Posts Tagged ‘implementation’
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25 March 2013
Caribbean FOI Network Formed at Jamaica Meeting
A Caribbean network on freedom of information was created at a conference held recently in Kingston, Jamaica. Governments, civil society, and media announced plans to launch the Caribbean network “to support processes to improve standards for access to information in the region,” according to a statement. Representatives from 11 Caribbean countries attended a two-day “Regional Conference on Freedom of […]
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21 March 2013
Guyana Minister Says ATI Law May Be Effective in 2013
A key minister in Guyana has said the access to information law passed September of 2011 may be implemented by the end of 2013, according to a March 20 article by Denis Scott Chabrol in Demarara Waves quoting Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira. The law does not go into effect until an information commissioner […]
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21 March 2013
UK ICO Needs Budget Flexibility, Report Finds
The United Kingdom’s House of Commons Justice Committee has proposed that the Information Commissioner be allowed to use income from data protection fees to support its freedom of information work. In a March 21 report, the committee commends the commissioner for reducing his budget while still making inroads into the backlog of freedom of information complaints and […]
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20 March 2013
FOI Notes: Southeast Asia, Info Commissioners, Latin America, Job
Southeast Asia: The extensive minutes of the Transparency Advisory Group meeting in January provide an excellent overview of RTI activities in the region. Many topics are covered in the presentations and discussions, including: the value of examples of RTI use, proactive disclosure, indicators of success. TAG’s workplan and other information are available on its website. […]
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14 March 2013
Implementation of Peruvian Law Faulted by World Bank
Implementation of the 10-year-old Peruvian Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information (LTAIP) has been hampered by an “inefficient” implementation process, according to a World Bank study which suggests that it may be time for a new oversight structure. Peru was one of eight countries examined closely as part of a larger World Bank report […]
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14 March 2013
U.S. Sunshine Week Brings Legislation, Many Reports
Sunshine Week in the United States March 11-15 prompted congressional hearings, new and recycled legislative proposals and numerous reports on the status of freedom of information. In the House of Representatives, a draft FOI bill was offered by Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a rare […]
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11 March 2013
Obama Praised, Criticized in New Report on Transparency
The Obama administration is complimented and chastised in a new report on the transparency of his first four years in office. “With the notable, glaring exception of national security, the open government policy platform the Obama administration built is strong. However, the actual implementation of open government policies within federal agencies has been inconsistent and, […]
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7 March 2013
World Bank Study Focuses on RTI Implementaton Issues
Right to information laws “will accomplish little” in poor countries, according to the author of new World Bank study, “unless concerted efforts are made to address the broader enabling environment, and appropriate capacity building strategies are devised.” The report by Anupama Dokeniya is based on individual research studies of implementation in eight countries: Albania, […]
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7 March 2013
Portuguese Government Resists Disclosing Key Study
The Portuguese government has refused to release a study about a controversial policy proposal. Defying a recommendation for disclosure from the Commission on Access to Administrative Documents (CADA), the government has relied on another legal standard to keep the study confidential. The government is basing its refusal on Section 11.1 of the Rules of Procedure […]
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7 March 2013
Access and Privacy: Where Do We Draw the Line?
By Robert Freeman Freeman is Executive Director of the Committee on Open Government, a unit housed in the New York State Department of State that oversees and advises the government, public, and news media on Freedom of Information, Open Meetings, and Personal Privacy Protection Laws. He was a close observer when the state of New […]
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19 February 2013
Standards for Proactive Disclosure Recommended
Clearer standards are needed for what constitutes proactive disclosure of information by governments, according to speakers at a Feb. 19 webinar (as recorded) sponsored by the OGP Networking Mechanism of Global Integrity and the World Bank Institute. Proactive disclosure “is a very important obligation which I would argue we have not yet translated into clear […]
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18 February 2013
Indian Women Not Using RTI Act Enough, Activists Say
Women in India are not using the Right to Information Act as much as they should, according to persons quoted in an article on the subject by Partha Sarathi Biswas in the Indian Express. One indicator cited is the low registration in training classes sponsored by Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHDA). Former Central […]
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31 January 2013
Uruguay Mandates Agencies to Accept E-FOI Requests
The Uruguay Access to Information Unit has issued a ruling requiring government agencies to accept electronic requests for information. The ruling follows the creation of a website by the Center for Archives and Access to Public Information (CAINFO) the filing of information requests. (See previous FreeedomInfo.org report.) The group describes the new policy nd provides […]
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31 December 2012
Malaysian State of Selangor Inaugurates FOI Law Jan. 1
The freedom of information law in the Malaysian state of Selangor will come into force Jan. 1. The bill was passed in April of 2011 and is the first state FOI law. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) “It’s a very exciting challenge for the state government,” executive councillor Elizabeth Wong told The Selangor Times. Reporter Gan Pei […]
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4 December 2012
Outdated Agency Regs Undermine US FOI Law
Reposted from the National Security Archive. For more information contact: Tom Blanton/Nate Jones/Lauren Harper 202/994-7000 or nsarchiv@gwu.edu A government-wide Freedom of Information Act audit by the National Security Archive has found that sixty-two out of ninety-nine government agencies have not updated their FOIA regulations since US Attorney General Eric Holder issued his March 19, 2009 […]
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3 December 2012
Liberia: Freedom of Information Act and Executive Order 38
By Lamii Kpargoi Kpargoi is the Program Director of the Liberian Media Center (LMC). He is also a Liberian lawyer and political watcher. He lives and works in Monrovia and can be reached at lkpargoi@yahoo.com. This article first appeared in The News on Nov. 30 In recent weeks the rumor mill in Liberia, especially Monrovia […]
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30 November 2012
Australian Group Creates Website for Requestors
The Right to Know website has been created in Australia, adding to the steady growth of such sites worldwide. About 20 similar sites now exist. The newest site, run by the Open Australia Foundation, “aims to make the process easy for people who lack training in information law” and to ”shame” public servants who are […]
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30 November 2012
FOI Notes: Ibero-American Agreement, Call for Papers
Ibero-American Agreement for Transparency and ATI: Drafted recently in Cadiz, Spain, by representatives from 19 Latin America countries and three from Europe (Spain, Portugal and Andorra), this document contains many other agreements along with the Transparency and ATI. The statements on transparency and access are on page 80. (pdf in Spanish) Drafted under the auspices […]
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26 November 2012
United Kingdom Consults on Datasets Disclosure Code
The British government has begun a consultation on its code of practice on government datasets. “The proposed new Code of Practice (datasets) was drafted in conjunction with the Cabinet Office, The Information Commissioners Office, The National Archives, and The Ministry of Justice and sets out what we mean by the terms in the new sections […]
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26 November 2012
FOI Notes: Requester Privacy, Aid Transparency, Open Data, Jobs, More
Privacy for Requesters?: “Protecting the Freedom of Information Act Requestor: Privacy for Information Seekers,” an article by Sarah Shik Lamdan in the Kansas Journal of Law & Pubic Policy, Vol. 21, p. 221, 2012. The abstract says: FOIA requests are one of the foremost tools of American democracy, a primary means for assuring government transparency. […]