The Moroccan government on Dec. 29 sent to the legislature a draft freedom of information law (announcement in Arabic).
The bill, however, is the same “fourth draft” that surfaced in June, and was found wanting by critics, who still want amendments.
The draft bill now heads to committee consideration. On Dec. 29 an oral presentation was made by the Ministry of Civil Servants. The bicameral legislature has a House of Representatives (lower house) and a House of Councillors (upper house).
The draft was sent to the lower house in June 2015 but did not advance after the opposition boycotted committee meetings.
The Centre for Media Freedom (CMF) on Sept. 29 issued a critical report on the pending bill. (See previous Freedominfo.org report.) In June, the draft was given a score of 79 on the 150-point RTI Rating done by the Centre for Democracy and Law. The Moroccan Network for the Right of Access to Information issued a statement calling the latest draft inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution that urging changes. (See previous Freedominfo.org report.)
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