What’s New
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19 April 2013
FI Notes: India, Aid Transparency, Open Data
India: “The Right to Information Act in India: The Turbid World of Transparency Reforms,” a doctoral thesis by Prashant Sharma, of the Department of International Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “My thesis investigates the enactment of the Indian RTI Act in 2005 through a political economy lens, locating it within […]
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19 April 2013
OGP Delays Rotation Plan; Faces Major Budget Shortfall
The Open Government Partnership is likely to delay plans to elect new government members to the Steering Committee and is facing a “substantial” budget gap, according to newly posted documents. With no government members willing to step down, an OGP subcommittee has recommended that all nine government Steering Committee members stay on for another year, […]
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17 April 2013
Opposition Builds in Denmark to FOI Amendment Proposal
Opposition is growing in Parliament to the ruling coalition’s proposal to reduce public access to government documents, according to an April 16 article by Christian Wenande in The Copenhagen Post. The intended amendments to the freedom of information act (offentlighedslov) had generated some criticism before, but appeared to stand a good chance of passage because […]
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17 April 2013
Indian Court Stays Major Parts of Controversial Ruling
The Indian Supreme Court on April 16 stayed a controversial decision ordering that retired or sitting judges be appointed to lead the Central Information Commission and state commissions. The order by Justices A. K. Patnaik and Arjan K. Sikri also stayed a directive from the Sept. 13, 2012, decision that would have required commissions to […]
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12 April 2013
African Model Access Law Issued by Rights Panel
The long-awaited final version of the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa was posted April 12 on the website of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The model law is “a common approach to a common problem” wrote Pansy Tlakula, the Special Rapporteur on Access to Information in Africa and Freedom […]
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12 April 2013
Commissioners Report Low Budgets, Growing Workloads
Information commissioners around the world face serious budgetary constraints and expect higher workloads, according the first survey of commissioners. “In terms of their capacity to deal with current and projected workloads, 77% of Commissioners believe that their financial and staff resources, are ‘insufficient ‘(58%) or ‘not at all sufficient’ (19%),” according to the report on the survey. […]
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12 April 2013
Canada Launches Pilot Project for Online Information Access
Canada has begun a one-year pilot project that will allow for the submission of information and privacy requests online to three departments. Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, announced the launch April. 9, saying, “Our Government is the most open and transparent government in Canadian history. “This new online tool makes the process easier […]
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12 April 2013
OGP Steering Committee Sets Agenda for 3-Day Meeting
The upcoming meeting of the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee in London will address many critical issues for the OGP’s future. Strategic direction, finances, Steering Committee membership and the independent review mechanism are some of the items on the agenda. Also, initial national action plans will be presented by a number of relatively recent members. […]
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12 April 2013
Indian Department Opens Portal for RTI Applications
A key Indian agency has opened a website for the submission of right to information requests and fees. The portal — http://www.rtionline.gov.in/ — has been created by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the agency which leads on the administration of the RTI law. The portal is not for use in filing requests for […]
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11 April 2013
New OGP SC Members From Mexico, Moldova, Indonesia
The Open Government Partnership has announced three new civil society members on the OGP Steering Committee: Alejandro González of Mexico, Veronica Cretu of Moldova and Maryati Abdullah of Indonesia. The announcement described them this way: Alejandro González (GESOC, Mexico).Young and energetic; well connected to and involved in some of the important Latin American networks; worked […]
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11 April 2013
Afghanistan Considering Draft Law on Access to Information
A draft access to information law has been prepared in Afghanistan and comments received, but it remains unclear whether government’s proposal will be adopted. The government came under pressure in September from civil society and media groups to prepare an access law. Civil society also demanded a fixed timeframe to pass the law and […]
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11 April 2013
FOI Notes: Grant Competition, Jobs, Commentary, More
Grant Competition: The 40 finalists are announced in the Knight Foundation competition for projects to accelerate media innovation with “breakthrough ideas in news and information.” The competition now enters a further evaluation phase, where public input is welcome, with winners to be announced June 23. The finalists include: – ¿InfAction! is intended as a web/mobile […]
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11 April 2013
EU to Force Disclosure of Payment by Extractive Firms
Extractive industries will be required to report payments to developing nations’ governments under an April 9 compromise between the EuropeanParliament and the EU member states. European companies will be required to disclose full information on payments of more than $130,000 (€100,000) including taxes on profits, royalties, and license fees, on a country and project basis. […]
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11 April 2013
Group Asks Macedonian Leaders to Reject Report
“Serious shortfalls’ exist in the latest annual report about access to public information in Macedonia, according to Foundation Open Society, which has called on government leaders to reject the report. The report by the Commission for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information, covering 2012, contains misinformation, the group charged in an […]
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5 April 2013
First OGP Self-Assessments Posted; Deadline Extended
The first country self-assessment reports on progress toward fulfilling their Open Government Partnership commitments are surfacing, with more expected in the coming weeks. Posted on the OGP website now are reports from two countries: the Philippines and the United States. The United Kingdom has released its draft report, but posting of a final report will […]
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5 April 2013
Ghana Minister Backs FOI Bill; Passage Pledged in OGP Plan
Favorable comments March 28 by Alhassan Azong, Ghana’s Minister of Public Service Reform Sector, bolstered a mood of confidence among supporters of the long-stymied freedom of information legislation The minister said the cabinet has already approved the FOI bill and that it will be passed by the end of the year, according to an article […]
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5 April 2013
Morocco’s Proposed FOI Law Scored as Consultation Opens
The Moroccan government has begun a month-long consultation on a proposed freedom of information law (in Arabic) (in English). The period of consultation began March 26, with early commentators saying that the proposal contains too many exemptions. An article by Mohammed Jaabouk says the 13 proposed exemptions exceed those suggested in the Article 27 of […]
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5 April 2013
U.S. Federal Court Undercuts Catch-22 Delay Strategy
A federal appeals court April 2 ruled against a federal agency strategy that impeded Freedom of Information Act requesters from going to court to fight delays in responding to FOIA requests. The court overturned a lower court’s 2012 decision in a case brought by the liberal watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW), against […]
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5 April 2013
Scottish Commissioner Warns on Use of Vexatious Standard
Scottish Information Commissioner Rosemary Agnew on April 1 cautioned authorities against denying information requests on the grounds they are vexatious. Laying out revised standards based on recent cases, she said the vexatious provision must not be used “lightly,” according to the announcement. The main changes are: “Significant burden on the public authority” becomes one factor rather […]
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5 April 2013
Pakistan Senate Panel Tells Ministry to Present FOI Law
The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting in Pakistan on April 5 gave the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting 15 days to table a draft of Freedom of Information law before the committee. The directive was issued during the committee meeting chaired by Kamil Ali Agha at the Parliament House, according to an Associated […]