strasbourg, France — In a landmark decision today, the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe found in favor of Társaság a Szabadságjogokért, the Hungarian Civil…