What’s New
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9 July 2015
Ghana Parliament Opens Debate on RTI Legislation
The Parliament of Ghana on July 2 began debating a right to information bill, with one member calling it “a minefield” and a key minister replying that it is essential for the Ghanaian democracy and economy. Debate on the bill was not completed, according to the official , publication of which lags by several days. […]
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9 July 2015
Palestinian Groups Form Coalition to Push for Law
Palestinian groups have formed a Coalition on the Right of Access to Information to address “an urgent, yet unfulfilled need” to pass a freedom of information. A group of civil society organizations plan to hold a series of consultative meetings at the invitation of the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA). The organizations are: […]
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9 July 2015
Hungary OKs Amendments Criticized as Regressive
The Hungarian Parliament on July 6 approved legislation to raise the cost of making freedom of information requests and make it harder to access information, reported the non-governmental organization Index on Censorship, The Budapest Beacon and K-Monitor (in Hungarian). The bill, submitted by Minister of Justice László Trócsányi July 3, was moved through with fast-track procedures, and is expected […]
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9 July 2015
United Kingdom: The Case Against Government FOI Proposals
This post is from the website of the Campaign for Freedom of Information. The Government is likely to be considering three sets of new restrictions to the FOI Act. These are likely to involve: (1) preventing the disclosure of government policy discussions (2) strengthening the ministerial veto (3) making it easier for authorities to refuse FOI […]
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9 July 2015
FOI Notes: US, UK, Germany, Kenya, Open Data, India, Pakistan, Canada
Germany: The Federal Administrative Supreme court of Germany forces the German Parliament to give public access to records on “UFOs,” according to post on the UFO Chronicle blog. United States: The Justice Department releases new guidelines for agencies seeking to close out old requests that the requesters might not be interested in anymore. Building on 2010 […]
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8 July 2015
Tunisian President Pulls Access Bill for Amendment
Tunisia’s president July 3 decided to withdraw the bill on access to information, a move that “astonished” one group. The president’s plan is to amend the bill, announced a spokesperson, according to a short news article. The move came in advance of planned consideration by the Assembly of People’s Representatives of Organic Law No. 55/2014, which […]
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8 July 2015
Indian Court Seeks Answers From Political Parties
The Indian Supreme Court July 6 asked all six national political parties to explain why they should not be covered by the Right to Information Act, as determined by the Central Information Commission, according to media reports such as one in The Hindu. The order by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu came following a plea by […]
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8 July 2015
Pakistan PM Promises to Bring RTI Bill to Cabinet
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked that the draft of Right to Information Bill be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the Federal Cabinet for its approval, according to an article on JournalismPakistan.com and another in PakistanToday. Sharif on July 3 asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to introduce RTI bill […]
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7 July 2015
Ghana: The Right to Information and Trade Secrets
By Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam The author is Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy. This article appeared July 2 in The Chronicle. Introduction The debate over whether trade secrets undermine transparency and promote corruption continues to dominate discussions on Africa’s growing governance landscape. Often difficult to define because of its many faces […]
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2 July 2015
Hungary Proposes Higher Fees, Longer Response Times
The Hungarian government has proposed a bill (in Hungarian) to hike fees for freedom of information requests and to double the length of the response period from 15 to 30 days. The new rules also would permit refusal of requests on the grounds that documents are “preparatory” or the copyright of third persons. Repeat requests could […]
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2 July 2015
Ghana Parliament to Begin Debate of RTI Legislation
The Ghana Parliament on June 30 moved toward plenary consideration of right to information legislation. The bill has advanced to “second reading,” further than ever before. The Attorney General moved for the debate on June 25. A parliamentary committee issued a report on the long-stalled bill. The report is dated December 2014, but only recently […]
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2 July 2015
FOI Notes: Funding, OGP Elections, Research, Reports, UK , US, Israel, EU, India, Canada, IMF
Funding: “Are you involved in a process, project, initiative or practice that tries to strengthen citizens’ voice to get governments to respond and be accountable to them? Are you a ‘do-er’ who reflects on your experience and learns from your own practice and that of others? Or, are you a researcher who is curious about […]
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1 July 2015
Nigerian Agency Denies Access to Official Asset Forms
The Nigerian Code of Conduct Bureau has turned down a freedom of information request for the asset declaration forms of both President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, citing “personal privacy.” The declarations were sought by civil society organizations Stop Impunity Nigeria (SIN) and Centre for Social Justice (CENSOJ). The Bureau also argued that […]
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1 July 2015
FOIA Compliance Low in Nigeria
This commentary was posted June 29, 2015, on the website of Center for Social Justice in Nigeria. The Freedom of Information Act 2011, according to its long title, was made as an Act to make public records and information more freely available, provide for public access to public records and information, protect public records and […]
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1 July 2015
IACHR Report Urges Strong RTI Supervisory Bodies
Edison Lanza, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter?American Commission on Human Rights, has called on governments to build “robust” supervisory bodies with sufficient power and resources to ensure access to information. The recommendations come in a detailed report entitled “The Right to Access to Public Information in the Americas: Specialized Supervisory and […]
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1 July 2015
South Asia Advisory Group Issues RTI Recommendations
The Transparency Advisory Group (TAG) in South Asia has recommended making private sector bodies and political parties subject to right to information laws. These were among a series of just-released recommendations decided on during the group’s sixth meeting, held in February. See detailed report on meeting and summary. The group also addressed the role of […]
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1 July 2015
E-Mails Subject to Disclosure, Peru Superior Court Rules
E-mails from public officials using official e-mail accounts and containing public information should be made public according to a June 24 decision by the Superior Court of Lima, Specialized Constitutional Court. While the ruling is specifically about the emails of former Minister of Energy and Mines Eleodoro Mayorga in the case of the New National Hydrocarbons Regulations, […]
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29 June 2015
Sri Lanka Fails to Pass RTI Bill Before New Elections
Right to information legislation promised by the new president has not passed in Sri Lanka, a victim of political differences over electoral reform that led President Maitripala Sirisena to dissolve parliament and call new elections. Passage of an RTI bill in his first 100 days in office was a campaign pledge for Sirisena, who was […]
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25 June 2015
Moroccan Draft Law Criticized; Rated Better
The Moroccan government’s latest draft freedom of information law is better than a 2104 version, according to well-known international rating, but worse than a 2013 draft. The draft has been given a score of 79 on the 150-point RTI Rating done by the Centre for Democracy and Law. This latest score is above the rating of […]
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25 June 2015
Delayed Consideration Urged for Tanzanian FOI Legislation
Media stakeholders and the ruling party have recommended that a parliamentary committee be given time to make changes to the government’s proposed access to information bill and a media bill, according to a June 23 Guardian article by Felister Peter. The Assembly, however, while resolving not to debate the contentious bill Media Services Bill, had […]