News
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27 May 2011
EU Council to Appeal Transparency Ruling
The European Union Council has voted to appeal a March court ruling that mandated disclosure of a document summarizing member countries’ positions on reform of the EU’s access to information rules (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The May decision apparently was made without opposition, but Wobbing Europe’s Staffan Dahllöf learned that some pro-transparency governments have reserved […]
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27 May 2011
Views Sought on Model FOI Law for Africa
The Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression and access to information in Africa has requested comments on a draft model access to information law for African Union member states. Written submissions are requested by Aug. 15, 2011. To download a copy of the model law and to make a submission see the website of the […]
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27 May 2011
Court Stays CIC Order Concerning Court Records
The Delhi High Court May 22 stayed a Central Information Commission order that would have allowed Indians to seek information to use Right to Information Act to obtain court records. The commission ruled May 11 that the RT Act takes precedence over the internal rules of the Supreme Court. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The Supreme Court […]
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27 May 2011
Regional Russian Websites Found Lacking in IIFD Report
The Institute for Information Freedom Development has issued a report on the official websites of 83 executive government bodies of the Russian Federation. The monitoring results showed that Russian regional governments provided only 38% of the information on their activities that must be published according to the Russian FOI law, according to IIFD. “Therefore, the […]
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27 May 2011
South African Secrecy Bill Moving Forward Unchanged
The ruling party in South Africa this week resisted changes to the proposed Protection of Administration Bill. The ad hoc committee considering the bill met on May 24 and 26 and voted on amendments. The South Africa Press Association (SAPA) reported: Opposition parties pleaded in vain on Thursday that South Africans were going to rue […]
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27 May 2011
U.S. Senate Passes Bill to Establish FOI Commission
The U.S. Senate May 26 passed a bill (S. 627) to establish a Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays. The “Faster FOIA Act of 2011” would mandate that the commission: – identify methods that will help reduce delays in processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted to federal agencies: – ensure the […]
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27 May 2011
U.S. Issues New Guidance in Wake of Court Decision
By Harry A. Hammitt Hammitt publishes Access Reports, a biweekly newsletter. This article is reprinted with pemission from his latest issue. The Office of Information Policy at the Justice Department issued agency guidance May 10 on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Milner v. Dept of Navy, 131 S.Ct. 1259 (2011), both explaining the decision and […]
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25 May 2011
Nigerian Assembly Passes Harmonized FOI Legislation
The Nigerian Senate and House May 24 passed a harmonized version of the Freedom of Information bill worked out bv a Joint Conference Committee. Advocates are urging President Goodluck Jonathan, who has previously stated his support for a FOI law, to sign the bill, and key legislators are predicting it will become law. However, Next […]
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24 May 2011
Donor Community Eager for Deeper Research, Tisne Says
Martin Tisne, program manager for the Transparency and Accountability Initiative, a research effort set up about a year ago by eight major funders to inform their work, suggested May 20 that considerable additional research is necessary, not only to understand the impact of FOI laws, but to know how change occurs. His remarks sparked some […]
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24 May 2011
Reasons Advanced for Lack of African FOI Laws
Why does Africa have comparatively few freedom of information laws? The reasons were explored in a number of papers presented at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) One reason is that the western, liberal concept of access to information conflicts with different traditions […]
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24 May 2011
Next Steps on Transparency Research Sketched
What additional research is needed on in the area of transparency? Concluding the transparency conference at Rutgers University-Newark May 20, about 70 persons gathered for a session on follow-up ideas, with the remarks of several panelists almost universally preceded by praise for the value of the multidisciplinary gathering. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) Yamini Aiyar, […]
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24 May 2011
FOI Passage Factors Elucidated in Research
Several papers addressing the various influences on passage of FOI laws were offered at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) They concerned Latin America and the media’s role, the risks of comparative and China. Looking at Latin America, political scientist Greg Michener […]
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24 May 2011
Theory, Philosophy of Transparency Explored
Papers exploring the theories and philosophies of transparency, and even its definition, were presented at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) “Questioning the moral attachment to transparency,” by Clare Birchall, University of Kent, UK, expressed concern that “the left” has “abandoned secrecy […]
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24 May 2011
Mexican RTI Case Study Looks at Facilitating Factors
A major study in Mexico has identified a variety of non-legal factors that facilitate a strong transparency system. The results were presented at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) Researchers from the Mexican Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) looked […]
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24 May 2011
Problems Seen With Government Websites
Local government websites still have a long way to go, according to a number of surveys described at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) A detailed look at municipal websites in the Ukraine indicated that many cities lack sites and that many […]
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24 May 2011
Is Transparency Losing in Fight With Corruption?
The influence of transparency on fighting corruption was questioned in several papers presented at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) The Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) “has at best been ineffective in the fight against corruption in Nigeria, and the assumed […]
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24 May 2011
Transparency, Trust Dynamic Explored in New Studies
Whether more transparency generates trust in government was examined in several studies presented at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) Exploring “the relationship between transparency and power,” three Danish researchers stated, among other findings: “While transparency is often seen as a panacea to […]
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24 May 2011
Is WikiLeaks a New Chapter in Transparency History?
What’s new about the WikiLeaks phenomenon is that retribution is difficult, the sheer quantities of information released, and the potential for searches of the disclosed materials, according to Christopher Hood, the Gladstone Professor of Government and Fellow at All Souls, Oxford, U.K., and the author of a book titled “Transparency: the Key to Better Governance?” […]
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24 May 2011
Transparency Researchers Gather at Rutgers Conference
With 130 research papers presented in 30 sessions over two days, The First Global Conference on Transparency Research showcased an emerging area of research. Some 160 participants from many countries attended the meeting, held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J., engaged in multidisciplinary exchanges and networking. Roughly one–third came from civil society groups, international governmental […]
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24 May 2011
Papers Probe Drivers of Transparency in China
Emerging transparency in China and what explains it was the topic of two papers presented at The First Global Conference on Transparency Research held May 19-20 at Rutgers University-Newark, N.J. (See overall report in FreedomInfo.org.) In “the first empirical study uncovering the drivers of fiscal transparency in China,” Liang Ma and Jiannan Wu of Xi’an Jiaotong […]