What’s New
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10 October 2013
Chilean Senate Advances Access Law Amendments
The Senate in Chile has moved toward the adoption of amendments to the law on access to public information, according to media reports and the Pro Accesso advocacy group. The amendments would restrict access to official e-mails, critics say. The bill also touches on many procedural elements of the current law. The House has not […]
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10 October 2013
Israel to Cut FOI Fees, Cover Private Functions, Livni Says
Fees for making freedom of information requests will be cut and more information will be provided about private organizations performing public functions, according to Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. “When the state transfers resources into private hands,” Livni said, “the communication needs to be transparent and open for public scrutiny… the relationship needs to be […]
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8 October 2013
Indian Supreme Court Rules in Case Impacting RTI
The Indian Supreme Court ruled Oct. 3 in case that may have implications for which nongovernmental organizations are “substantially financed’ by public funds and are thus covered by the Right to Information Act, Although analysts are just beginning to sort through the ruling, there are indications it might reduce coverage of the RTI Act and […]
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7 October 2013
Abe Promotes Secrecy, Sidelining Transparency and OGP
By Jeff Kingston Kingston is Director of Asian Studies, Temple University Japan. Norika Fujiwara, a TV celebrity who serves as goodwill Ambassador for the Japanese Red Cross, recently caused a media sensation when she came out against the government’s proposed secrecy legislation, saying it would adversely affect citizens. Writing on her website last month, she urged […]
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7 October 2013
Some Ukrainian Bodies Deny Asset Disclosures
By Oleksii Khmara and Anatolii Stoian Khmara is head of Transparency International Ukraine, an anti-corruption watchdog. Stoian is a representative of the same organization. Just in time for the eleventh annual International Right to Know Day on September 28th, Ukrainian parliament members have again attempted to significantly limit the public’s access to information. Four representatives of the […]
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7 October 2013
Awards Programs Reward Effort, Chastise Opacity
By Toby McIntosh Only this audience would laugh so heartily at five surrealistic stories about government denials of access to public information. The incredulous appreciation of unfortunate stories stemmed from shared experience. The 100 persons attending the annual awards ceremony in Sofia, Bulgaria, were a community celebrating the pro-transparency efforts of journalists, activists and public officials. “Golden Key” […]
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7 October 2013
Uruguay’s Senate Defers Making FOI Amendments
The Senate in Uruguay has delayed making controversial modifications to the freedom of information law. A budget bill approved before by the Representatives Chamber contained an article (Article 37) to make changes to the law. The Center for Archives and Access to Public Information (CAINFO) and other civil society groups opposed the amendments as regressive. […]
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4 October 2013
Punjab Issues Ordinance on Right to Information
The state of Punjab in Pakistan has decreed a right to information law. The “Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Ordinance 2013” (text) has been introduced as an ordinance, making it valid for 120 days. After that it lapses unless approved by the provincial assembly. “Great development here and we are very excited!!,” commented Zahid […]
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4 October 2013
Tunisia Proposes to Amend Access Law, Add Commission
The Tunisian government has proposed amendments to the post-revolution Decree 41 on accersss to information The proposed changes would create an independent commission to monitor government performance on access to information and to process appeals. Abderrahman Ladgham, the deputy prime minister for anti-corruption and good governance said, “If their demands [for information] are not met, citizens […]
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4 October 2013
FOI Notes: OGP, Open Data, Open Contracting, Funding, Reports, More
OGP: Overview of the civil society experience with the Open Government Partnership. The lead authored is by Dolar Vasani, who also examined the civil society experience with the OGP in 15 countries in a series of stories underwritten by the OGP civil society coordinator. The conclusion states: The OGP has, in many instances, facilitated the […]
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3 October 2013
Only Commissioner in Africa Busy With Delayed Start
By Toby McIntosh Liberia’s new information commissioner received his first appeal while working on his car in his garage. Mark Bedo-Wla Freeman had been appointed several months earlier, but in the beginning he lacked a computer, an office or any staff. Things are looking up now, after a little more than a year in office. Freeman has an […]
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3 October 2013
European Advisory Group Backs Tshwane Principles
A body of European parliamentarians that bills itself as “the democratic conscience of Greater Europe” has endorsed “reasonable limits” on the use of “national security” as a ground for secrecy. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Oct. 2 passed a Resolution on National Security and Access to Information. A person “who […]
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3 October 2013
U.S. Court Rules for White House on Visitors’ Records
By Harry Hammit Hammit is publisher of Access Reports, a bi-monthly report on U.S. and Canadian freedom of information legal developments. The D.C. Circuit has finessed the issue of whether visitors’ logs at the White House or the Vice President’s office are agency records subject to FOIA because they are used by the Secret Service […]
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2 October 2013
EU Transparency: Where are we now?
By P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, European Ombudsman The following speech was given by Diamandouros., the outgoing Euopean Ombudsman, at a seminar on Sept. 28, 2013, in Brussels. Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to this seminar on the occasion of the “International Right to Know Day”. It is the fourth time that the European Ombudsman organises such an event, […]
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30 September 2013
Japan Secrets Proposal Criticized as Too Sweeping
The Japanese government may modify a proposal to protect state secrets, according to media reports, but the changes appear unlikely to mollify criticis who say the bill goes too far. The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe administration plans to insert language in the bill to guarantee freedom of the press and people’s right to know, according to a Japan Times […]
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30 September 2013
OGP CSO Coordinator Backs Creating New Standards
Paul Maassen, the Open Government Partnership civil society coordinator, has advocated the creation of open government standards with which to judge national efforts. His comments come in his latest newsletter as he asks, “What can civil society itself do to monitor success at the national level?” Maassen points to efforts by the Access Info Europe […]
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30 September 2013
FOI Notes: Reports, RTK Day Tweeting, Funding, Jobs, Articles
RTI Rating: Access Info Europe and the Centre for Law and Democracy issue a report on trends in their global RTI Rating, which assesses the legal framework for the right to information in every country in the world which has adopted an RTI law. “A major finding of the report is that as international standards […]
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30 September 2013
Jamaican Government Plans New Communications Policy
Jamaica’s minister with responsibility for information, Sandrea Falconer, said the government will propose ways to strengthen access to information in the country. “I am very pleased to inform you that soon, we will be tabling our new communications policy,” she said, according to a media report. “We have just done the rough draft [and] we […]
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30 September 2013
Study Examines Access in Fourteen African Countries
African countries are “only halfway towards where they should be in terms of access to information, according to a new report. The report evaluated 14 countries using a survey of experts. The average score was 5 out of 10, “not quite a pass mark,” the report said. Only four of the countries have specific access […]
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26 September 2013
Pace of Activity on FOI Legislation Still Vigorous
The pace of passing access to information laws may be slowing, but not the number of bills under consideration, according to a FreedomInfo.org tally. Is a slowdown under way in the blistering adoption rate seen in the past two decades? Twelve laws been adopted already in the latest three-year (2010-2012) period (calendar years), but only […]