What’s New
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3 August 2012
FOI Notes: Open Government Conference, Report on UK
Conference: “Leaders and experts from the public, private, and academic sectors will explore the role of transparency and openness in fostering more effective, innovative and accountable governance at a roundtable discussion Aug. 5-8 in Aspen, Colo.” For more information see here. The event will be streamed live at www.aspeninstitute.tv Report: The Australia and New Zealand School […]
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3 August 2012
UK Denies Release of Cabinet Minutes on Iraq War
The British government has again refused to release the minutes of Cabinet meetings from 2003 at which the invasion of Iraq was discussed. The decision announced July 31 rejects an order by Information Commissioner Christopher Graham to release the minutes. Attorney General Dominic Grieve said he issued a certificate under the Freedom of Information Act […]
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3 August 2012
Who Opposes the FOI Bill in the Philippines?
By Nepo Malaluan Malaluan is a Trustee at the Action for Economic Reforms and Co-Director of the Institute for Freedom of Information. He is also Co-Convenor of the Right to Know. Right Now! Coalition, a network of more than 150 organizations from various sectors that have long been campaigning for the passage of the Freedom […]
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30 July 2012
The South African Secrecy Bill; Taking Stock
By Caroline Stone Stone is an Advocate, Bar of England and Wales, specialising in public and employment law and was a Legal Resources Centre intern, Cape Town, in the Autumn of 2011. This article has previously been published on Constitutionally Speaking and Legalbrief Today. Progress at last? When two Nobel Laureates, an eminent constitutional lawyer […]
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30 July 2012
New Zealand Commission Offers 100 FOI Reforms
The New Zealand Law Commission July 25 issued a final report making more than 100 recommendations to reform 30-year-old right to know laws. The report, The Public’s Right to Know: Review of the Official Information Legislation, evaluates the effectiveness the Official Information Act 1982 and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. “The […]
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30 July 2012
Ukraine Access, Data Laws Criticized by Article 19
Ukraine’s Data Protection Act, Law on Information and Law on Access to Public Information lack provisions to ensure that the rights to privacy and freedom of expression and information are appropriately balanced, according to an Article 19 analysis. The London-based group issued a series of recommendations: The Data Protection Act and the Law on Information […]
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30 July 2012
China Continues Disclosures on Government Spending
In a new round of disclosures, the Chinese central government July 18 revealed spending on receptions, vehicles and overseas trips by officials, and China’s Cabinet has issued regulations to mandate such disclosures by state and local governments. The latest disclosures were the second time that 98 central government departments and public institutions have publicized spending […]
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30 July 2012
OGP Requests Nominations to Serve on IRM Panel
The Open Government Partnership July 24 issued its official call for nominations of persons to serve on the eight-member international expert panel that will oversee the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM). The IRM panel will direct the process through which OPP members’ action plans will be reviewed. It will be composed of five technical/policy experts and […]
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30 July 2012
US FOIA Ombudsman Seeks Plain Writing in Responses
The FOIA Ombudsman in the United States is seeking to make official FOI letters more readable. The Office of Government Information Services in a recent blog post asked government agencies to submit their template letters and offering to help. A recent Ombudsman’s blog post noted a law that went into effect in late 2011 mandating […]
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30 July 2012
FOI Notes: Research, Aid Transparency, a Tweet
Research: “Modeling the Informational Relationships Between Government and Society” is a new paper prepared for an upcoming workshop by The Research Foundation of State University, New York. The papers describes “the value of an information polity perspective as an approach to broadening and sharpening understanding of the nature of open government initiatives in a holistic […]
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30 July 2012
Information Technology Leads OGP Commitments
Information technology projects are the most popular commitments made by countries in their national action plans submitted as members of the Open Government Partnership, according to a new analysis by Global Integrity. The Washington-based nongovernment organization, which also leads the OGP’s Networking Mechanism, categorized the 45 available action plans using 53 subject tags. The two […]
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27 July 2012
Access to Information in Colombia: 124 Years Later
By Natalia Torres Torres is Senior Researcher at the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE) in Argentina, and regular FreedomInfo.org contributor. See this article Spanish. If one were to set out to make a genealogy of the right to know movement in Latin America, the story begins with Policy […]
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27 July 2012
Acceso a la información en Colombia: 124 años después
Por Natalia Torres Investigadora Principal del CELE Si uno quisiera realizar una genealogía del derecho a saber en América Latina la historia comenzaría con el Código de Organización Política y Municipal que Colombia adoptó en 1888. El código permitía que los ciudadanos solicitaran documentos públicos a organismos gubernamentales salvo que alguna ley dispusiera lo contrario. Ciento […]
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26 July 2012
UK Committee Supports Modest Changes to FOI Law
A committee of the British Parliament July 26 concluded that the UK’s Freedom of Information Act “is serving the nation well” and declined to recommend higher access fees or other restrictions. “Supporters of freedom of information will be relieved, but many of its critics will be disappointed,” wrote Martin Rosenbaum for BBC. The unanimous report […]
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26 July 2012
Brazil’s Access Law Active, But Problems Still Remain
By Isabela Fraga Fraga’s article appeared on the Knight Center Journalism in the Americas blog July 23 and is reprinted with permission. It is available in Spanish and Portuguese on the blog. Since the Brazilian Law of Information Access went into effect on May 16, the Brazilian federal government has received 17,516 requests to access […]
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26 July 2012
OGP May Delay London Meeting Until October
The leadership of the Open Government Partnership is considering moving the annual meeting from March to October, according to recently released subcommittee notes, which also indicate the OGP is reviewing a new “Strategic Plan.” The possible new time for the meeting, to be held in London, is one of numerous procedural and policy matters referenced in […]
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25 July 2012
CSOs Begin Discussion of OGP Rotation, Voting Rules
The civil society community of the Open Government Partnership is reexamining the planned system for electing civil society members to the OGP Steering Committee. The OGP civil society coordinator, Paul Maassen, has invited comments from civil society on the mechanism by which the current nine civil society members of the Steering Committee will rotate off the […]
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25 July 2012
OGP Clarifies Suspension Process in Revised Articles
The Open Government Partnership has decided that disciplinary action could be taken after three years if a member acts contrary to the OGP process or to the commitments made in its national action plan. Despite having established a mechanism for suspension, such action by the Steering Committee is not considered likely. Discipline is seen as […]
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23 July 2012
Aquino Doesn’t Mention FOI in State of the Nation Speech
Philippines President Benigno Aquino did not mention the Freedom of Information bill in his annual State of the Nation address July 23, disheartening FOI supporters. The pro-FOI coalition had urged him to draw attention to the legislation, which has passed the Senate but seems to be stalled in a House committee. “The committee’s chairperson, Rep. […]
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20 July 2012
Pakistan Senate Forms Committee to Study FOI
Pakistan’s Senate has formed a subcommittee to work with the information ministry to develop freedom of information legislation. The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on July 18 approved establishment of the committee, which will be convened by Senator Farhatullah Babar, with senators Syed Zafar Ali Shah and Daud Khan Achakzai as members. The […]