News
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27 November 2012
Philippines House Committee Approves FOI Legislation
A Philippines House committee Nov. 27 voted 17-3, with one abstention, to approve a long-stalled freedom of information bill. Final passage, however, remains uncertain because of time pressures. Approval by the full House this year would require action during the 11 session days left before Congress goes on a Christmas break, and only limited time […]
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26 November 2012
Argentine Supreme Court Hears Significant FOI Case
By Dolores Lavalle Cobo Lavalle Cobo is an Argentine lawyer, member of Centro para la Información Ciudadana (Center for Citizen´s Information) and author of books and articles. Nov. 22 was a significant day for the right of access to information in Argentina. While in Congress the draft of a bill implementing access as a constitutional right is about […]
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26 November 2012
United Kingdom Consults on Datasets Disclosure Code
The British government has begun a consultation on its code of practice on government datasets. “The proposed new Code of Practice (datasets) was drafted in conjunction with the Cabinet Office, The Information Commissioners Office, The National Archives, and The Ministry of Justice and sets out what we mean by the terms in the new sections […]
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26 November 2012
Indian Supreme Court to Review RTI Act Decision
The Indian Supreme Court on Nov. 20 agreed to hear the government’s request that it review its Sept. 13 decision that among other things would require that information commissions be composed of retired judges. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) In agreeing to the review, justices A.K. Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar, “made it clear that its verdict […]
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26 November 2012
Canadian Government Pushes First Nation Transparency
The Canada’s conservative government is pushing through legislation (Bill C-27) to require more financial accountability and transparency by so-called First Nations – the governing organizations of indigenous peoples. The bill debated Nov. 23 in the Assembly would require First Nations to file annual financial statements and disclose the remuneration for chiefs and councilors. The Canadian […]
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26 November 2012
FOI Notes: Requester Privacy, Aid Transparency, Open Data, Jobs, More
Privacy for Requesters?: “Protecting the Freedom of Information Act Requestor: Privacy for Information Seekers,” an article by Sarah Shik Lamdan in the Kansas Journal of Law & Pubic Policy, Vol. 21, p. 221, 2012. The abstract says: FOIA requests are one of the foremost tools of American democracy, a primary means for assuring government transparency. […]
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23 November 2012
Clock Runs Out on Effort to Pass FOI Law in Argentina
Efforts to pass a freedom of information law in Argentina will need to begin from the beginning. The time limit for action by the House passed without action, leaving the 2010 Senate-passed bill in limbo. The Senate legislation was forwarded to several committees (called commissions) – the Constitutional Affairs Commission, the Justice Commission and the […]
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23 November 2012
SA Committee Approves Amended Secrecy Bill
An ad hoc committee of the South African Parliament has approved the secrecy bill, setting the stage for expected passage the National Council of Provinces and the National Assembly in the upcoming weeks. The committee Nov. 21 dropped a controversial provision that would have made the new law override the Promotion of Access to Information […]
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23 November 2012
ASEAN Declaration Includes Mention of Access Right
The recently issued declaration on human rights by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, facing criticisms, includes a provision recognizing the right to receive information. It states: 23. Every person has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information, whether orally, […]
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21 November 2012
Chile Encourages Agencies to Publish Data on New Portal
Chile’s General Secretary of the Presidency has announced an Open Government Presidential Directive establishing an open data policy and encouraging governmental institutions to proactively publish their data and information. The announcement mandates that open government data must be published on a portal: http://datos.gob.cl/ The directive by President Sebastián Piñera “marks an unprecedented commitment” to the […]
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21 November 2012
FOI Notes: African Model Law, Music, Jobs, Open Data
African Model Law: A posting on the Open Society Foundations website by Maxwell Kadiri & Chidi Odinkalu describes the effort to create a model RTI law for Africa. The report says that Pansy Tlakula, the Human Rights Commission’s special rapporteur on the right of access to information “has delivered” on the project begun in 2010. […]
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21 November 2012
FOI Notes: Latin America, Austerity and RTI, WikiLeaks
Research: A new study ranks the openness of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. To build the ranking 4 main factors were considered: 1) regulations (normatividad); 2) parliamentary labour (labor parlamentaria); 3) budget and administrative management (presupuesto y gestión administrativa) and 4) citizen participation and attention (participación y atención ciudadana). Factors have different weights (see […]
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19 November 2012
UK OGP Officials Exploring Corporate Transparency
Officials in the United Kingdom who are managing the UK’s leadership stint with the Open Government Partnership are exploring how to place more emphasis on corporate transparency. While always an area in which member countries were encouraged to make commitments, corporate transparency was rarely addressed in the national action plans. UK officials are at the early […]
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19 November 2012
President Obama Says Myanmar Plans to Join OGP
U.S. President Barack Obama Nov. 19 said he welcomed Myanmar’s intention to join the Open Government Partnership. In advance of Obama’s arrival, the Myanmar government pledged to join the OGP by 2016. Obama cited the move during a speech at the University of Yangon in Rangoon, saying, “And I very much welcome your government’s recent […]
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16 November 2012
Evardone Pledges to Meet Again on Philippines FOI Bill
The Philippines’ House committee chairman who has delayed action on freedom of information legislation is promising it will be the only topic for a Nov. 27 meeting. Rep. Ben Evardone Nov. 16 said the FOI bill “will be our only agenda” when the committee meets, according to a text message reported on by the Inquirer. […]
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16 November 2012
Zimbabwe Considers Flawed RTI Constitutional Clause
A proposed constitutional provision on right to information would be too restrictive, according to RTI experts following the process. In particular, the latest draft would guarantee access to information held by a public body only when necessary for the exercise of other citizen rights. Such requirement would require a requester to justify the intended use, […]
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16 November 2012
Date Set for Committee Action on SA Secrecy Bill
Nov. 21 could be the date for a South African parliamentary committee to vote on the controversial secrecy bill, which has been revised again with the removal of several previous concessions. The reversals, which have drawn objections from the bill’s critics, would retain certain stiff penalties and drop language guaranteeing that the protection of state information bill […]
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16 November 2012
FOI Notes: United States, World Bank, Funding, More
United States: A Congressional Research Service report addresses government transparency. The report “assesses the meaning of transparency and discusses its scholarly and practical definitions. It also provides an analysis of the concept of transparency, with a focus on federal government transparency in the executive branch.”It is described by Steven Aftergood in a Secrecy News blog […]
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13 November 2012
Delay May Doom FOI Bill in Philippines House, Again
A committee of the Philippines House Nov. 13 failed to pass the much-delayed freedom of information bill prompting supporters to declare the bill not only dead, but “murdered.” Committee Chairman Ben Evardone forced the adjournment of the inconclusive meeting with a procedural move, thwarting Representatives supporting the bill, who had demanded a final vote, according […]
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12 November 2012
Mexican Senate Moving Closer to FOI Legislation
The Mexican Senate is considering significant changes to the Mexican freedom of information regime, most considered positive by FOI advocates, and getting to the stage where the specifics are being debated. The drafting of constitutional amendments and legislation is under way behind the scenes, according to several close observers of the process. The three major […]