News
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5 April 2013
U.S. Plans Using Metadata to Improve FOIA Libraries
The United States Justice Department plans to develop metadata standards “that will facilitate the ability of interested persons to search for and retrieve documents across websites and disparate record keeping systems,” according to a recent announcement. The plan, included in the Department of Justice’s version 2.0 of its Open Government Plan, envisions creation of a “virtual” […]
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5 April 2013
Panama to Grant Autonomy to New Transparency Body
The Government of Panama has announced that will propose creation of an autonomous access to information and transparency authority, according to media accounts, including a lainformacion.com report. The bill that will be sent to the National Assembly would create an independent National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information that would take over from the current Executive […]
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5 April 2013
FOI Notes: ICIC Meeting, Open Data, Requester Confidentiality, Corporate Secrecy, Technology
Information Commissioners: The International Conference of Information Commissioners will take place Sept. 18-20 2013 in Berlin. It will jointly be hosted by the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information and by the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. More information will be made available on the ICIC website. Open […]
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29 March 2013
Four African Leaders Say They Hope to Join OGP
President Obama March 28 met with the heads of state of four African countries – Cape Verde, Malawi, Senegal and Sierra Leone – indicating afterwards that all four hope to join the Open Government Partnership. “So what our discussion has focused on is, number one, how do we continue to build on strong democracies; how […]
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29 March 2013
Uruguay Supreme Court Supports Disclosure Request
Uruguay’s Supreme Court of Justice has unanimously dismissed a law suit brought by cable TV companies fighting the disclosure of the number of subscribers they have. The court rejected arguments that the Law on Access to Public Information is unconstitutional in a March 15 decision (in Spanish) described here (in Spanish). The Uruguayan Press Association […]
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29 March 2013
Chilean Senators Propose RTI Provision for Constitution
A group of Chilean senators has proposed to add a right to information to the Chilean Constitution. The proposal was made by senators Hernan Larrain, Isabel Allende, Soledad Alvear, José Ruminot Garcia and Eugenio Tuma and was sent to the Constitution Committee for further discussion. The three-year-old access to public information law needs buttressing, the […]
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29 March 2013
FOI Notes: IFI Transparency, U.S., Open Gov, Video
IFTI Watch: A new book, “The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Human Rights,” by Sanae Fujita, University of Essex, UK, has been published by Elgar. A description says: The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are two of the world’s major institutions conducting development projects. Both Banks recognize the importance of transparency, participation […]
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29 March 2013
OAS Rejects Proposals to Limit Work of Rapporteur
The Organization of American States has rebuffed an effort by some members to limit the work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and its special rapporteur for freedom of expression, The OAS extraordinary assembly of foreign ministers, held March 22 in Washington, D.C., adopted a resolution rejecting a series of proposals from the Bolivarian Alliance […]
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25 March 2013
Russian Officials Pay Surprise Visit to FOI Group
Russian government officials on March 21 conducted a surprise visit to the St. Petersburg office of the Foundation for Information Freedom. Arriving at the office about noon, the four officials — an assistant district prosecutor, two police officers, and a tax inspector – stayed for an hour and a half and left a long list […]
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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
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
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 […]