What’s New
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10 July 2013
FOI Notes: Environment, U.S., Commentary, OGP, Russia, More
Environment: David Banisar, senior legal counsel for Article 19, writes that environmental problems in the Middle go back to “a failure of governance and accountability in governments and companies.” He says,” They go about their daily business with little or no notification to those most harmed by their activities and few ways for the communities […]
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10 July 2013
Indian CIC Rejects Request by Death Row Inmate
The Indian Central Information Commission has held that the Constitution prohibits releasing to a death row convict the reasons for denial of his mercy request. A.G. Perarivalan, a death row convict in the 1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, requested the advice tendered by the Council of Ministers to the president, according to an article in […]
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10 July 2013
Sierra Leone Government Delays FOI Legislation
The Sierra Leone government is delaying action on freedom of information legislation because of “poor records management.” The open-ended postponement comes after months of more positive signals from other officials and prompted a strong retort from a leading FOI campaigner. “It is unfortunate that the Government of Sierra Leone continues to play games with this […]
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8 July 2013
FOIAnet Publishes Report Assessing RTI Globally
A comprehensive assessment of the right to information movement around the world was published July 8 by the Freedom of Information Advocates Network (FOIAnet). Chapters on seven regions combine historical overviews with evaluations the current situation. The 90-page report, written by veteran advocates, details the varied and similar experiences of civil society advocates, and sometimes includes recommendations for […]
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8 July 2013
OGP May Ratchet Up Goals for Second Action Plans
By Toby McIntosh Members of the Open Government Partnership should demonstrate “ambition” in their second national action plans, an OGP subcommittee has recommended. This proposal and many other topics are to be considered July 11-12 in London by the OGP Steering Committee. Although only the founding eight OGP countries are embarked on the preparation of follow-up action […]
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8 July 2013
Malawi to Join OGP; Total Membership Reaches 60
The Government of Malawi on July 4 indicated its desire to join the Open Government Partnership. The letter of intent starts the membership process. “Malawi will officially join OGP when it presents a National Action Plan and endorses the open government declaration,” according to the OGP announcement. Malawi scores 12 on the 16-point OGP eligibility […]
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3 July 2013
European Parliamentarians OK Whistleblower Resolution
The Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has adopted a resolution (provisional text) urging support for whistleblowers and access to documents. The resolution announced June 24 invites the Committee of Ministers to: – examine ways and means to promote the entry into force and speedy implementation […]
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3 July 2013
Hungarian NGOs Call FOI Changes as Unconstitutional
Groups in Hungary are challenging the constitutionality of recent amendments to the freedom of information law. The modified law has the potential to curtail fundamental rights, according to a July 2 statement and a letter to Hungary’s president, Janos Ader (available here in Hungarian), sent by Transparency International (TI) Hungary, TASZ and K-Monitor. The new […]
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3 July 2013
Study Correlates FOI Laws, Lower Level of Corruption
A new study finds that nations with long-standing freedom of information laws tend to have a lower incidence of corruption than those without FOI laws. Edson Tandoc, Jr., a doctoral candidate in the Missouri School of Journalism in the United States, also found that the corruption is not reduced by having a good FOI law. […]
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3 July 2013
U.S. Court Strikes Down Rule on Extractive Industries
A U.S. district court has found fault with a rule that would force oil and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments. The Judge cited “two substantial errors,” vacated the rule and sent it back to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 2012 rule, mandated by Congress, had been challenged by the American Petroleum Institute and […]
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3 July 2013
FOI Notes: EU, TA/I, UNESCO, IMF
European Union: Emily O’Reilly, the Ombudsman of Ireland, has been elected as the next European Ombudsman, beginning Oct. 1. Employment: The Transparency and Accountability Initiative, a donor collaborative, is seeking a Program Officer to lead its Impact and Learning workstream. IMF: The International Monetary Fund has released a revised draft of its Fiscal Transparency […]
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1 July 2013
Indian Parties May Seek Exemption From RTI Act
The leading political parties of India reportedly have agreed to support an amendment that would exempt them from coverage under the right to information law. The political parties appear unified in their desire to overturn a controversial early June ruling by the Central Information Commission bringing them under the purview of the RTI Act. (See […]
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1 July 2013
Philippine Groups File Petition to Promote Passage of FOI
Utilizing an “indirect initiative provision,” 18 groups in the Philippines on July 1 filed a freedom of information bill with the House of Representatives. The “People’s Freedom of Information Act of 2013,” supported by 18 groups, was submitted on the first day of the 16th Congress. “We are invoking this right to send a strong […]
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1 July 2013
Key Parliamentarians Advance FOI Legislation in Cyprus
Two parliamentarians from the ruling party in Cyprus have introduced freedom of information legislation (in Greek). Nicos Tornaritis and Sotiris Sampson (the latter being the president of the Legal Committee) belong to DISY, the right-wing governing party. The FOI law was prepared and promoted by Politeia (a civil society organization) in cooperation with IKME and the […]
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1 July 2013
UK ICO Says Spreadsheets May Contain Private Info
Spreadsheets sent in response to freedom of information requests sometimes inadvertently contain too much personal information, a problem being addressed by the United Kingdom’s information commissioner’s office and a non-governmental organization that facilitates requests for information. The problem occurs when public authorities fair to properly remove the underlying data before disclosing information in Microsoft Excel […]
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1 July 2013
Australian Parliament Gives Itself a FOI Exemption
Both the House and the Senate in Australia have passed legislation to exempt themselves from the Freedom of Information Act. The debate is described in a series of posts, including this one, by Peter Timmins in his blog Open and Shut. The bills passed easily. The exemption comes in advance of the imminent release of […]
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1 July 2013
FOI Notes: Personnel, Russia, Citizen Engagement, Open Data, EU
Personnel: Moisés Sánchez, Executive Director of Pro Acceso Foundation in Chile, has been elected to lead the Latin American network on freedom of expression and information, Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e Información. Russia: The Freedom of Information Foundation reports on the seventh annual monitoring cycle for official websites belonging to Russian regional governments. […]
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28 June 2013
Liberian Group Gets Few Responses to Requests
The Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding (CEMESP) on June 26 unveiled research showing a low government response rate to information requests. CEMESP Executive Director Malcolm Joseph that more than 90 FOI requests resulted in only 10 answers. Joseph said the custodians of information are “violating the law with impunity.” He urged all stakeholders to […]
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28 June 2013
Information Commissioners to Hold Conference in Berlin
The 8th International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC 2013) will be held Sept. 18-20 in Berlin. The registration deadline is July 31. Details on registration and the agenda are available at http://www.info-commissioners.org/ Correspondence may be addressed to icic2013@bfdi.bund.de. The commissioners will convene a meeting among themselves on Sept. 20. The preliminary agenda shows these panels: […]
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28 June 2013
Peru Issues Decree Expanding Access Rules
The Peruvian government has modified a decree (in Spanish) that implements the Transparency and Access to Information Law. The new decree broadens the obligation of government agencies to publish public information on their transparency portals. The agencies now must publish the names of public employees and who is being hired. The decree also creates a registry […]