What’s New
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3 February 2016
Report Says EU Needs Stronger Transparency
Transparency in the European Union needs strengthening, according to a new report by journalist Staffan Dahllöf. The report, “Transparency through tinted windows,” was published by the Organisation for European Interstate Cooperation, a think tank financially supported by the European Parliament. The report was published in Swedish and translated into English. Dahllöf examines the legal basis […]
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3 February 2016
Court Backs Ombudsman, Limits Pakistan’s President
A court in Pakistan has ruled that the president may not overrule the federal ombudsman in right to information cases, Umar Cheema reports in The News and Sohail Sarfraz writes in the Business Recorder. The Lahore High Court set aside a presidential decision in favor of the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR). “The verdict had […]
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28 January 2016
Malawi President Resists FOI Law, Seeks to Limit Use
By Toby McIntosh Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika is insisting that access to information (ATI) legislation should not cover existing government information, saying the bill should only apply prospectively. His stance continues to delay passage of a long-promised ATI bill and runs counter to international norms. “Many followers of the Bill see this as merely a […]
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28 January 2016
OGP Examines Membership of Kenya, Malawi, Montenegro
The Open Government Partnership is reviewing the memberships of three member countries that have missed two deadlines to prepare national action plans (NAPs). Kenya, Malawi and Montenegro have failed for two successive years to produce action plans, a core commitment made by OGP members. The three countries could face being declared “inactive” under the OGP […]
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28 January 2016
Cambodia Invites Comments on Draft FOI Legislation
Cambodia’s Ministry of Information has launched a website to collect suggestions about a draft freedom of information law, The Phnom Pen Post reports. The website, www.a2i.info.gov.kh, was created in conjunction with UNESCO with support from the Swedish government. It includes a draft of the proposed public information law with comment sections where “visitors can write comments or […]
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28 January 2016
FOI Notes: Canada, UK, India, Russia, Mexico, Transparency Research, Open Data, US
Canada: Canada’s Information Commissioners call on their respective governments to require public entities to document their deliberations, actions and decisions. In a joint resolution, information commissioners expressed concerns about the trend towards no records responses to access to information requests. “Access to information rights depend on public agencies documenting their key activities and decisions,” according to a press release. United […]
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28 January 2016
Malta Commissioner Backs Not Disclosing Test Scores
Malta’s Information and Data Protection Commissioner has upheld a refusal by the education ministry to disclose data showing how the students of individual schools fare in their O-level exams, MaltaToday reports. “Saviour Cachia claimed that the publication of such data risked stigmatizing low-performing schools, widening the education gap between public schools, and harming the business of […]
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27 January 2016
FOIA4Italy Finds Faults In Draft FOI Decree
The still-secret draft Italian Transparency Decree, recently approved in the Council of Ministers, has leaked, giving activists a look at a document they promptly called “very disappointing.” The draft decree does not live up to promises made by the Italian prime minister and other top officials, according to a FOIA4Italy statement (in Italian; and full text […]
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21 January 2016
Italian Ministers Approve Decree With FOIA Provisions
The Italian Council of Ministers on Jan. 20 approved a freedom of information decree, but has not disclosed the text. As part of a larger package of public administration reforms, the Council voted for a decree which changes the Transparency Decree (33/2013 which grants citizens “civic access”) and anticorruption law (190/2012) with new provisions on […]
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21 January 2016
FOI Notes: Commonwealth, Japan, Georgia, Australia, Mexico, India, Canada, US
Commentary: Alan Hudson, Executive Director of Global Integrity in a blog post writes: “Open governance matters, not because it is a good thing in itself, or because it leads directly to better development outcomes (it rarely does). Instead, open governance matters because it enhances the ability of communities, to try, learn and adapt their way […]
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21 January 2016
UK Commissioner Counsels Against Weakening FOI Act
The United Kingdom’s information commissioner testified Jan. 20 against making changes to the freedom of information act. Information Commissioner Christopher Graham appeared at the first day of hearing sponsored by special commission considering whether to amend the law, particularly to provide more protection for information exchanged by ministers and civil servants. The commission is holding two […]
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17 January 2016
Pakistani Minister Says New Group to Review RTI Bill
The government of Pakistan has constituted a special five-person committee to evaluate the long-pending right to information bill, according to an article in Daily Pakistan. The News reported that the group wlll “finalize draft law in a meeting on January 21 and it will then be laid before the house as a government bill.” The […]
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17 January 2016
Macri Orders Disclosures; Issues Open Data Decree
Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri has signed an Open Data Decree (117/2016) that sets a 180-day deadline for federal agencies to present open data plans. The six-month deadline began with the publication of the decree, Jan. 12 in the Official Reporter. Also, the Modernisation Ministry has ordered that in 90 days all public bodies must publish […]
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14 January 2016
FOI Notes: Research, Open Data, India, Denmark, Liberia, US, UK, Uruguay, Chile, Jersey, Pakistan, OGP, Georgia, Japan, UNDP
Research/United States: Margaret B. Kwoka of the University of Denver Law School publishes research critical of the commercial use of FOIA, drawing on original datasets from six federal agencies. The abstract says: It uses these agencies as case studies to examine the way that businesses derive profit-making value from free or low-cost federal records. Remarkably, […]
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13 January 2016
Scotland Plans to Expand FOI to Cover Prisons, Schools
The Scottish government ministers is planning to extend the scope of the freedom of information laws law to nonpublic sector bodies delivering public services, according to an announcement and media reports such as one in Holyrood. As a result, contractors such as those who run Scotland’s two private prisons would be subject to FOI requests as will certain […]
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12 January 2016
US House Approves Bill to Reform FOIA Law
The US House of Representatives Jan. 11 easily approved a bill (H.R. 653) that advocates say will improve the freedom of information act. A last-minute addition to the House bill would protect against disclosures that would “adversely affect intelligence sources and method,” but the changes largely codify existing practice, according to FOI experts, who nonetheless were […]
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7 January 2016
UN Body Yet to Endorse Universal Indicator on Access
By Toby McIntosh The prospects for the creation of an international access to information (ATI) “indicator” appear to slipping. The United Nations group charged with figuring out how to assess progress toward the achievement of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals has yet to include a measurement of the creation and implementation of ATI laws […]
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7 January 2016
Study Rates Pakistani RTI Laws, Performance
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ranked as the Pakistani province with the best overall right to information act and response performance, with a score of 73% in a study conducted by PILDAT, the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency. Punjab was second with a score of 65% and Balochistan third with a score of 29%. The 2002 […]
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7 January 2016
Moroccan Government Resends FOI Legislation
The Moroccan government on Dec. 29 sent to the legislature a draft freedom of information law (announcement in Arabic). The bill, however, is the same “fourth draft” that surfaced in June, and was found wanting by critics, who still want amendments. The draft bill now heads to committee consideration. On Dec. 29 an oral presentation […]
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7 January 2016
Jamaican Government Promises Amendments
The Jamaican government is preparing freedom of information reform legislation, says Phillip Paulwell, the leader of government business in the House of Representatives, according to an article by Daraine Luton in The Gleaner. “This is four years after Parliament voted for the amendments to take place, but clearly, greater access to information is not a […]