What’s New
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22 July 2013
How Does Government Secrecy Change?
By Steven Aftergood Aftergood is Director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. This article first appeared on the FAS blog, Secrecy News, on July 22. Sometimes it seems that the national security classification system is static, monolithic and hopelessly inert. But in fact it is relentlessly in motion, with […]
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22 July 2013
RTI Environment in Nepal Shows Positive Signs
By Anurudra Neupane The author is Program Manager at Freedom Forum. The interim constitution of Nepal has recognized Right to Information (RTI) as one of the fundamental rights of people. RTI Act 2007 and Rule 2009 help citizen exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to know. Though the posts of information commissioners are currently vacant, we […]
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19 July 2013
Indonesian Minister Denies Access to Concession Maps
Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya has determined that “concession maps” showing where companies have logging and agricultural rights are not publicly disclosable. Environmental activists say the maps can help determine who should be accountable for forest fires that recently have caused major haze problems. Questions are being raised not only about whether Kambuaya’s interpretation is […]
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19 July 2013
UK Ministry Releases Code on Handling Datasets
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice July 16 published Code of Practice (Datasets) to implement the new dataset provisions in the Freedom of Information Act. The code quickly drew criticism from the open data community. UK public authorities are required to provide datasets in a re-usable format and with a licence for re-use, where reasonably […]
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19 July 2013
Indonesian FoI Commission Needs Strengthening
By Mohamad Mova Al’Afghani The writer is a member of the Indonesian FoI Network. He has a PhD in law from the University of Dundee, UK. This article originally appeared in the Jakarta Post. The House of Representatives has elected seven members to the National Freedom of Information (FoI) Commission who will serve for the […]
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19 July 2013
RTI in Nepal – A civil society perspective
By Pranav Bhattarai Pranav Bhattarai is the Chief Operating Officer of the Good Governance (GoGo) Foundation, Nepal Right to Information (RTI) is one of the eight basic consumer rights as per the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection. This is also an integral part of our Consumer Protection Act and one of the fundamental rights guaranteed […]
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19 July 2013
Steps Toward RTI in Pakistan Provinces Considered Inadequate
(The following article was prepared by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) and summarizes a longer report.) Rhetoric aside, the PML-N (the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz) and PTI (the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) are awkwardly alike in denying the public the right to information as their provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have […]
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19 July 2013
Indian Activist on Hunger Strike in State of Goa
An Indian right to information activist, Rajan Ghate, began a hunger strike July 16 to protest the failure to appoint a chief information commissioner and other commissioners in the state of Goa. Ghate received support July 18 from Vivek Velankar, a Maharashtra RTI activist, who visited him at Azad Maidan, according to an article in […]
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19 July 2013
FOI Notes: Film, EU Report, Surveys, Commentary, FOIA Machine, FOI Terroist, Weddings
India: The movie “The writing on the wall – RTI comes to Malav” is available online. In the Indian state of Gujarat, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and its partner, Nagrik Adhikar Kendra (Citizens’ Rights Centre) worked with local public authorities to transform a rural town into a model for the proactive disclosure of […]
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17 July 2013
Irish Government Offers FOI Law Amendments
The Irish government July 17 announced that it will soon offer a bill to make a variety of changes to the freedom of information law. More public bodies will be brought under the act’s purview, according to the announcement, made by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin. This extension will cover the […]
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16 July 2013
Deadline Passes, Indian Parties Resist Compliance
July 15 was the deadline for six Indian political parties to appoint information officers and begin complying with the right to information, but they have not, according to Indian newspapers. The Central Information Commissioner on June 3 gave the parties six-weeks to act, but since then most of the parties have supported the idea of legislation to […]
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15 July 2013
Zambian Government Again Delays Offering Access Bill
The Zambian government said July 12 that it will not offer an access to information bill until September, the latest in a string of delays dating back to an aborted unveiling June 26, 2012, and other delays before that. The Cabinet has not yet approved the bill, according to Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni, the Information and Broadcasting Services […]
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12 July 2013
Government of Uruguay Proposes FOI Amendments
The government of Uruguay has proposed more protection for documents creating during the deliberative process. The proposal would permit the government to prevent disclosure “until the respective decision is adopted.” The change is one of three proposed amendments to the 2008 law sent to Parliament, according to an article in El Pais (in Spanish). Two […]
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12 July 2013
Efforts Under Way to Pass FOI Laws in German States
Activists in German states are mounting efforts to pass freedom of information laws. There are initiatives in Nordrhine-Westphalia (NRW), Niedersachsen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Baden-Württemberg, and Bavaria, according to German activists. Most of the proposals are modeled on a law (in English) passed in Hamburg that stresses proactive publication. Nordrhine-Westphalia In Nordrhine-Westphalia, the largest state in Germany, a new proposal (in […]
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12 July 2013
Indian Sports Ministry Seeks to Bring Cricket Under RTI
The Indian Sports Ministry has launched a new effort to bring the Indian cricket board (BCCI) under the Right to Information Act. The ministry’s new draft National Sports Bill says only those federations coming under RTI can represent India in international competitions. A panel headed by retired judge Mukul Mudgal drafted the bill. The BCCI, […]
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12 July 2013
UK Courts Upholds Secrecy for Prince Charles’ Letters
The British High Court on July 9 refused to overturn a government decision to block the disclosure of Prince Charles’ correspondence with government departments. The UK Attorney General Dominic Grieve in October 2012 has vetoed the release of 27 letters sent by Prince Charles to seven government departments. A FOI tribunal court had ruled that […]
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10 July 2013
Action Seen on RTI Seen on Several Fronts in Pakistan
The Cabinet of the Pakistan province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 9 approved a right to information bill, according to a report in The Nation. In the meantime, a committee in Punjab province is considering an RTI bill that observers had thought was nearly final. At the national level, a Senate subcommittee held a session […]
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10 July 2013
Israeli Court Orders Disclosures About Tax Breaks
The Tel Aviv District Court July 8 ruled that the Finance Ministry must disclose the list of companies that have received tax breaks under the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investment. The judge said that the information requested was not confidential under the tax code, as the government argued. Judge Michal Agmon-Gonen gave the government […]
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10 July 2013
U.S. State Court Makes GIS Data Subject to Access Law
A California state court ruled July 8 that the state records formatted with an electronic geographic information system (GIS) are subject to the state records law at nominal cost. “The California Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Sierra Club v. County of Orange means that the Sierra Club, which has been seeking Orange County’s basic set […]
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10 July 2013
Indian Gov’t Still Planning to Overturn CIC Order
Instead of filing a court appeal, the Indian government is continuing to consider at a legislative way to overturn a June 3 Central Information Commission ruling making political parties subject to the right to information law, Indian papers continue to report. “Highly-placed sources in the Law Ministry today said that the CIC order would not be challenged by […]