Posts Tagged ‘rti amendments’
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29 October 2012
Peru’s Council of Ministers Restrict Access to Documents
Peru’s Council of Ministers has restricted access to documents produced as part of the deliberative process prior to a governmental decision-making, including its agenda. The Council of Ministries’ resolution (in Spanish) regulates one of the exceptions to the right of access to information established in the FOI and Transparency Act. Article 17, clause 1 establishes […]
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29 October 2012
Jordan Council Approves Modifications to FOI Law
By Yahia Shukkeir This article is reprinted with permission from the October edition of a newsletter on access to information in the Middle East published by the World Bank Institute. In early September, the Jordan Council of Ministers approved a draft law modifying the 2007 Right to Information Act. This draft law comes after a […]
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15 October 2012
Indian RTI Activists Object to PM’s Comments; Bill Planned
Indian right to information activists have roundly condemned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent criticisms of the RTI law, but one major media outlet reports that the government is preparing amendments to change the law to prevent alleged misuse. “A senior bureaucrat” told The Times of India Oct 13 that amendments are in the works. “After […]
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12 October 2012
Critics Score Proposals to Change Danish FOI Law
Proposals to change the Danish freedom of information law seem designed to prevent access to materials about the development of policy, according to critics. The government and opposition parties negotiated to produce a package of modifications, but several other parties and interest groups are now raising objections. The most contentious provision would severely limit access […]
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12 October 2012
Canadian Law Needs Improvement, Groups Say
Canada should begin broad consultations as a first step to bringing its Access to Information Act into line with international standards, and officials “should improve their compliance with the spirit of the Act,” according to five civil society groups. The conclusions came in a submission to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process […]
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12 October 2012
Experts Urge Government to Protect UK FOI Law
By Will Fitzgibbon This article was published Oct. 11, 2012, by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a not-for-profit organization based at City University, London. The government may clamp down on public access to information through reforms to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, experts warned during a public conference in London on Tuesday. A panel […]
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5 October 2012
Parties Agree to Amend Danish Access Statute
Denmark will be placing some new limits on access to information and also making some expansions as the result of a deal among the major political parties announced Oct. 3, according to media accounts. “The revision of the law, offentlighedsloven, has been ten years in the making, and was agreed upon on Wednesday between the […]
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20 September 2012
Scottish Commissioner Sees Growing Number of Appeals
New Scottish Information Commissioner Rosemary Agnew has reported a hike in the number of appeals to her office over freedom of information request denials and criticized the Scottish government presiding over an “unacceptable” erosion access to information. “It is simply not acceptable that citizens’ rights continue to be eroded through complex changes in the delivery […]
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20 September 2012
Committee in Final Days on South African Secrecy Bill
Negotiations are entering the final stages as the South African National Council of Provinces Ad Hoc Committee on the Protection of State Information Bill continues to work on the the bill. Critics last week charged, however, that the ruling African National Congress backtracked on several promised modifications to the “secrecy bill.” The Committee Secretariat prepared a […]
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19 September 2012
Uruguay Restricts Access to Certain Police Information
Eduardo Bonomi, the Minister of the Interior of Uruguay, has issued five resolutions establishing the secrecy of information related to police activities. The resolutions would prevent disclosure of information concerning procedures for combating crime, including information on the use of resources. Information on the location of the policy stations is also given protection. Also classified […]
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7 September 2012
Jammu and Kashmir Moves Seen as Undercutting RTI
The Jammu and Kashmir government in India on Aug. 30 passed new rules that critics say undercut the state right to information act. One main effect will be to reduce the information commission’s ability to require information from government departments, according to an article by Riyaz Wani in Tehelka. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said this […]
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7 September 2012
South African Coalition Says Not to Rush Secrecy Bill
The RighttoKnow Campaign in South Africa has urged the Ad Hoc Committee on the Protection of State Information Bill (NCOP) not to rush action on the secrecy bill and to address seven areas of concern. The Sept. 5 letter acknowledges “the stand the above-mentioned committee has taken against the State Security Agency and other securocratic […]
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29 August 2012
ANC Makes Concessions Concerning Secrecy Bill
The ruling African National Congress in South Africa said Aug. 29 that it would make several concessions concerning the controversial proposed secrecy bill. One change will ensure that the bill will not trump the Promotion of Access to Information Act, a potential outcome considered unconstitutional by critics. The ANC also agreed to drop Section 49, […]
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16 August 2012
Russian Group Suggests Ideas for OGP Action Plan
The Freedom of Information Foundation in Russia has advanced an extensive list of ideas for the government to include in the national action plan to be prepared in light of its membership in the Open Government Partnership. Russia joined the OGP in April. FIF suggested a variety of “organizational measures” such as establishing a body to […]
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30 July 2012
The South African Secrecy Bill; Taking Stock
By Caroline Stone Stone is an Advocate, Bar of England and Wales, specialising in public and employment law and was a Legal Resources Centre intern, Cape Town, in the Autumn of 2011. This article has previously been published on Constitutionally Speaking and Legalbrief Today. Progress at last? When two Nobel Laureates, an eminent constitutional lawyer […]
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30 July 2012
New Zealand Commission Offers 100 FOI Reforms
The New Zealand Law Commission July 25 issued a final report making more than 100 recommendations to reform 30-year-old right to know laws. The report, The Public’s Right to Know: Review of the Official Information Legislation, evaluates the effectiveness the Official Information Act 1982 and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. “The […]
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26 July 2012
UK Committee Supports Modest Changes to FOI Law
A committee of the British Parliament July 26 concluded that the UK’s Freedom of Information Act “is serving the nation well” and declined to recommend higher access fees or other restrictions. “Supporters of freedom of information will be relieved, but many of its critics will be disappointed,” wrote Martin Rosenbaum for BBC. The unanimous report […]
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20 July 2012
Pakistan Senate Forms Committee to Study FOI
Pakistan’s Senate has formed a subcommittee to work with the information ministry to develop freedom of information legislation. The Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on July 18 approved establishment of the committee, which will be convened by Senator Farhatullah Babar, with senators Syed Zafar Ali Shah and Daud Khan Achakzai as members. The […]
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20 July 2012
Azerbaijan President Signs Law on Corporate Disclosure
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev July 6 signed into amendments to the law limiting disclosures by corporate entities, adopted by Parliament on June 12.. Strongly criticized by pro-transparency activists, the changes will curtail public access to information about the ownership of commercial entities, the amount of their charter capital, ownership structure, and other similar data. (See […]
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20 July 2012
Irish FOI Reform Delayed; Government Backs Expansion
Legislation to expand the coverage of the Irish freedom of information law will not be taken up until next April, a key minister has announced, but the government is supporting having the law cover the National Asset Management Agency and the Central Bank. Minister of State for Reform Brian Hayes said the government would act […]