What’s New
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16 March 2017
Access to public information in Erdoğan’s Turkey
By Gülseren Adaklı (Originally published by Bianet, media partner in the ECPMF project. This publication has been produced within the project European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, co-funded by the European Commission. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso and its partners and can in no way be taken to […]
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9 March 2017
FOI Notes: Liberia, India, US, Ghana, Malaysia, OGP, Guam, Bahamas, Australia, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Oscars
Liberia: The Liberian Legislature is violating the FOI law according to a report by the Independent Information Commission, according to an article in The News. India: Cooperative institutions are covered by the RTI Act, the Bombay high court rules. United States: The California Supreme Court in the unanimous opinion rules that when government officials conduct […]
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8 March 2017
EU Commissioners Urge Stronger Role for Offices
European national information commissioners have called for strengthening their powers and increasing their resources. “A strong right of access to information can only be fully effective if its implementation is accompanied and supported by strong information commissioners and ombudspersons as mediators between the state and citizens,” according to a joint declaration (in English) (in German) adopted at a […]
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2 March 2017
South African Coalition Finds Weak Compliance With Law
Almost half of all requests for information under the South African access to information law are refused, according to a new report by the Access to Information Network. This and other findings point out “a shocking dereliction of duties by public and private bodies to realise South Africans’ constitutional right of access to information,” according […]
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2 March 2017
FOI Notes: Algeria, US, Slovakia, Tunisia, Israel, Namibia, Myanmar, Open Data
Algeria: A top Ministry of Justice official says the ministry is drafting a bill that enshrines the right of access to information guaranteed by the Constitution, according to a Huffington Post article. United States: “Transparency And FOIA In The Age Of Trump,” articles in Quill by three experts: – Lucy Dalglish: Under Trump, A (Potentially) Bright […]
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23 February 2017
FOI Notes: Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Open Data, Cyprus, Lebanon, Environmental Transparency, US, Malawi, OGP
Tunisia: Following objections from journalism groups and other organizations, the government says it will revise controversial decrees, according to a Kapitalis news report (in French). The groups’ statement called on the government to “review decree 4030 and immediately withdraw circular n°4″. Separately, there are indications of delay in meeting the March 24 target date for […]
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16 February 2017
FOI Notes: Malawi, Pakistan, Philippines, Bahamas, Nigeria, Tunisia, Zambia, India, US, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Open Data, Open Budgets, Commentary, Ghana, Bangladesh, Vanuatu, Seychelles, Open Eurovision
Malawi: After an unexplained delay, President Peter Mutharika signs to the ATI bill passed last December, according to a Nyasa Times article, making Malawi the 22nd African nation with a FOI regime. Pakistan: A Senate Select Committee approves an RTI bill (text not immediately available), reports Dawn and The Nation. A new clause covers footage from […]
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9 February 2017
FOI Notes: Vanuatu, Balkans, Tunisia, OGP, Publications, Commentary, US, Ghana, UK, India, Uruguay, Philippines, Isle of Man
Vanuatu: The RTI Act became law Feb. 6 after it was published in the official Gazette. “Within six months from the commencement of this legislation, the Minister responsible is required to specify the Government agencies that this Act applies to,” according to an article. Balkans: The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) publishes […]
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2 February 2017
The Indian RTI Act Is Scarcely Misused
By Shailesh Gandhi The author is a former member of the Central Information Commission. This article was first published Jan. 27 in Scroll. As an information commissioner who dealt with over 20,000 cases under the Right to Information Act, I had the opportunity of interacting with a large number of information seekers and public information […]
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2 February 2017
RTI in Uganda: Unclogging The Bottlenecks
By Loyce Kyogabirwe The author works with Isis-WICCE, a feminist organization whose mandate is to strengthen women’s leadership and potential in post conflict settings. The article first appeared on the website of the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA). The right to information (RTI) is essential for the functioning of […]
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2 February 2017
Groups Seeks Court Order For Publication of FOI Law
The Guinea law on the right of access to public information, promulgated on Nov. 24, 2010, is still not applied and has not been published in the official gazette of the Republic The Guinean Association of Independent Press Publishers (AGEPI) has asked the Supreme Court to order the General Secretariat of the Government to publish the […]
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2 February 2017
FOI Notes: Pakistan, Ghana, Tunisia, India, Togo, New Zealand, Transparency Research, Canada, US, UK
Pakistan: A Senate select committee unanimously agrees on the draft of an RTI bill, report The Nation and Online News. Pakistan: The Punjab Information Commission advises the provincial government to amend all laws and rules that disallow disclosure of information in conflict with Article 19-A of the Constitution and the right to information law, reports Dawn. […]
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26 January 2017
Peruvian Groups Protest Government FOI Decree
Peruvian transparency groups are protesting a new regulation that they called “a serious setback” to access to information. The decree creates the “national authority for transparency” as a kind of FOI ombudsman, but with few powers or independence. It is a new office within the Ministry of Justice, without the capacity to control the use […]
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26 January 2017
FOI Notes: Nigeria, Malawi, UK, TI, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, US, UN
Nigeria: A court victory for a group of requesters seeking access to documents concerning the Niger Delta Development Commission. An opinion from the court states that the right to information is a human right, awards fees to the requesters and fines the respondents. In another development, The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative unveiled two documents designed to […]
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24 January 2017
Lebanese Parliament Passes Access to Information Law
Lebanon’s legislature has passed a right to access to information bill. Ghassan Moukheiber, a leading sponsor of the bill, praised it as an “important step” in the fight against corruption and a way to restore confidence between citizens and the state. Efforts to pass a law date back almost a decade. Lebanon will be the […]
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19 January 2017
FOI Notes: India, Peru, Pakistan, Ireland, Bangladesh, EITI, Afghanistan, Mexico, US, UK, Indonesia
India: A report by RaaG and SNS on the adjudicators of the RTI Act in India — the Supreme Court, High Courts and Information Commissions. Peru: Controversy concerning the creation of the National Authority for Transparency and Access to Public Information. Pakistan: “The Senate Standing Committee on the Right to Information Act-2016 (RTI-2016) deferred the […]
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19 January 2017
A Missed Opportunity for RTI in Ghana
By Ugonna Ukaigwe The author is a lawyer and a Project Consultant who consults for international, regional and national NGOs. She currently coordinates the work of the Right to Information Coalition, Ghana. The age-long Right to Information (RTI) Bill which has been described by many as the oldest Bill in Parliament suffered a major defeat […]
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12 January 2017
FOI Notes: Record-Keeping, Chile, Sri Lanka, Denmark, Commentary, Transparency Research, Algorithms, Open Data, Nepal, US, OGP, India, UK
Record-Keeping: Leave no trace? How to combat off the record government,” an article by Nuala Haughey describes a workshop on the topic of record-keeping for good governance at the 2016 Open Government Partnership summit. Chile: The subject of access to information and political parties is addressed in a comprehensive report (in Spanish), “Apertura y Acceso […]
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12 January 2017
How to Move Forward in the Access to Information Movement
By María Paula Ángel The author is assistant researcher on issues related to transparency and privacy at dejusticia.org. This article, minus photos, first appeared Jan. 1o on the dejusticia.org Global Rights Blog. In Dejusticia we have been working on the promotion of the right to public information for a long time now. As a human […]
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12 January 2017
Access in Georgia – IDFI Reports
The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information has issued a report about access to information in Georgia in 2016. The report includes information about IDFI strategic litigation and an analysis of trends of access to information in 2010-2016. Below is the IDFI summary. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has been monitoring […]