What’s New
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4 April 2014
EU Parliament Votes to Release Clinical Trial Data
The European Parliament voted April 2 to make public information about clinical trials for drugs. The new law is expected to go into effect in 2016 and will affect only new clinic trials. (See Reuters .) “The vote, which confirms an informal deal reached in December between Parliament and the European Union’s 28 member states, […]
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3 April 2014
FOI Notes: EU, OGP, Open Data, Journalism, Broadway
European Union: StateWatch comments on access at three EU institutions, stating: Frontex given until end of March 2014 to comply with the Ombudsman’s Recommendations to change its Management Board Decision putting into effect the Regulation on public access to EU documents Eurojust seeks to avoid any compliance until some undefined point in the future Europol […]
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3 April 2014
AIP Produces New Audit of Government Transparency
The Access to Information Progrmme in Bulgaria has released the results of its ninth audit of transparency at national and local institutions. The aim of the audit, which AIP has performed since 2006, is to evaluate how the executive bodies fulfill their obligations for proactive publication of information online under the Access to Public Information […]
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28 March 2014
Secrecy Rules in EU Despite European Court Judgment
By Staffan Dahllöf This article first appeared March 26 in Wobbing EU. EU ministers have postponed implementing a judgement on transparency and rejected disclosing alternatives discussed – and leaked. Six member states vote against secrecy. The European Ombudsman has been asked to step in. More than five months have gone since the European Court of Justice in […]
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28 March 2014
FOI Notes, EU, US, India, Africa, OGP. Open Data
European Union: Statewatch has released two analyses on secrecy in the EU. “Constructing the secret EU state” discusses “restricted” and “limited” documents hidden from view by the Council. “There were over 117,000 “RESTRICTED” documents produced or handled by the Council since 2001 but only 13,184 are listed in its public register of documents,” according to […]
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26 March 2014
Slovenia Assembly Approves Amendments to FOI Act
The Slovenian National Assembly on March 24 approved broadening the application of the Access to Public Information Act to cover private bodies performing public functions. The National Assembly’s action was the second vote for the reforms, required to override a vote against the changes by upper chamber. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The Assembly vote was unanimous, […]
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26 March 2014
UK Court Finds Common Law Right to Information
This report appeared in the Press Gazette on March 26, 2014. It is reprinted with permission. A related analysis article is here. For additional commentary, see posting by David Hart on the UK Human Rights Blog. Media lawyers have welcomed an “important development” in the right to access information from public authorities, after a seven-year legal […]
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26 March 2014
Connecticut Lawmakers Scale Back Right-to-Know Curbs
By Ed Jacovino Jacovino is a reporter with the Journal Inquirer, of Connecticut, where this article first appeared on March 25, 2014. Reprinted with permission. HARTFORD — A legislative committee on Monday balked at a measure that would have kept from the public certain crime scene photos and 911 calls, stripping several right-to-know restrictions from […]
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24 March 2014
Study Probes Commitments on FOI by OGP Members
About half of the countries in the Open Government Partnership made commitment to pass a freedom of information law or to improve an existing one, according to a new study authored by Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI). The researchers found that of the 55 countries studied, 27 made FOI-related […]
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21 March 2014
Aquino Administration Backs FOI Bill, Improving Odds
The Aquino administration has endorsed a freedom of information bill, possibly improving the changes for House action, according to a March 22 article in The Philippine Star and a similar one by the Philippine News Agency. House Bill 3237 filed by Rep. Maria Leonor Robredo and Deputy Speaker Henedina Abad has the blessing of administration, […]
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21 March 2014
OGP Access Working Group Sets Work Plan for 2014
The Open Government Partnership Access to Information Working Group (ATI WG) has developed a work plan largely focused on providing help to participating governments. The work plan lists a variety of plans, including one that is apparently completed, an analysis on ATI-related commitments in OGP member’s first action plans. The study is to be placed on the group’s […]
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21 March 2014
Costa Rica Creates Open Government Commission
The president of Costa Rica March 18 signed a decree designed to strengthen transparency in the government. The decree signed by President Laura Chinchilla Miranda establishes the Intersectoral Committee on Open Government with duties including to propose policies and guidelines on transparency issues. (See media report in Spanish.) The commission also is charged with promoting, […]
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21 March 2014
Hong Kong Ombudsman Calls for FOI Legislation
Hong Kong Ombudsman Alan Lai Nin has called on the authorities to introduce freedom of information legislation, but others said action in not likely. His report after a year of study includes 12 recommendations. A summary states: We find that under the purely administrative ATI regime in Hong Kong, key components of the FOI laws […]
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21 March 2014
FOI Notes: US, India, Legislative Openness, Research, More
(Ed. Note: FOI Notes is unusually U.S.-centric this week because of Sunshine Week. Send submissions for FOI Notes to freeinfo@gwu.edu) United States: “The Obama administration more often than ever censored government files or outright denied access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, cited more legal exceptions it said justified withholding […]
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17 March 2014
OGP Redefining Standards for Suspending Members
The Open Government Partnership is developing revised criteria for disciplining member countries that don’t fulfill certain commitments. Lithuania, Malta and Turkey were the first of the 63 OGP member countries to receive warnings, but more countries could be cautioned if the OGP Steering Committee approves a new series of standards. Two warnings in a row would trigger a discussion […]
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17 March 2014
Draft RTI Law in Palestine Given Weak RTI Rating
The Council of Ministers in Palestine has proposed a right to information law that scores poorly on a rating system for RTI laws. Also, the Council’s draft is weaker than one developed by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), according to an analysis by the Canadian-based Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD). An […]
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17 March 2014
Email Retention Controversy Roils Transition in Chile
The outgoing administration of President Sebastián Piñera’s in Chile allowed government employees to delete personal emails before leaving office, later backpedaling under pressure. A controversy erupted after the newspaper El Mostrador March 10 disclosed the existence of Supreme Decree 14, signed in mid-January but not published until Feb. 27, overturned a 2004 regulation on electronic […]
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17 March 2014
Canadian Commissioner Loses Case Over Long Delay
A Canadian judge has decided the law does not permit her to sanction a government agency for a three-year delay in responding to a request. The Canadian Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault took the National Defence ministry to court for delays in handling a Dec. 9, 2010, request for documents about a contract and communications related […]
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17 March 2014
UK Committee Recommends FOI Coverage of Contracting
The Public Accounts Committee of the UK Parliament on March 14 issued a report documenting the growth of contracting out public services to private contractors and calling for such activities to be covered by the freedom of information law. Half of all public spending on goods and services goes to private providers of contracted-out services, […]
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17 March 2014
Chilean CSO Request System Successful, Research Says
Requests for municipal information in Chile that were made through an automated system run by the civil society group Ciudadano Inteligente were more likely to get positive results than requests submitted through normal channels, according to research by Cristobal Marshall. Ciudadano Inteligente several years ago launched http://www.accesointeligente.org/, an online FOIA liaison platform that has aimed […]