Posts Tagged ‘proactive disclosure’
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19 May 2014
Pakistan Committee Backs RTI Information Commission
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting has recommended creation of an independent federal information commission and legal protection for whistleblowers. A committee recently finalized its recommendations on the draft Right to Information bill which has been proposed by the ministry, according to Dawn and the Daily Times. The committee also proposed amendments […]
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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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26 September 2013
Pace of Activity on FOI Legislation Still Vigorous
The pace of passing access to information laws may be slowing, but not the number of bills under consideration, according to a FreedomInfo.org tally. Is a slowdown under way in the blistering adoption rate seen in the past two decades? Twelve laws been adopted already in the latest three-year (2010-2012) period (calendar years), but only […]
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11 September 2013
CIMA Report Makes Suggestions for Improving FOI Implementation
Many freedom of information are “exemplary on paper” but “poorly implemented,” according to a new report that offers a variety of recommendations aimed at “breathing life” into FOI laws. Authors Craig L. LaMay, Robert J. Freeman and Richard N. Winfield aim to provide a list of “practical” suggestions in the 55-page report was sponsored by […]
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6 September 2013
Georgia Decree Mandates More Proactive Disclosure
The government of Georgia has published a decree concerning online requests for information and proactive disclosure of information. The decree published July 26 follows through on commitments made in the context of Georgia’s action plan as a member of the Open Government Partnership. The decree (in English) contains seven sections, defining standards of Public information disclosure, rules […]
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5 August 2013
Bangladesh should further proactive disclosures
By Suchismita Goswami The writer is Project Officer, Access to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. This article was published July 29 in The Daily Star. Bangladesh enacted its Right to Information Act in 2009. However more than three years following its enactment, very little is known about what the law means and what it […]
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26 April 2013
India Issues Guidance on Doing Proactive Disclosure
The Indian government has issued guidelines for the proactive disclosure of information, but missed a few key items, according to a leading Indian advocacy group. The guidelines were prepared the Department of Personnel and Training with advice from a task force. The goal was to enhance implementation of the proactive disclosure obligations under Section 4 of […]
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5 April 2013
U.S. Plans Using Metadata to Improve FOIA Libraries
The United States Justice Department plans to develop metadata standards “that will facilitate the ability of interested persons to search for and retrieve documents across websites and disparate record keeping systems,” according to a recent announcement. The plan, included in the Department of Justice’s version 2.0 of its Open Government Plan, envisions creation of a “virtual” […]
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19 February 2013
Standards for Proactive Disclosure Recommended
Clearer standards are needed for what constitutes proactive disclosure of information by governments, according to speakers at a Feb. 19 webinar (as recorded) sponsored by the OGP Networking Mechanism of Global Integrity and the World Bank Institute. Proactive disclosure “is a very important obligation which I would argue we have not yet translated into clear […]
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31 December 2012
FOI Notes: Open Data, Fighting Corruption, Brazil, Canada, Russia
Open Data/New York: The New York state Committee on Open Government makes transparency and accountability recommendations, proposing to obligate agencies to make their information available in open data format, either by legislation or by an order of the governor. The committee recommends the state “push” information through proactive disclosure by releasing material that is the […]
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21 November 2012
Chile Encourages Agencies to Publish Data on New Portal
Chile’s General Secretary of the Presidency has announced an Open Government Presidential Directive establishing an open data policy and encouraging governmental institutions to proactively publish their data and information. The announcement mandates that open government data must be published on a portal: http://datos.gob.cl/ The directive by President Sebastián Piñera “marks an unprecedented commitment” to the […]
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15 October 2012
FOI Notes: Proactive Disclosure, OGP, RTI Video, Argentina, Open Data
Proactive Disclosure: An article based on a recent lecture given in China by Mitchell W. Pearlman, former executive director of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission and is now a lecturer in media law at the University of Connecticut. Posted on the website of the U.S. National Freedom of Information Coalition. It concludes in part: […]
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23 August 2012
Information Law Arrives in Malta, But Reform Needed
By Kevin Aquilina Aquilina is the Dean of the Faculty of Laws at the University of Malta. This article was first published Aug. 22 in the Times of Malta. By means of Legal Notice 156 of 2012 published in The Malta Government Gazette of May 18, 2012, the remaining provisions of the Freedom of Information […]
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21 June 2012
Georgia Adopts Standards About Proactive Disclosure
By Giorgi Kldiashvili Kldiashvili is the Director of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information based in Tbilisi. The General Administrative Code of Georgia, which regulates the Freedom of Information in Georgia, was adopted in 1999 and was pretty advanced at that moment. Nowadays is a little bit outdated and has some very significant […]
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29 July 2011
Chinese Agencies Disclose Spending on Travel
Chinese government departments have largely complied with a requirement to disclose how much was spent on overseas trips, receptions and vehicles in 2010, according to reports in the Chinese state and commercial media. Despite a deadline of June 30 to comply with a Cabinet order, by July 7 only three out of the 98 central […]
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7 July 2011
UK to Release Data on Government Performance
United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron July 7 ordered the release of more information about medical care, hospitals, schools and transportation services. His action will require a wide range of public bodies to publish data on their performance. “This represents the most ambitious open data agenda of any government anywhere in the world,” according to the […]
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24 December 2009
Simultaneous Disclosure Another Major Improvement
One of the topics that remained under discussion was a change perhaps equally important to the adoption of a presumption of disclosure. The Board, despite some dissension, took a major step toward letting the public know what more about staff recommendations and its own deliberations. In 2001, the Bank started posting advance agendas for its […]
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11 September 2009
IFC Announces Plans to Review Disclosure Policy
The World Banks private sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, announced a review of its disclosure policy on September 8, a 15-month process to be done in conjunction with a review of its environmental and social policies. The IFCs July 23, 2009, report analyzes its experience with the environmental, social, and disclosure policies adopted […]
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23 January 2009
Day One: President Obama Pledges to Open Government – International Openness Advocates Applaud US Reforms
Washington, DC – On Day One of his administration, President Barack Obama took authoritative steps to “create an unprecedented level of openness” in the US government through an executive order and two presidential memoranda. International openness advocates, including more than 60 organizations and individuals in at least 30 countries, have issued a statement welcoming the […]
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17 July 2008
Annual Report Suggests Gaps in Routine Disclosure
As its Public Communications Policy nears its third anniversary, the Asian Development Bank is coming up short of its own targets for routinely disclosing information and has frustrated civil society groups by denying several access requests. The ADB’s second report on the policy shows progress toward disclosure goals, but also indicates some gaps. For example, […]