What’s New
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25 April 2013
U.S. Enhances Archive of FOI Court Decisions, Summaries
The U.S. Justice Department Office of Information Policy has launched a new page containing summaries of significant court decisions on freedom of information, according to an announcement. The enhanced Court Decisions page “adds two powerful features for viewing and searching through our case summaries while continuing to allow users to view these summaries by topic […]
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25 April 2013
Taiwan Journalists Unaware of FOI Law, Article Says
Journalists in Taiwan are not aware of the national freedom of information law, according to an article by an American journalist who attended a two-day data journalism seminar in Taiwan, but the open dta movement is growing and information is getting out in unofficial ways. During the workshop, we talked about how to obtain data, […]
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24 April 2013
Danish RTI Amendments Get Poor Review From Raters
Denmark’s proposed changes to its right to information law are regressive and will not fix “major problems” in the current system, according to one of two organizations that produce the major international rating of RTI laws. In particular, modifying certain exceptions would weaken the Danish law, according to an analysis by the Centre for Law […]
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23 April 2013
Article 19 Criticizes Draft Moroccan Access Law
The proposed Moroccan access to information law has many good features but suffers from a “grossly overbroad” set of exceptions, according to a critique by the London-based freedom of expression group Article 19. The bill (in Arabic and in English) was recently put out for public comment. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Article 19’s analysis (in […]
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23 April 2013
Amended State Secrecy Bill Nears Passage in South Africa
A modified version of the Protection of State Information Bill appears on the verge of passing in South Africa. The National Assembly may take up the bill April 25 following the April 22 approval by an ad hoc committee. The committee endorsed amendments made by the other body of parliament, the National Council of Provinces. […]
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22 April 2013
Tonga to Consider Passing FOI Law, PM Vaipulu Says
Tonga will hold public consultations in July and August on a freedom of information bill, Acting Prime Minister Hon. Samiu Vaipulu said April 22. He was the keynote speaker at the opening of a three-day “Rights to Information in Tonga Workshop – Freedom of Information Policy Awareness.” Freedom of Information is a tool towards achieving the Millennium […]
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22 April 2013
Model Access Law for Africa: A Response to Felt Need
By Gilbert Sendugwa Sendugwa is Coordinator & Head of Secretariat, Africa Freedom of Information Centre. The Model Law on Access to Information for Africa recently launched by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) an outcome of felt need and an inclusive process. The past decade marked an explosion of access to information […]
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21 April 2013
Two Indian States to Issue Lists of Prisoners on Trial
The chief information commissioner of the Indian state of Maharashtra has ordered the disclosure of the names of prisoners awaiting trial, so-called “undertrials,” who have served half or more of the maximum prison term specified for the charges they face. State chief information commissioner (CIC) Ratnakar Gaikwad directed the preparation of such a list under […]
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19 April 2013
FI Notes: India, Aid Transparency, Open Data
India: “The Right to Information Act in India: The Turbid World of Transparency Reforms,” a doctoral thesis by Prashant Sharma, of the Department of International Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “My thesis investigates the enactment of the Indian RTI Act in 2005 through a political economy lens, locating it within […]
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19 April 2013
Right to information? You are in queue!
By Shailesh Gandhi Gandhi is a former commissioner at the central information commission. This article is reprinted with permission from GovernanceNow, where it was first run on April 17. “GovernanceNow is a multi-media initiative for participatory reportage and analyses related to governance of all institutions and processes that are vital to public life in India.” […]
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19 April 2013
OGP Delays Rotation Plan; Faces Major Budget Shortfall
The Open Government Partnership is likely to delay plans to elect new government members to the Steering Committee and is facing a “substantial” budget gap, according to newly posted documents. With no government members willing to step down, an OGP subcommittee has recommended that all nine government Steering Committee members stay on for another year, […]
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17 April 2013
Opposition Builds in Denmark to FOI Amendment Proposal
Opposition is growing in Parliament to the ruling coalition’s proposal to reduce public access to government documents, according to an April 16 article by Christian Wenande in The Copenhagen Post. The intended amendments to the freedom of information act (offentlighedslov) had generated some criticism before, but appeared to stand a good chance of passage because […]
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17 April 2013
Indian Court Stays Major Parts of Controversial Ruling
The Indian Supreme Court on April 16 stayed a controversial decision ordering that retired or sitting judges be appointed to lead the Central Information Commission and state commissions. The order by Justices A. K. Patnaik and Arjan K. Sikri also stayed a directive from the Sept. 13, 2012, decision that would have required commissions to […]
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12 April 2013
African Model Access Law Issued by Rights Panel
The long-awaited final version of the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa was posted April 12 on the website of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The model law is “a common approach to a common problem” wrote Pansy Tlakula, the Special Rapporteur on Access to Information in Africa and Freedom […]
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12 April 2013
Commissioners Report Low Budgets, Growing Workloads
Information commissioners around the world face serious budgetary constraints and expect higher workloads, according the first survey of commissioners. “In terms of their capacity to deal with current and projected workloads, 77% of Commissioners believe that their financial and staff resources, are ‘insufficient ‘(58%) or ‘not at all sufficient’ (19%),” according to the report on the survey. […]
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12 April 2013
Canada Launches Pilot Project for Online Information Access
Canada has begun a one-year pilot project that will allow for the submission of information and privacy requests online to three departments. Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, announced the launch April. 9, saying, “Our Government is the most open and transparent government in Canadian history. “This new online tool makes the process easier […]
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12 April 2013
OGP Steering Committee Sets Agenda for 3-Day Meeting
The upcoming meeting of the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee in London will address many critical issues for the OGP’s future. Strategic direction, finances, Steering Committee membership and the independent review mechanism are some of the items on the agenda. Also, initial national action plans will be presented by a number of relatively recent members. […]
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12 April 2013
Indian Department Opens Portal for RTI Applications
A key Indian agency has opened a website for the submission of right to information requests and fees. The portal — http://www.rtionline.gov.in/ — has been created by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the agency which leads on the administration of the RTI law. The portal is not for use in filing requests for […]
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11 April 2013
New OGP SC Members From Mexico, Moldova, Indonesia
The Open Government Partnership has announced three new civil society members on the OGP Steering Committee: Alejandro González of Mexico, Veronica Cretu of Moldova and Maryati Abdullah of Indonesia. The announcement described them this way: Alejandro González (GESOC, Mexico).Young and energetic; well connected to and involved in some of the important Latin American networks; worked […]
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11 April 2013
Afghanistan Considering Draft Law on Access to Information
A draft access to information law has been prepared in Afghanistan and comments received, but it remains unclear whether government’s proposal will be adopted. The government came under pressure in September from civil society and media groups to prepare an access law. Civil society also demanded a fixed timeframe to pass the law and […]