What’s New
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1 April 2011
Improvements to Mexican Transparency Law Passed
A handful of potentially harmful proposals to change the Mexican freedom of information law were defeated March 30 as a key congressional committee approved a package of more positive reforms. Although approval by several other committees and the full lower body of Congress still lies ahead, and activists are concerned about the possible opposition from […]
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1 April 2011
UN Body Makes Progress on Article 19 Amplification
The United Nations committee developing an expanded interpretation of Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights will soon publish the results of its deliberations, according to a U.N. official. The Human Rights Committee met March 23-25, and the official said it discussed up to paragraph 25 of the proposed Draft General Comment […]
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1 April 2011
FOI Notes: Two New FOIA Websites Begun in U.S.
United States: A new website developed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) will provide details about every new court challenge to the withholding of information by the Obama administration. The site, supported with a grant from the CS Fund/Warsh-Mott Legacy, is updated daily with the latest court FOIA filings and provides extensive information about […]
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1 April 2011
Sierra Leone Coalition Urges Action on FOIA Bill
The Sierra Leone Freedom of Information Coalition March 28 wrote to President Ernst Bai Koroma expressing “disappointment concerning the delays associated with the enactment of the Right to Access Information Bill.” Promised action on the bill has been postponed by a series of delays in Parliament. The letter chronicled: It was anticipated that the Bill […]
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1 April 2011
Israeli Court Orders Disclosures by Ministry
By Roy Peled Director, Movement for Freedom of Information in Israel The Tel-Aviv administrative court March 30 issued an important ruling, in which it ordered the Ministry of defense to release drafts that were later not adopted by the ministry, in which authors calculated what should be considered “red lines” of minimal food produce that […]
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1 April 2011
Croatian Court Creates Chance to Rewrite FOIA Law
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia on March 23 overturned the 2010 law on access to information, according to an announcement by Transparency International Croatia (TIC), which brought the lawsuit and said it hopes a better law will be written the next time around. TIC had argued that the Act on the Amendments […]
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1 April 2011
Utah Repeals Controversial Law Restricting Access
The U.S. state of Utah has done a fast reversal, repealing a heavily criticized law that would have restricted public access to some government records. Gov. Gary Herbert signed the repeal bill March 30, and a special committee has began work on redrafting the original legislation, which was hastily passed. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Open […]
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31 March 2011
Obama Talks Transparency With Activists in Oval Office
Open government activists who met with President Obama March 28 for an unprecedented talk later described the 20-minute conversation in positive terms. In three accounts by those present, the president was described as “clearly engaged” and enthusiastic about making more progress on transparency. The president was given an award for his commitment to transparency, although the […]
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25 March 2011
Indian Government Retreats on Most RTI Proposals
The Indian government has backed down on most of its controversial proposals to amend the right to know law, following pressure from the National Advisory Council. The government is sticking with a proposal to limit applications to one subject, however, according to the Council minutes and a report in the Hindustan Times NAC member Aruna […]
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25 March 2011
EU Official Issues Guidance on Access to Personal Data
The European Data Protection Supervisor March 24 issued a “background paper” on public access to documents containing personal data, to serve as guidance for EU institutions. “The paper explains the updated EDPS position on the matter following the ruling of the European Court of Justice in the Bavarian Lager case on the reconciliation of the […]
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25 March 2011
Amendment to UK FOIA Subject of Hearing
The Campaign for Freedom of Information has recommended a variety of changes to the proposed amendments of the United Kingdom’s freedom of information law. The UK Information Commissioner also submitted extensive comments. Their evidence was presented at a March 24 hearing before the Protection of Freedoms Bill Committee. For video of the meeting, look here. […]
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25 March 2011
FOI Notes: India, U.S., Africa, Open Data
India: CUTS International announced an RTI Toolkit. The toolkit is entitled “Model Framework for Replication: Usages of RTI in Rural Rajasthan, India: Enhancing Transparency and Reforming the Processes.” It explores the need of reforming the service delivery and decision-making processes in three selected national flagship schemes implemented by the Rural Development Department, Government of Rajasthan. […]
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25 March 2011
Niger Government Issues Access to Information Policy
The transitional government in Niger has issued a “Charte d’accès à l’information publique et aux documents administratifs” on access to information. Although the document lacks the force of law, it is being viewed as a positive step toward more transparency, instructing administrative bodies on releasing information. The move was announced in advance of upcoming presidential […]
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25 March 2011
Banisar Study Explores Interplay of RTI, Privacy laws
There is no simple solution to balancing the sometimes competing rights of access to information and protection of privacy, “but most issues can be mitigated through the enactment of clear definitions in legislation, guidelines, techniques, and oversight systems,” according to a report by David Banisar, Senior Legal Counsel for Article 19, the London-based freedom of […]
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24 March 2011
Pakistani Activists Urge Promise-Keeping on RTI
The Pakistan government should fulfill its promise to enact a new right to information law, activists said during a demonstration in Islamabad. A March 17 walk to the parliament building was organized by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives. They asked why top officials have not fulfilled pledges to replace the Freedom of Information […]
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23 March 2011
Court Clears Way for Disclosures About U.S. Bailout
The U.S. Supreme Court March 21 decided not to overturn two related federal appeals court rulings requiring the Federal Reserve to disclose details about financial aid to banks and other institutions during the 2008 financial crisis. Bloomberg and Fox News Network sought information under the Freedom of Information Act about which institutions sought and received […]
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23 March 2011
Consortium Issues Draft of Transparency Principles
A draft set of “Principles on National Security & Access to Information” has been released for comment by groups developing them as a resource for policymakers. Developing the principles are: the Open Society Justice Initiative, Article 19, Centre for Law & Democracy, Centre for National Security Studies, ICJ, Institute for Security Studies, National Security Archive, […]
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23 March 2011
South African Committee Resumes on Secrecy Bill
After a two-month procedural delay, the South African parliament has cleared the way for a committee to resume work on the contested Protection of Information Bill. The parliament set a deadline of June 24 for the ad hoc committee to complete its work. In January, opposition party members balked at continuing deliberations without standard procedures […]
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23 March 2011
EU Court Supports Disclosing Names of Countries
The Council of the European Union was not justified in refusing to disclose the identities of countries taking positions on reform of the European Union’s access to information rules, the General Court of the EU has decided. The Court found that the Council had “in no way demonstrated” how publication of the country names would “seriously […]
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23 March 2011
Israeli Cabinet Approves Creation of New FOI Unit
The Israeli Cabinet March 6 approved the creation of a central freedom of information unit, to be housed within the Ministry of Justice. The unit is authorized to “to guide government ministries in regard to wrong-doing revealed in their handling of FOI requests.” In addition, the new office will create a website to provide information, […]