What’s New
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13 August 2012
Botswana FOI Bill Again Defeated by Ruling Party
The ruling party in Botswana again appears to have doomed the chances of a freedom of information bill passing parliament. Supporters were optimistic last week after the General Assembly had voted Aug. 1 to bring the measure to the floor of the parliament. But president’s chief communications officer persuaded the ruling party’s backbenchers to renege […]
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13 August 2012
Word Limit Imposed on Indian RTI Requesters
The Indian government has placed a limit of 500 words on the length of applications under the Right to Information Act and has established a new form for making appeals to the Central Information Commission. The new rule, issued July 31 by the Department of Personnel and Training, also requires that appellants or their representative […]
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13 August 2012
Nigerian Energy Company Pledges to Follow FOI Law
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has promised to follow the 2011 Freedom of Information Act, according to a news report. Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Andrew Yakubu, said the NNPC management established a task force on the new law after it was passed “We have since internalized the contents of that report and […]
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13 August 2012
Somalia Includes Access Right in Constitution
The Somalian National Constituent Assembly on Aug. 1, made up of 825 prominent Somalis, approved a constitution that among other things guarantees access to information. The approval sets the stage for presidential elections and the establishment of a parliament. A Provisional Constitution Review and Implementation Oversight Committee will review the constitution, which received largely positive […]
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13 August 2012
FOI Notes: Jobs, Wikileaks, Software
Consultancy: Africa Freedom of Information Centre is looking for a consultant “to conduct a review of the AFIC seeks the services of a consultant to conduct a review of the institution and its programmes based on the results, work in consultation with AFIC staff, members and the Steering Committee to develop a five year strategic […]
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10 August 2012
Report Details Access Scene in Four Middle East Nations
A new report provides extensive detail on the access to information situation in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia, concluding that in all four “a culture of secrecy prevails over that of openness,” and advocating incremental reforms. The report, “Access to Information in the Middle East and North African Region: An overview of recent development in […]
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10 August 2012
Chile Decrees Confidentiality Despite Court Ruling
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. The Chilean Government published Decree No.155 on July 26 ordering the confidentiality of the legal services hired by the National Directorate of International Limits and Boundaries. The Directorate is a division of […]
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10 August 2012
FOI NOTES: Open Data, Cool Graphic, Color Requests
India/Open Data: A report on open data in India by the Transparency Access Initiative. Latin America: The Latin American Index on Budget Transparency, done by FUNDAR, a Mexican NGO. United States: The Sunlight Foundation produces a graphic showing how the news would look without FOI; showing stories with many blacked out lines. United Kingdom: The […]
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10 August 2012
Sri Lanka Media Groups Object to Official Excuse
Sri Lanka’s Secretary to the Ministry of Media and Information Charitha Herath July 27 said concerns about national security will keep freedom of information legislation from coming before parliament any time soon. After his remarks at a meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC ) in Colombo, four leading media rights organizations […]
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9 August 2012
OGP to Survey Members on Implementation Efforts
The Open Government Partnership will soon be checking in with participating governments on implementation of their national action plans and engaging with governments that have not yet submitted plans. A survey is being prepared that among other things will ask for a description of “at least one area of progress and on challenge your government […]
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9 August 2012
UK ICO Provides Guidance on FOI Law and Copyrights
Copyrighted material may be disclosed pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request, according to recent guidance from the United Kingdom’s Information commissioner’s Office. The UK’s Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) permits such disclosures, the ICO guidance says “Providing information in response to a request made under FOIA constitutes an act specifically authorised under […]
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8 August 2012
FOIAnet Begins Preparations for Tenth Annual RTK Day
FOIAnet is seeking help to prepare for the 10th annual Right to Know Day, Sept. 28, looking for photos and suggestions for a 10-10-10 Anniversary Advocacy Document. The idea for the advocacy document is “to create a concise statement which identifies our greatest achievements of the last 10 years, our greatest challenges (in the network […]
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8 August 2012
Roy Objects to Proposals to Amend State RTI Law
RTI activist and National Advisory Council (NAC) member Aruna Roy has written to the chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, to protest proposed amendments to the RTI law. The state government in January proposed that applications being limited to a single subject and be less that 150 words. Alos applicants inspecting documents […]
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6 August 2012
South Africa Yet to Approve OGP National Action Plan
South Africa, a founding member of the Open Government Partnership and a member of the Steering Committee, has yet to approve its national action plan, the cornerstone commitment document for OGP members. Last September, South African President Jacob Zuma joined leaders from the other eight founding OGP members to announce their action plans in New […]
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6 August 2012
Rep. Evardone Targeted for Blocking Philippine FOI Bill
Advocates for passage of a freedom of information law in the Philippines have begun an advertising blitz targeting a key House committee chairman, Rep. Ben Evardone, who is widely viewed as the major impediment to passing the bill. A cartoon shows a tensely smiling Evardone dribbling a basketball labeled “Freedom of Information.” A caption says: […]
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6 August 2012
U.S. State Access Laws Evaluated in New Study
Connecticut is ranked first and South Carolina last in a new evaluation of state access laws in the United States. The survey of the laws and their effectiveness was done by local reporters using an evaluation scheme prepared by State Integrity, a nongovernmental organization. “In state after state, the laws are riddled with exemptions and […]
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3 August 2012
Spanish Cabinet OKs Access Law, Releases Text
The Spanish Cabinet on July 27 approved an access bill and several days later released the long-awaited text of the bill (in Spanish). With the action by the Spanish Council of Ministers, the bill on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance, (proyecto de Ley de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información Pública y Buen Gobierno) […]
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3 August 2012
Indian State Exempts Anti-Corruption Agency From RTIA
The government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh Cabinet voted on July 31 to exclude the anticorruption agency Lokayukta from the scope of the Right to Information Act, according to Indian activists and media reports. “This is one of the many attacks being launched against the transparency regime by the very system which the […]
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3 August 2012
Timing for Passage of Philippines FOI Bill Slipping
Philippines Deputy House Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III said Aug. 3 that he is optimistic that the controversial Freedom of Information bill will passed by December, but the bill still is bottled up in a House committee. The bill remains in the House committee on public information chaired by Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone, who […]
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3 August 2012
Hungary to Join OGP; Member Number 57
Hungary has notified the Open Government Partnership that it will join the multilateral organization, becoming its 57th member. Like other members, Hungary will prepare a national action plan, and an OGP spokesperson said it would be done by the end of the year. A working group of civil society organizations, including K-Monitor Watchdog for Public […]