What’s New
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18 February 2011
Latvian Court Moves to Expand FOI Scope
The Latvian Supreme Court has said it will hear a case involving whether the national airline is subject to the freedom of information law. An administrative court had refused to hear a case about refusal of the national airline to respond to the FOI request, according to FOIA activists in Latvia. The requesters appealed to […]
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18 February 2011
Philippines House Leader Suggests Action on FOI Bill
A top leader of the Philippine House of Representatives said this week that an effort will be made to bring a bill up Feb. 22. The statement by Deputy Speaker and Quezon Representative Lorenzo Tañada III comes despite the decision so far by the new Aquino administration not to make the FOI bill a legislative […]
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18 February 2011
Tensions Arise Over Protests Against ANC Secrecy Bill
Masks, a silent protest, a walk-out and rancorous counter-charges marked the week’s activity in South Africa surrounding the controversial Protection of Information Bill. The week ended with criticism of the bill from U2 lead singer Bono. Opposition party committee members charged that the ad hoc committee considering the bill lacked the technical approval to continue […]
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14 February 2011
World Bank Supportive of Ghana FOI Bill
By Toby McIntosh Supporters of a freedom of information bill for Ghana, feeling tantalizingly close to seeing parliamentary action, are now waiting to see if parliamentary leaders will suggest a “reasonable” budget and timetable for country-wide consultations. The Word Bank has indicated its willingness to finance the consultations but rejected a proposal from parliamentarians to […]
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11 February 2011
Nigerian House Votes to Advance FOI Legislation
The Nigerian House Feb. 10 voted to speed up action on freedom of information legislation that has been pending for 11 years. In an unexpected move, the House sent the measure for “thorough scrutiny” by two of its committees — Information and National Orientation and Justice — withdrawing a 2007 order that had held the bill up. The […]
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11 February 2011
Three Nigerian States Advancing Openness Reforms
By Toby McIntosh Frustrated with lack of action on freedom of information legislation at the national level, three states in Nigeria are taking steps to bring more transparency to the state level. Three states are considering action – Ekiti, Lagos and Rivers, according to Nigerian activists and media accounts. The state efforts are occurring […]
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11 February 2011
U.S. Judge Orders Disclosure of Metadata
A U.S. federal court has ordered the release of metadata – tracking information imbedded in electronic documents. The decision was issued Feb. 7 in National Day Laborer Organizing Network v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Materials provided by the agency were unsearchable and unusable, the court said, because it came in the form of a […]
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11 February 2011
UN Urged to Expand Article 19 Interpretation
Right to information experts have recommended that the United Nations Human Rights Committee expand its draft interpretation of Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart […]
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11 February 2011
New Group Formed to Press for FOI Legislation in Brazil
Brasil Aberto (Open Brazil) has been created to encourage passage of an access to public information law in Brazil. Legislation passed the lower house of Congress in April 2010, but has since languished in the Senate where it has been assigned for review to four committees. (See previous Freedominfo.org report.) The new coalition was formed […]
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11 February 2011
FOI Notes: EU Law, Conferences
EU: A paper prepared by Mario Savino, of Tuscia University of Viterbo (Italy), addresses the topic, “The Right to Open Public Administrations in Europe: Emerging Legal Standards.” It is published by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The paper examines the regulations on access to information where they exist and how transparency policies are implemented […]
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10 February 2011
RTI Martyrs: Saluting the Brave
By Amitabh Thakur IPS officer from UP and President, National RTI Forum “RTI Martyrs ! Who the hell are they?” someone might ask. And the reason is obvious. For long we have listened the word martyr as someone who has sacrificed his or her life at the altar of human well-being. Each society and each […]
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7 February 2011
FOI Bill Not Prioritized by Aquino Administration
New Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has left the Freedom of Information bill off his short list of legislative goals, despite having indicated during the campaign that it would be a priority. At a briefing Feb. 7, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said “certain issues” concerning the FOIA bill are under study, but did not elaborate, […]
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4 February 2011
Ghana RTI Advocates Press for Action on Legislation
Supporters of a right to information bill in Ghana returned to the streets in front of the parliament building this week to press for action and some were slightly injured in scuffles with police. Majority Leader of Parliament Cletus Avoka was not encouraging as he urged patience and told the picketers lobbyists Feb. 2 that […]
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4 February 2011
FOI NOTES: WikiLeaks and FOI, Open Data
WikiLeaks: Am informative report on a panel discussion on “Freedom of Information in the WikiLeaks Era” is available on Inforrms Blog. Julian Assange’s lawyer Mark Stephens participated. The panel, chaired by legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg and also including David Banisar (Article 19), Chris Bradshaw (Ministry of Justice), Andrew Murray (LSE), and James Leaton Gray (BBC) […]
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31 January 2011
My Fight for Irish Freedom (of Information)
By Rodney Breen This article was posted Jan. 25 on Mr. Breen’s blog “Life as it Happens.” It is reprinted with permission. There are many things that are wrong in Ireland, and secrecy is one of them. Here’s a very simple example: the 1997 Irish Freedom of Information Act preceded the British one by three years (the […]
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31 January 2011
South African Panel Gets 60 More Days on POIB
The ad hoc parliamentary committee working on the Protection of Information Bill has been granted until March 31 to finish its work, officials said Jan. 29. The extension was called too limited by opponents of the bill. The African Christian Democratic Party’s (ACDP) Steve Swart said they need at least another 12 months. “Legislation is […]
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28 January 2011
Ghana Official Says Finances Impede RTI Progress
A top official in Ghana’s parliament is blaming financial constraints for lack of action on a right to information bill, according to media reports. The chairman of Parliament’s Communication Committee, Felix Twumasi-Appiah, is quoted in myjoyline.com as saying that parliament is too broke to sponsor public consultations that some activists had expected to begin earlier this month. […]
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28 January 2011
South African Committee to Seek Extension of Time
The South African parliamentary committee working on the controversial Protection of Information Bill will seek more time to work on the legislation, its chairman said this week. Chairman Cecil Burgess said he would ask for an extension of the Jan. 28 deadline. Debate continued in committee Jan. 26 with no amendments being made. The committee […]
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28 January 2011
Indian Government Retorts to Critics of RTI Rules Proposals
An Indian government department has replied negatively to criticisms of its proposals to amendment the Right to Know Act rules, including to place a word limit on request and to abate appeals on the death of an applicant. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) launched a consultation exercise in December 2010 on its suggested changes, and one […]
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28 January 2011
First Commissioner Named in Jammu, Kashmir
Six years after the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir enacted a Right to Information Act, the first Chief Information Officer has been named, Chief Income Tax Commissioner for northern India, G R Sufi. Two information commissioners still must be appointed under the law. Sufi emerged as the consensus candidate in the meeting of the […]