Posts Tagged ‘implementation’
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16 May 2013
Indian Government Seeks Examples of Best Practice
The Indian government has invited “write ups” describing best practices on implementation of Right to Information Act, with prize money. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said it will publish a compendium of best practices on the RTI being adopted by a government department or public authority. “The best 20 write-ups would be selected […]
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16 May 2013
UK Commissioner Addresses Handling Vexatious Requests
The British information commissioner’s office May 15 issued extensive guidance on dealing with “vexatious” requests under the Freedom of Information Act. The guidance “is clearly going to lead to many more requests being refused as vexatious,” according to an eight-page letter sent by the Campaign for Freedom of Information to the government to detail its objections […]
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10 May 2013
Moldova Not Implementing RTI Law, World Bank Reports
Little has been done to implement Moldova’s 2000 right to information law, according to a report prepared for the World Bank. “After almost a decade, the RTI system has been very inadequately institutionalized,” according to an examination of Moldova that was done as part of a broader World Bank report of the implementation of right […]
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10 May 2013
Critics Fault Guidelines for Proactive Disclosure in India
The Indian government’s recent guidelines on proactive disclosure are diluted, right to information activists said May 7. Members of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) including Anjali Bhardwaj, Nikhil Dey and Venkatesh Nayak said that the government had overlooked other recommendations from the government-sponsored task force that studied the issue. Not included were […]
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3 May 2013
India Close to Choosing Who Will Do Study of RTI Law
The Indian government is close to choosing who will conduct a major review of the fight to information law. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has shortlisted 16 organizations for the “360 degree study,” according to a report, with the names, on the website of the RTI Foundation of India. The selected organizations have […]
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3 May 2013
Thwarted Liberian Group Seeks Asset Disclosures
A Liberian group has gone to court in an effort to compel the release of the asset declarations of public officials after being frustrated by the anti-corruption commission and the information commissioner. The Center for Media Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP) on April 29 filed a writ of Mandamus with the Supreme Court to compel […]
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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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26 April 2013
Monitoring Study Finds Poor Response Rates in Italy
The largest-ever audit of how responsive the Italian government is to requests for information has delivered an answer: “extremely low.” The study was jointly conducted by Diritto Di Sapere and Access-Info Europe. Some 300 requests were filed, but less than one quarter of the requests resulted in information being provided. “Only 27% of requests led […]
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25 April 2013
Scottish Agencies Consult Private Counsel for FOI
Scottish agencies have spent more than £400,000 ($520,000) for advice from private attorneys on how to respond to freedom of information requests, according to the New Scotsman April 21. More than 60 Scottish authorities sought counsel on how to apply the FOI exemptions and on reviews and appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner, the newspaper’s […]
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25 April 2013
Taiwan Journalists Unaware of FOI Law, Article Says
Journalists in Taiwan are not aware of the national freedom of information law, according to an article by an American journalist who attended a two-day data journalism seminar in Taiwan, but the open dta movement is growing and information is getting out in unofficial ways. During the workshop, we talked about how to obtain data, […]
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21 April 2013
Two Indian States to Issue Lists of Prisoners on Trial
The chief information commissioner of the Indian state of Maharashtra has ordered the disclosure of the names of prisoners awaiting trial, so-called “undertrials,” who have served half or more of the maximum prison term specified for the charges they face. State chief information commissioner (CIC) Ratnakar Gaikwad directed the preparation of such a list under […]
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19 April 2013
Right to information? You are in queue!
By Shailesh Gandhi Gandhi is a former commissioner at the central information commission. This article is reprinted with permission from GovernanceNow, where it was first run on April 17. “GovernanceNow is a multi-media initiative for participatory reportage and analyses related to governance of all institutions and processes that are vital to public life in India.” […]
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12 April 2013
Commissioners Report Low Budgets, Growing Workloads
Information commissioners around the world face serious budgetary constraints and expect higher workloads, according the first survey of commissioners. “In terms of their capacity to deal with current and projected workloads, 77% of Commissioners believe that their financial and staff resources, are ‘insufficient ‘(58%) or ‘not at all sufficient’ (19%),” according to the report on the survey. […]
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12 April 2013
Canada Launches Pilot Project for Online Information Access
Canada has begun a one-year pilot project that will allow for the submission of information and privacy requests online to three departments. Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, announced the launch April. 9, saying, “Our Government is the most open and transparent government in Canadian history. “This new online tool makes the process easier […]
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11 April 2013
Group Asks Macedonian Leaders to Reject Report
“Serious shortfalls’ exist in the latest annual report about access to public information in Macedonia, according to Foundation Open Society, which has called on government leaders to reject the report. The report by the Commission for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information, covering 2012, contains misinformation, the group charged in an […]
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5 April 2013
U.S. Federal Court Undercuts Catch-22 Delay Strategy
A federal appeals court April 2 ruled against a federal agency strategy that impeded Freedom of Information Act requesters from going to court to fight delays in responding to FOIA requests. The court overturned a lower court’s 2012 decision in a case brought by the liberal watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW), against […]
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5 April 2013
Scottish Commissioner Warns on Use of Vexatious Standard
Scottish Information Commissioner Rosemary Agnew on April 1 cautioned authorities against denying information requests on the grounds they are vexatious. Laying out revised standards based on recent cases, she said the vexatious provision must not be used “lightly,” according to the announcement. The main changes are: “Significant burden on the public authority” becomes one factor rather […]
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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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29 March 2013
UK FOIA Effective, According to Report by World Bank
The United Kingdom’s freedom of information act “is relatively effective and firmly entrenched,” according to an evaluation prepared for the World Bank. The 36-page report prepared by consultant Tom McClean is one of eight case studies prepared as part of a World Bank project on the implementation of right to information laws. (See previous FreedomInfo.org […]
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25 March 2013
Romanian FOI Law Is Well-Utilized, Report Says
Positive rulings from the courts have strengthened the 10-year-old Romanian freedom of information law and made it a well-used instrument, according to a new report funded by the World Bank. “The media and civil society embraced the law and have used its provisions to create positive legal precedents, good practices, and monitoring tools,” according to […]