What’s New
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25 March 2013
European Court Backs Confidentiality for Trade Talks
The Second Chamber of the European General Court March 19 ruled against an effort to obtain documents related to the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The decision went mostly against complainant Sophie in ’t Veld, a member of the Liberal Party Group in the European Parliament. The court agreed with her regarding some documents, but […]
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25 March 2013
FOI Notes: Fiscal Transparency, U.S. Employment, Legislative Transparency, Nepal
Fiscal Transparency: The multi-stakeholder Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency – GIFT is seeking to commission three to five country case studies (including Brazil, the Philippines, and South Korea) and a synthesis document on various aspects of public participation in government budget processes. To implement this research plan, GIFT seeks a lead researcher and researchers for […]
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25 March 2013
Romanian FOI Law Is Well-Utilized, Report Says
Positive rulings from the courts have strengthened the 10-year-old Romanian freedom of information law and made it a well-used instrument, according to a new report funded by the World Bank. “The media and civil society embraced the law and have used its provisions to create positive legal precedents, good practices, and monitoring tools,” according to […]
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25 March 2013
President Sees Nothing to Fear in Ghana RTI Bill
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama March 22 again voiced support for passage of a right to information bill and a broadcasting bill. The president was quoted as saying he has no “fear of the Right to Information Bill… it is not a monster and I think that Parliament should pass it.” Parliament in recent years […]
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25 March 2013
Caribbean FOI Network Formed at Jamaica Meeting
A Caribbean network on freedom of information was created at a conference held recently in Kingston, Jamaica. Governments, civil society, and media announced plans to launch the Caribbean network “to support processes to improve standards for access to information in the region,” according to a statement. Representatives from 11 Caribbean countries attended a two-day “Regional Conference on Freedom of […]
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21 March 2013
Guyana Minister Says ATI Law May Be Effective in 2013
A key minister in Guyana has said the access to information law passed September of 2011 may be implemented by the end of 2013, according to a March 20 article by Denis Scott Chabrol in Demarara Waves quoting Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira. The law does not go into effect until an information commissioner […]
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21 March 2013
UK ICO Needs Budget Flexibility, Report Finds
The United Kingdom’s House of Commons Justice Committee has proposed that the Information Commissioner be allowed to use income from data protection fees to support its freedom of information work. In a March 21 report, the committee commends the commissioner for reducing his budget while still making inroads into the backlog of freedom of information complaints and […]
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20 March 2013
New Minister Sparks Hope for FOI Statute in Sierra Leone
Promising signals from the new information commissioner in Sierra Leone are raising hopes, again, for passage of a freedom of information bill. “FOI is on a better footing to be passed this time round and I will meet this coalition again for progress on that,” Minister of Information and Communication Alpha Kanu assured members of […]
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20 March 2013
Punjab Cabinet Advances Criticized RTI Legisaltion
The Punjab cabinet on March 11 approved the Freedom of Information Act 2012. The bill expected to go to parliament for further action, after a coming election, is an improvement over a previous version. It would rate a 105 on the scale for evaluating legal frameworks by Access Info Europe and the Centre for Law and Democracy (Global Right to […]
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20 March 2013
Lack of Regulation Hampers Albanian RTI Law, Report Says
The Albanian right to information law is being hampered in a variety of ways, including by a lack of implementation regulations, according to a report prepared for the World Bank. A summary lists four main factors: – an administrative culture of secrecy and confidentiality persists,- – the government has not developed procedures for ensuring RTI […]
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20 March 2013
FOI Notes: Southeast Asia, Info Commissioners, Latin America, Job
Southeast Asia: The extensive minutes of the Transparency Advisory Group meeting in January provide an excellent overview of RTI activities in the region. Many topics are covered in the presentations and discussions, including: the value of examples of RTI use, proactive disclosure, indicators of success. TAG’s workplan and other information are available on its website. […]
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20 March 2013
South African Secrecy Bill Faces Procedural Hurdle
Opponents of the Protection of State Information Bill in South Africa are hoping to use a procedural complication to thwart action on the controversial bill, according to an article in The Independent. Opposition parties recently asserted that the legislation must revert to square one because it was incorrectly labeled as not affecting provincial governments. The […]
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14 March 2013
Implementation of Peruvian Law Faulted by World Bank
Implementation of the 10-year-old Peruvian Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information (LTAIP) has been hampered by an “inefficient” implementation process, according to a World Bank study which suggests that it may be time for a new oversight structure. Peru was one of eight countries examined closely as part of a larger World Bank report […]
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14 March 2013
FOI Notes: Rhetoric, Research, Reports, More
Shamparency: A new (?) term used in an article about a new advocacy group formed by President Obama to advocate for his agenda (and about which there are some transparency concerns. The article is focused on the controversial organization of the new group, but the Slate author, David Weigel, begins: Coin a neologism to describe fake […]
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14 March 2013
U.S. Sunshine Week Brings Legislation, Many Reports
Sunshine Week in the United States March 11-15 prompted congressional hearings, new and recycled legislative proposals and numerous reports on the status of freedom of information. In the House of Representatives, a draft FOI bill was offered by Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a rare […]
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14 March 2013
Malaysia Urged to Enact FOI Law; Fix Two State Laws
Malaysia needs to enact a freedom of information law, two nongovernmental organizations have urged, also pointed to weaknesses affecting the two state FOI laws in Malaysia. The comments came from the London-based freedom of expression group Article 19 and the Malaysian human rights group Suaram in the context of the Universal Periodic Review, a state-driven […]
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13 March 2013
Rwanda Publishes New Law on Right to Information
Rwanda has a right to information law, the 11th in Africa and the 94th in the world. The new law was formally gazetted on March 11 (See Official Gazette No 10, the March 11 issue, page 66). It was passed by parliament in November 2012. The law came into force on the date of publication and several […]
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11 March 2013
Few Governments Providing Financial Support to OGP
By Toby McIntosh Only six of the 58 member countries of the Open Government Partnership have contributed financially to the young organization. Three of the nine government members on the Steering Committee have not provided any funding – Indonesia, Mexico and Tanzania. The lack of contributions comes despite long-standing expectations of voluntary government support, especially […]
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11 March 2013
24 Persons Nominated to Serve as CSO Reps to OGP
Two dozen persons have been nominated to fill three soon-to-be vacant positions as civil society organization representatives on the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee. A list of the names was posted March 11 on the OGP website. There are 6 candidates from Latin America, 2 from North America, 4 from Africa, 5 from Asia and […]
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11 March 2013
Obama Praised, Criticized in New Report on Transparency
The Obama administration is complimented and chastised in a new report on the transparency of his first four years in office. “With the notable, glaring exception of national security, the open government policy platform the Obama administration built is strong. However, the actual implementation of open government policies within federal agencies has been inconsistent and, […]