News
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24 May 2011
Studies Explore Transparency Performance in South Korea
Good experiences with virtual local government builds trust, according to a study on South Korea 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 study found that “satisfaction with the user-friendliness of e-participation applications directly and positively affects participants’ social learning and […]
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24 May 2011
Researchers Examine Future of Open Data in Latin America
Two preliminary views of the future of the open data movement in Latin America 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.) One examination concluded that it is still “early days” and suggests that better coordination is needed between right to information campaigners […]
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19 May 2011
Uganda Approves Rules to Operationalize FOI Law
After years of delay, the Ugandan government has decided to issue rules to operationalize the 2005 Access to Information Act. The regulations have not yet been made public, but the promise that they will be “gazetted” has been made by a key minister. A $500 dispute with the printing company is delaying publication. The Africa Freedom […]
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18 May 2011
Canadian Court Limits Access to Ministerial Records
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the daily agenda of the prime minister is not disclosable under the Access to Information Act. Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault.criticized the ruling that such documents are not subject to the act, and called on the Conservatives, who control the government, to rewrite the law. The court decided […]
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18 May 2011
Exempting Security Agencies From Indian RTI Proposed
A key Indian cabinet committee is recommending that three law enforcement and intelligence agencies be exempted from the right to information law, Indian newspapers are reporting. The move would exempt from RTI coverage the Central Bureau of Investigation, the National Investigation Agency and the National Intelligence Grid, according to the Hindustani Times and the Indian […]
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18 May 2011
Group Seek Uniformity in Indian State RTI Rules
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has asked the Indian Department of Personnel and Training, Government to address a lack of uniformity with regard to right to information rules by state governments and the High Courts. One problem, according to the letter is that “Parliament can annul or modify Rules made by the Central Government but […]
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18 May 2011
Court Records Covered by RTI, Indian CIC Decides
The Indian Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that the Right to Information Act takes precedence over the internal rules of the Supreme Court. The court rules required a showing of “good cause.” The First Appellate Authority (FFA) held that any information on judicial records could be accessed only under the Supreme Court rules. In […]
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17 May 2011
Blacklisted Armenian Mayor Retreats on Access Charges
Named to a “Black List” by the Freedom of Information Center of Armenia (FOICA), the mayor of Stepanavan acted to eliminate charges for access to information. His action came May 13, three days after release or publication of the quarterly list, according to a Center statement. Besides making it on the Center’s black list, the […]
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16 May 2011
Audit of Bulgarian Websites Finds Chaotic Variety
The Access to Information Programme in Bulgarian has found “a chaotic variety” of structures and information on government websites. The audit was designed to evaluate the implementation of the obligations under the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) for online publication of certain categories of information. The study also examined the performance under other regulations […]
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16 May 2011
Study in Chile Faults Administration of FOI Law
A study of the two-year old Transparency Act in Chile by Pro Access and Participate has identified problems with using the internet to make requests for information. They studied 169 organizations and found that only 47% of the time could applications be made ??via the internet. Moreover, 71% of the requestors faced problems with the […]
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13 May 2011
New Website in Peru Covers Court Decisions on Access
A new website in Peru — Justicia y Transparencia (Justice and Transparency)(http://www.justiciaytransparencia.pe) — gathers and organizes all the judgments of the Constitutional Court of Peru on access to public and private information. Suma Ciudadana said its intention is to ensure that national jurisprudence becomes a useful tool to help to disseminate the right of access […]
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13 May 2011
Canadian Press Group Scores Government Low on Access
The Canadian Journalists for Fee Expression have given the government an “F-“ for access to information. A new report by the group rates more than half of federal agencies as below average and says five failed outright. Further, 44 percent of information requests filed with the federal government are not responded to within 30 days, […]
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13 May 2011
Advisory Group Formed in Uruguay on Access Law
A Consultative Council of the Law on Access to Public Information has just been created in Uruguay. This advisory and consultative body brings together representatives from the academia, the government and the civil society. The council was mandated by the FOI law. “It institutionalizes participation and it has an important advocacy strategy to impact on […]
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13 May 2011
FOI Notes: Reports, Books
Budget Transparency: A report (in Spanish) on access to information on expenditures and budget in Latin American legislatures has been published by Red Latinoamericana por la Transparencia Legislativa. New Book: Wikileaks and the Age of Transparency by Micah L. Sifry. Political analyst and writer Sifry argues that WikiLeaks is not the whole story: it is […]
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13 May 2011
UN Publishes Revised Draft on Article 19 Commentary
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has released a revised version dated May 3 of its proposed General Comment 34 on the Article 19, incorporating the changes made so far. [Note; the URL above does not take you directly to the text. Click on Human Rights Bodies, then Human Rights Committee, then General Comments, then […]
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13 May 2011
Dutch Minister Proposes Cutbacks to Openness Law
Dutch Home Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner May 5 suggested that the government will propose limitations on use of Holland’s Openness of Government Act, primarily to protect information about predecisional deliberations. Donner did not provide specifics during a speech in which he also said that government officials are overburdened in responding to requests for information, […]
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12 May 2011
Opponents Delay Action on Mexican FOIA Amendments
By Gabriela Ruiz Visiting researcher at The National Security Archive and FOIA Officer at the Chiapas Access to Information Institute Reforms to the Mexican Federal Law of Transparency and Access to Information are stalled in the Congress because of objections from some lawmakers. They are criticizing amendments that would give more power to the Federal […]
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6 May 2011
Nigerian FOI Bill One of Last Items on Assembly Agenda
With less than a month to go until the end of the parliamentary session in Nigeria, the freedom of information bill will be a priority, according to Senate officials. The big task remaining, however, is to harmonize the House and Senate bills, and a joint committee to do the job has not been appointed. Nevertheless, […]
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6 May 2011
Maltese Journalists Seek Implementation of FOI Act
The Institute of Maltese Journalists has urged government action to implement the Freedom of Information Act “as soon as possible,” according to The Times of Malta, as an expert on the law calls it a “dead letter.” “Malta has a Freedom of Information Act on its statute book. But only a few provisions of this […]
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6 May 2011
Using RTI Rivals Bribery in Fighting Bureaucracy
Right to information requests rival bribery as a way to cut through bureaucratic red tape in India, according to two studies by U.S. academics. The experiments involved the complicated processes of registering to vote and getting ration cards, and were conducted by Yale University political scientists, Leonid Peisakhin and Paul Pinto. Bribery is a better […]