Posts Tagged ‘rti litigation’
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10 January 2013
Armenian Center Wins FOI Cases, Collects Legal Fees
The FOI Center of Armenia has won a court case in which it sought access to information on spending in a pre-electoral campaign, according to an FOICA announcement. The court ruled on Dec. 21, 2012, that the Democratic Party of Armenia must provide information requested by the FOICA on April 25. The party ignored the […]
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10 January 2013
Liberian Group Appeals for Access to Asset Disclosures
A Liberian group has appealed to the Information Commissioner for access to the asset disclosure forms of ministers and deputy ministers. Access to the declarations was denied by the Liberia Anti- Corruption Commission (LACC) citing an exemption in the Liberian freedom of information law. The Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding (CEMESP) has filed a […]
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4 January 2013
U.S. Judge Denies Access to Terrorist-Related Documents
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the federal government does not need to disclose internal legal opinions and other documents justifying the use of drones to kill suspected terrorist operatives abroad. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon in a 68-page opinion issued Jan. 2 largely rejected suits brought by the New York Times and […]
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4 January 2013
EU Court Rejects Appeal for Documents on NGO Projects
The European Court of Justice has rejected efforts by an Israeli organization to obtain documents from the European Union on the funding of projects by human rights organizations in Israel. The court ruled on Nov. 27 against NGO Monitor and its president, Gerald Steinberg, a political scientist at Bar Ilan University. Concerned about EU influence […]
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14 December 2012
Indian Commission Rules Attorney General Exempt
India’s Central Information Commission has ruled that the Office of the Attorney is not a public authority under Right to Information Act. The CIC order of Dec. 10 said the Attorney General’s position is unique because “he is standalone counsel of the Government of India.” “He renders legal advice to the Government of India which […]
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11 December 2012
El Salvador Court Rules Against President on Access
By Tania Lara This report is reprinted from the blog of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. (Spanish and Portuguese) El Salvador’s Supreme Court declared some of President Mauricio Funes’ September 2011 recommendations for the Access to Public Information Law unconstitutional, according to El Faro. The judges ruled that the Salvadoran president overstepped […]
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10 December 2012
EU Court Denies Access to ECB Information on Greece
The General Court of the European Union has denied a news organization access to documents of the European Central Bank concerning the financial situation in Greece. The ruling states that the ECB may refuse access to a document where its disclosure would undermine the protection of the public interest. (See Nov. 29 press release.) Gabi […]
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4 December 2012
Argentine Supreme Court Issues Major FOI Decision
The Argentine Supreme Court of Justice Dec. 4 issued a landmark ruling (in Spanish), ordering the government to provide access to information based on the Constitution’s guarantee of a right to information. The court told the National Institute for Retirees and Pensioners (PAMI) to provide information on its advertising budget, which had been requested by […]
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26 November 2012
Argentine Supreme Court Hears Significant FOI Case
By Dolores Lavalle Cobo Lavalle Cobo is an Argentine lawyer, member of Centro para la Información Ciudadana (Center for Citizen´s Information) and author of books and articles. Nov. 22 was a significant day for the right of access to information in Argentina. While in Congress the draft of a bill implementing access as a constitutional right is about […]
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26 November 2012
Indian Supreme Court to Review RTI Act Decision
The Indian Supreme Court on Nov. 20 agreed to hear the government’s request that it review its Sept. 13 decision that among other things would require that information commissions be composed of retired judges. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) In agreeing to the review, justices A.K. Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar, “made it clear that its verdict […]
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21 November 2012
FOI Notes: African Model Law, Music, Jobs, Open Data
African Model Law: A posting on the Open Society Foundations website by Maxwell Kadiri & Chidi Odinkalu describes the effort to create a model RTI law for Africa. The report says that Pansy Tlakula, the Human Rights Commission’s special rapporteur on the right of access to information “has delivered” on the project begun in 2010. […]
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9 November 2012
Bulgarian Sports Minister Told to Supply Information
The Bulgarian sports ministry has been ordered to provide information about its contracts with the Bulgarian Ski Federation, and another sport-related transparency case is pending, according to information from the Access to Information Programme. The Ministry of Physical Education and Sports was instructed to provide information on all its contracts (their objects, prices, documents on […]
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6 November 2012
Indian CIC Orders Agency to Disclose Corruption Files
India’s chief information commissioner, Satyendra Mishra, has ruled that even an agency exempt from the right to information law may not withhold information related to corruption by public officials or human rights violations. In his Nov. 2 order, Mishra mandated the Central Bureau of Information to provide requested information, subject to RTI Act exemptions, according […]
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2 November 2012
Indian Cabinet Withdraws Controversial RTI Proposal
The Indian Cabinet Nov. 1 pulled back from a six-year-old proposal to dilute the Right to Information Act. The action was a relief to activists. The main effect of the changes, planned back in 2006, would have been to restrict access to “file notings” – documents in which officials make comments about proposed policies. Withdrawing […]
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29 October 2012
Group Assessed Costs for Failed Request in Spain
Access Info Europe has been ordered to pay €3,000 to the Spanish government after unsuccessfully seeking information for certain Ministry of Justice reports. The Spanish Supreme Court ruled that the NGO has not right to ask for such information, requested an Access Info Europe board member in 2007. The request was for Ministry of Justice […]
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12 October 2012
Indian Government Appeals Controversial Court Ruling
The Indian government has appealed a controversial Supreme Court ruling that that has roiled Indian information commissions by mandating more involvement of trained judges in the process. The announcement came Oct. 11, preceding an Oct. 12 speech by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the seventh anniversary of the RTI act at seventh Convention of Central […]
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11 October 2012
Indian CIC Orders Delhi to Enhance Assembly Info
The Central Information Commission has ordered the Delhi assembly to provide more information about its proceedings. Information Commissioner Annapurna Dixit directed the assembly secretariat to publish laws that pass on its website in Hindi and English and to consider providing live webcasts of assembly proceedings, according to reports in the Times of India and the Hindustan […]
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8 October 2012
U.S. Supreme Court to Consider FOI Case
The Supreme Court of the United States Oct. 5 said it will consider whether states can keep persons for other states from using their freedom of information laws. The case involves the state of Virginia, which denied the use of the law to Mark J. McBurney of Rhode Island and Roger W. Hurlbert of California. […]
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1 October 2012
Ruling Sows Confusion Among Indian Commissions
More than a quarter of India’s 28 Information Commissions have halted work in the aftermath of the top court’s recent ruling that retired judges must be on commission panels, according to a survey by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. The Central Information Commission continues to hear cases as before, CHRI said. “However the State Information […]
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19 September 2012
Chilean Court Rejects Disclosure of Official Emails
The Constitutional Court in Chile has rejected making public the emails of officials. The decision (in Spanish) revoked a Transparency Council decision and is considered a blow to the right of access to information. The court declared that emails are not covered by Article 5 from the Transparency and Access to Information Act which states in […]