Posts Tagged ‘implementation’
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21 June 2012
Nigerian FOI Conference Focuses on Implementation
Suggestions for implementation and use of the new Nigerian freedom of information law dominate the communiqué developed at the National Summit on the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, held in Abuja, Nigeria, June 18 and 19. The conference was attended by 164 participants from various sectors and interest groups, according to the organizers, the Media […]
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8 June 2012
World Bank Reverses Decision; Releases Draft Egyptian FOI Law
The World Bank’s Access to Information Committee has reversed an earlier decision and granted FreedomInfo.org access to draft freedom of information legislation for Egypt, prepared by a Bank consultant. The Bank had denied access to the document on March 20, asserting that it was covered by the “deliberative information” exception under the Bank’s Access to […]
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1 June 2012
Irish IC Hopes for Reforms, Notes More Requests
The Irish Information Commissioner May 30 said she hopes to see new freedom of information reform legislation later this year and noted that FOI requests rose 8 percent in 2011. Emily O’Reilly, Information Commissioner and Commissioner for Environmental Information, made these points and others upon the release of the 2011 Annual Report (press release). Regarding prospective […]
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30 May 2012
Directive in Tunisia to Facilitate Publishing of Government Data
By Ibrahim Elbadawi Elbadawi runs the blog @iBadawi, subtitled, “eGovernment across Arab countries.” This article was published May 14. His twitter handle is @iBadawi. The Tunisian government has issued a new directive to regulate public access to government information and documents. The directive (Arabic only), signed by the Tunisian Prime Minister Mr. Hamadi Jebali and directed […]
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29 May 2012
Florida Governor Opens Up Emails to Public View
Florida Governor Rick Scott has created a website at which the public can view his email and 11 of his top staff members. Under “Project Sunburst,” the emails will be accessible to the public through an online, read-only e-mail viewer, subject to certain restrictions. “This unprecedented step gives the citizens of Florida and members of […]
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21 May 2012
India Makes Plans to Set Up RTI Call Center, Request Site
The Indian government has requested proposals to establish a call center and web portal to allow citizens to make right to information requests by telephone and online. The Department of Personnel and Training May 14 sought requests from IT firms and call centers, according to media reports such as one in the Hindustan Times. The […]
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18 May 2012
UK Cabinet Vetoes Release of Sensitive Risk Report
A major FOI controversy ensued in the United Kingdom after the cabinet vetoed the release of an assessment of risks of the government’s health system reforms. The decision overruled an order from Information Commissioner Christopher Graham to publish the National Health Service risk register. Graham protested the decision, saying that “none of the criteria for […]
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14 May 2012
Chinese Budget Disclosures Still Considered Inadequate
China is disclosing more information about its budget, but “the data being released is still too vague to satisfy the taxpayers’ demands,” according to a May 14 article in the China Daily by Zhao Yinan. “So far, 92 out of the government 98 departments and State-funded organizations have laid bare their accounts since April 23 […]
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14 May 2012
Access to Public Information in Brazil: What Will Change With Law No. 12.527/2011?
By Marcelo Sarkis Sarkis is a lawyer, Institutional and Governmental Affairs at ALCÂNTARA&HOLSTAD International Consultancy, Brasília – Brazil. www.alcantaraholstad.com Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. (Art. […]
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11 May 2012
Tunisia Publishes Road Map To Implement FOI Directive
Tunisia’s Office of the Prime Ministry has published an implementation guide for Decree Law 41 – a directive passed last May on access to governmental documents, according to media reports (Tunisia Live). FreedomInfo.org has confirmed the development, but contacts did not have a copy. Pro-transparency activists have been calling for a law, arguing that the […]
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10 May 2012
Retired Officials Dominate Indian State Commissions
Most Indian state information commissioners are retired civil servants and many posts are vacant, according to fact-filled critical report by the Access to Information Programme of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, based in New Delhi. Also, less than half of the commissions have put some or all of their decisions online and their websites are […]
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9 May 2012
Malta to Institute FOA Law in September, Minister Says
Malta’s freedom of information law will come into full force Sept. 1, the government has announced. The law was enacted more than three years ago, but the ability to make requests has been stymied. Justice Minister Chris Said on May 8 indicated that 400 FOI officers have been undergoing training since February 2010. The news […]
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4 May 2012
Problems Found in Handling of RTI Requests in Indonesia
A requesting exercise in Indonesia had only a 46 percent success rate, and generated some recommendations for administrators of the right to information law to address “significant problems.” The project was conducted by the Alliance of Independent Journalists and the Centre for Law and Democracy, who also conducted a workshop evaluating the experience. CLD and AJI held […]
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30 April 2012
Requests in Germany Doubled in 2011, Report Says
The German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Peter Schaar, April 24 issued an annual report showing that requests are rising. The third annual report on freedom of information for 2010 and 2011, indicates that in 2011, 3,280 applications were made, an increase of 110 percent compared with the 1,557 requests recorded […]
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27 April 2012
Ukraine Planning Rules for FOI Law; Internet Access
The Ukrainian government has indicated that in June it will adopt rules to implement the Law on Access to Public Information, according to a Ukrainian News report. A government announcement cited also stated that the government will and prepare “a plan of measures for creation of a public information accounting system in the state and […]
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13 April 2012
FOI NOTES: MENA, Canada, Open Data, US, UK
MENA: A new newsletter has been started to follow access to information developments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Said Almadhoun, now a human rights officer at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and an adjunct professor of law at the University of Palestine, writes about “the […]
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2 April 2012
Australian Commissioner Proposes New FOI Fees
Australian Information Commissioner John McMillan has proposed a new fee system for the FOI law, including a $50 application fee if a requester does not first try to access the documents through informal means. McMillan says such a charge would apply if a requester doesn’t first attempt to utilize defined “administrative access schemes” at agencies. The […]
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12 March 2012
Reports Critically Assess RTI Performance in Indonesia
Two years after implementation of the Indonesian right to information law, several new reports look closely at how exemptions in the law are being handled and how three agencies are implementing the law. Government officials are still taking the same approach to disclosure as they did before the law, according to one report (English) (Indonesian), […]
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12 March 2012
Reform Eases RTI Use by Indians Living Abroad
India has made it easier for Indian citizens living abroad to seek online information from the government under the Right to Information Act. The banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India, has allowed sale of electronic postal orders to Indian citizens living abroad through their credit and debit cards. “The facility will be used only […]
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5 March 2012
Research Questions Obama Administration FOIA Policy
Research by The FOIA Project questions whether an early Obama administration policy shift has made any difference in the handling of freedom of information cases. In March 2009 the new administration issued a directive which set forth new “defensive standards” memo that reversed a Bush administration interpretation. Under the new standard, the Department of Justice […]