Posts Tagged ‘commissioners/ombudsmen’
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4 March 2011
Indian CIC, Planning Agency Debate RTI Coverage
The Indian Central Information Commission (CIC) has proposed bringing more transparency to the private corporations participating in the government’s public private partnership (PPP) programs, but the request appears to be meeting with resistance, or not. The story began when the CIC asked the Planning Commission to insert an right to information clause into agreements with the private partners. However, […]
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18 February 2011
Bangladesh Commission Holds First Hearings on Cases
The Bangladesh Information Commission Feb. 15 held its first hearings on cases, one of many signs of activity under the 2009 law. The Information Commission completed hearings on five cases under the chairmanship of Chief Information Commissioner Muhammed Zamir. Promotion efforts are under way. In January, Grameenphone signed a memorandum of understanding with the Information […]
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28 January 2011
First Commissioner Named in Jammu, Kashmir
Six years after the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir enacted a Right to Information Act, the first Chief Information Officer has been named, Chief Income Tax Commissioner for northern India, G R Sufi. Two information commissioners still must be appointed under the law. Sufi emerged as the consensus candidate in the meeting of the […]
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7 January 2011
UK Government Proposes to Broaden Scope of FOI Law
The British government Jan. 7 proposed reforms to the United Kingdom freedom of information law that would extend its scope to more organizations and hasten the release of archived material. The proposed amendments also would enhance the independence of the Information Commissioner’s Office. Added protection would be given to information relating to the Royal Family, […]
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29 October 2010
Australia Appoints Popple as First FOI Commissioner
The Australian government Oct. 29 announced that Australia’s first Freedom of Information Commissioner will be Dr. James Popple. Popple is currently First Assistant Secretary of the Civil Law Division of the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department and an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Computer Science at the Australian National University, according to a press release on […]
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29 September 2010
UK Official Praises FOI Law; Study Calls It Oversold
United Kingdom Information Commissioner Christopher Graham marked International Right to Know Day with by praising the benefits of the UK law, but a new study says that all of the law’s promised virtues are not yet apparent. Graham said the law has “paid for itself many times over in the beneficial impact it has had […]
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3 September 2010
FOIA Notes: CSOs Under FOIA; EU Ombudsman
The Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi has issued a short policy brief that looks at the potential of the Right to Information Act in India as a tool to promote civil society accountability. India is among a few countries where the RTI Act applies to non-government organizations that are substantially financed directly and […]
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4 August 2010
Bangladeshi Commissioner Supports Wider Coverage
Bangladesh’s Chief Information Commissioner, Muhammad Zamir, has called for extending the 2009 Right to Know Act to cover all corporations. “Most of the corporate companies and giant financial institutions in the country remain out of the jurisdiction of the act. But people have the right to know about their activities and financial dealings. So the […]
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23 July 2010
Challenge to Scottish FOI Commissioner Mooted
A compromise has averted a challenge to the powers of the Scottish Information Commissioner brought by government ministers to prevent his access to certain files, according to Scottish newspaper accounts and information from the commissioner’s office provided to Freedominfo.org. The ministers “backed down,” reported Tom Gordon in The Herald and Cara Sulieman for Edinburgh’s Deadline […]
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16 October 2009
Justice Minister Rejects Much-Needed Reforms to Canada’s 26-Year-Old Transparency Law
Recommendations Called for Broad Expansion of Information Commissioner’s Mandate Ottawa, Canada — In June 2009, the House of Commons Committee on access to information, privacy, and ethics made recommendations to modernize and expand the scope of Canada’s 26-year-old Access to Information Act. However, Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson rejected these recommendations as cumbersome and unnecessary, sparking complaints […]
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12 June 2009
Debate about PM Gordon Brown’s Proposed Changes to UK Freedom of Information Act
Discussion Rekindled about Cabinet Minutes and Revelations of Widespread MP Corruption By Yvette M. Chin London, United Kingdom — Civil society organizations and the news media have expressed mixed feelings about Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s proposed changes to the United Kingdom‘s Freedom of Information Act. Official documents could now be routinely released after 20 years instead of […]
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27 March 2009
Chileans Prepare for New FOI Law: An Interview with Juan Pablo Olmedo
By Peter Kornbluh Special thanks to Marianna Enamoneta, Emilene Martinez-Morales, Carly Ackerman, Joshua Frens-String and Yessica Esquivel Alonso On April 20th, Chile will become the most recent country to have a functioning Freedom of Information Act—and potentially establish a leading model for new access to information laws around the world. The new “Law of Transparency […]
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24 February 2009
UK Justice Minister Jack Straw Vetoes the Release of Pre-Iraq Cabinet Minutes
First Use of Veto Provision in UK’s 2000 FOI Law Sets Dangerous Precedent London, United Kingdom – Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw today used his veto power to block the release of minutes from two controversial cabinet meetings in March 2003, when the British government signed off on joining the Bush administration’s invasion […]
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19 December 2008
Council of Europe adopts weak access to information convention
Late last month, the Council of Europe adopted a weak Convention on Access to Official Documents that has been the subject of ongoing criticism from civil society and human rights groups as well as government officials, parliamentarians, and information commissioners from across Europe. According to several human rights groups, the final version of the treaty […]
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12 December 2007
Information Commissioners Hold 5th International Conference in New Zealand
Open Sessions Include NGO Participation; Commissioners Plan Future Cooperation By Kristin Adair for freedominfo.org Information commissioners, government officials, and civil society representatives from around the world met at the 5th International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) in Wellington, New Zealand, November 26-29. The four-day conference consisted of one day of closed meetings for the commissioners, […]
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31 May 2006
Info Commissioners Meet in Manchester: 4th International Conference Separates Officials, NGOs
By Emilene Martinez-Morales for freedominfo.org Transparency Programs Coordinator, Mexico Project, National Security Archive, George Washington University Delegates from more than 40 countries participated this month in the 4th International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC), which took place in Manchester, United Kingdom, on May 22nd and May 23rd, hosted by the U.K. Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas. […]
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18 August 2005
German Federal Data Protection Commissioner to become Freedom of Information Commissioner
Under the new German Freedom of Information Law, which will enter into force on January 1, 2006, the current Federal Data Protection Commissioner Peter Schaar will also assume the job of Federal Commissioner for Freedom of Information. Schaar has emphasized the importance of his new position to the successful implementation of the new law: Timeline: […]
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24 May 2005
Latest Analysis of India’s New Right to Information Law
"Good, Bad, and Ugly (maybe)" says Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative UPDATE – 25 JUNE 2005 CHRI Conference Report Effective Implementation: Preparing to Operationalise the Right to Information Act, 2005 After a number of false starts and even one Act which was on the books but never came into force, it is with much excitement that […]
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21 February 2005
Information Commissioners Meet in Cancún
3rd Annual Conference Draws Attendees from 50 Countries Today, freedom of information advocates and government officials who implement access laws around the world gathered in Cancún, Mexico for the 3rd annual International Conference of Information Commissioners, hosted by Mexico’s own commission (IFAI – Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información Pública). The Mexican organizers reached […]
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5 July 2002
ANALYSIS: Japanese Government Information: New Rules for Access – the 2001 Information Disclosure Law, and a Comparison with the U.S. FOIA
By Lawrence Repeta and David M. Schultz Click here to view the Information Disclosure Matrix: A Comparison of Information Disclosure in Japan and the United States INTRODUCTION After more than 20 years of lobbying by Japanese citizen’s groups, opposition political parties and others, Japan’s national Information Disclosure Law came into effect on April 1, 2001 […]