What’s New
-
6 February 2012
OGP Invites Private Sector Attendance in Brasilia
The Open Government Partnership Feb. 4 invited private sector companies to attend its April 16-18 annual meeting in Brasilia, Brazil. Last month the OGP issued a call for civil society participation at the meeting which also will be attended by representatives of the 52 member governments. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The OGP’s latest invitation indicated […]
-
4 February 2012
OGP to Add Another African Member to Steering Group
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) Governance Working Group has recommended that a representative from an African government be added to the Steering Committee. The group also said that “all” OGP meetings will take place under Chatham House rules, with remarks being non-attributable to participants. This was clarified by an OGP official as not applicable to […]
-
3 February 2012
Bahamas Set to Debate Freedom of Information Bill
By Larry Smith Smith is an independent columnist whose work appears in The Tribune. Reprinted by permission. Last October the government tabled an historic Freedom of Information Bill in Parliament – fulfilling a key election pledge. This law is expected to be debated in the next few days. Some have called the proposed legislation weak, arguing that […]
-
3 February 2012
FOI Training for Government Officials: Main Trends
By Natalia Torres Torres is Senior Researcher for the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE) in Argentina. See this article in Spanish. CELE has just released a brief note on access to information training for government officials. The note, elaborated by Natalia Torres and Luis Esquivel, describes different approaches […]
-
3 February 2012
Acceso a la información: principales tendencias en la capacitación de funcionarios
Por Natalia Torres Investigadora Principal del CELE El CELE acaba de publicar una breve documento sobre capacitación de funcionarios en acceso a la información pública. El documento, elaborado por Natalia Torres y Luis Esquivel, describe las diferentes estrategias utilizadas por los gobiernos para asegurar que sus funcionarios se encuentren preparados para la implementación de las […]
-
3 February 2012
India Proposes RTI Act Exemption on Nuclear Safety
The government of India has proposed to amend the Right to Information Act to exclude from coverage any nuclear safety agencies created in the future. The government introduced the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill (NSRA Bill) in September 2011, but its RTI impact has just been highlighted by RTI activists. The bill seeks to add […]
-
3 February 2012
Liberian Court Urged to Make Disclosures Under FOI Law
Liberia’s Criminal Court ‘A’ has so far declined to disclose evidence in a media-related case, prompting a complaint by the Press Union of Liberia about the denial under the Freedom of Information Act of Liberia. “The Union says it is beyond 60 days since it requested the Court to provide copies of the species of […]
-
3 February 2012
Agnew Approved as New Scottish Commissioner
The Scottish Parliament Feb. 1 has approved Rosemary Agnew as the next Scottish Information Commissioner. If approved by the Queen, a final formality, she will assume the job in April for a six-year term. Agnew succeeds Kevin Dunion, who retires later this month. Agnew has been the Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, which […]
-
3 February 2012
Nigerian State of Ogun Will Pass FOI Law, AG Says
The Ogun state government in Nigeria intends to pass a freedom of information bill on Feb. 29, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Wemimo Ogunde said recently, according to media reports. Ogune made the disclosure Feb. 1 at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop on FOI, according to an article in Daily Trust by […]
-
3 February 2012
Sierra Leone President Again Supports FOI Bill
Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma Jan. 28 reiterated his support for freedom of information legislation on the occasion of the review of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Forum, Country Review Report of Sierra Leone at the 16th Summit of the Committee of participating Heads of State and Government of the APRM in Addis […]
-
3 February 2012
Ghana Makes Plans for Open Data Initiative
The Ghana government in collaboration with World Wide Web Foundation (WWWF) has announced plans for a Ghana Open Data Initiative to make government data more available. William Tevie, Director General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), signed a memorandum of understanding between the government and the WWWF, a nongovernmental organization, in Accra on Jan. […]
-
3 February 2012
FOI Notes: Open Data Book, U.S. Reports, U.K. Guide
Open Data: Josh Tauberer, self-described as “software developer, entrepreneur, and civic hacker based in Washington, DC” has posted a work-in-progress “book” on the history of open government data and providing open data principles. United States: The New York Times writes about getting a response to a 1997 FOI request and the problem of delayed responses. United […]
-
3 February 2012
President Aquino Submits Text of FOI Legislation
Philippines President Benigno Aquino Feb. 2 sent to Congress his administration’s long awaited version of the freedom of information bill. “Earlier today, we formally submitted to our coalition partners in the House of Representatives a substitute Freedom of Information Bill, which we believe addresses stakeholders’ desires to have more transparency and more access to information […]
-
3 February 2012
Dutch Wob War Enters New, More Civilized Stage
By Roger Vleugels Vluegels, roger.vleugels@planet.nl, is based in The Netherlands where he publishes Fringe Spitting, in which this report first appeared. In the first half of 2011 the Minister of Internal Affairs, Piet-Hein Donner, in charge for the Dutch FOIA, the Wob, launched his attack on the Wob. Since September 2011 the early signs of change […]
-
3 February 2012
OGP Posts Updates From Some Member Countries
The Open Government Partnership has begun posting updates from member countries about the progress they are making on their national action plans. The OGP announcement Feb. 2 said 19 updates had been received, but not all of them were available on the OGP website as of Feb. 3. More are expected. In most cases, the […]
-
31 January 2012
Court in Nepal Delays Controversial RTI Limits
The Supreme Court of Nepal Jan. 31 stayed until Feb. 5 the decision of the government to classify 140 kinds of information, according to a report in Republica. The court ordered defendants and plaintiffs to be present arguments on whether the classification decision should be stayed until there is a final decision by the […]
-
31 January 2012
UN Body Planning Website on FOI, Data Protection
A United Nations body has requested advice on its plans to create an online platform concerning freedom of information and data protection. The platform (http://www.unpan.org/unpacs) also will cover other topics related to public administration. The call for comments is an “informal” outreach effort mainly designed to get input from civil society organizations and academics. The […]
-
31 January 2012
Nepalese Information Classification Called Excessive, Illegal
The government of Nepal has classified as confidential 140 types of information, sparking protests and legal actions. The classifications by a three-person committee came into force on Jan. 15, without promised consultations, and the scope of the secrecy extends beyond the scope of allowable exemptions contained in the RTI Act Section 3, according to Tanka Aryal, […]
-
30 January 2012
Campaign Under Way for Germany to Join Open Government Partnership
By Sebastian Haselbeck Haselbeck is community manager of the Internet & Society Co:llaboratory. When eight countries committed to launching the Open Government Partnership in the fall of 2011, chaired by the governments of the United States and Brazil, hopes were high among the German “opengov” community that their own government’s commitment might be imminent. For […]
-
30 January 2012
Under Obama, FOIA Is Still in Shackles
By Trevor Timm Timm is an activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who specializes in free speech issues and government transparency. He also curates the Twitter account @WLLegal that reports on legal news surrounding WikiLeaks, the right to publish classified information, and other freedom of the press issues. This article was first published Jan. 30, […]