Posts Tagged ‘rti legislation’
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25 July 2011
President Aquino Does Not Mention FOI in State of Union
Philippine President Benigno Aquino did not mention freedom of information in his July 25 State of the Union address, but several days later said his proosal was almost ready. In a speech July 28, however, Aquino said he had ordered the drafting of a “balanced” freedom of information bill and suggested it would be ready […]
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22 July 2011
Aquino Position on FOI Remains in Doubt
Philippine President Benigno Aquino still has not indicated whether he will support a freedom of information bill developed by a working group of his ministers, according to sources consulted by FreedomInfo.org and media reports. Aquino “will likely not mention the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill in his second State of the Nation Address on July […]
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8 July 2011
World Bank Reaches Deal With MPs in Ghana
By Toby McIntosh Key members of Parliament in Ghana have committed to hold regional consultations on the proposed right to information bill, FreedomInfo.org has learned. The sessions will be held during the summer recess from mid-July to mid-August in five locations around the country. Members of Parliament have said since late last year that they wanted […]
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7 July 2011
Sierra Leone Official Lists FOIA Bill Impediments
In a detailed and frank speech, a key Sierra Leone official has described the impediments facing freedom of information legislation that has been ready for a vote in Parliament since March. The July 7 talk by Edward Kwame Yankson, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications, included a jibe at civil society groups […]
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7 July 2011
Polish Government Proposes Data Reuse Legislation
The Polish government has proposed legislation that would make public information available for re-use, according to a press release by the public interest group Centrum Cyfrowe. The draft bill will now be sent to Parliament. Under the bill, all public information accessible online or made available pursuant through individiual requests will be available for re-use free […]
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7 July 2011
Nigerian State of Ekiti Approves FOI Law
Kayode Fayemi, governor of the Nigerian state of Ekiti State, signed a freedom of information act for his state on July 4. The legislation was described as a domestication” of the new Nigerian national FOIA law in report by Emma Maduabuchi in The Independent. The Nigerian law was signed in May. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) […]
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7 July 2011
Sri Lankan RTI Backers Shudder at Rajapaksa Quote
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week told newspaper editors that a law to protect the people’s right to information was unnecessary. He said instead that he could ensure access to information, saying “just ask me for a file and I will give it to you,” according media reports such as this one in Lakmiba […]
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5 July 2011
New Moroccan Constitution Includes Access Article
The new Moroccan constitution, passed with a 98 percent affirmative vote and 72 percent participation on July 1, includes a provision on access to information. New legislative elections are to be held in three or four months and transparency activists hope to see an access law on the books by the end of 2012. “We […]
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1 July 2011
Conferees Discuss FOIA Reforms in Dominican Republic
By Natalia Torres, CELE´s Senior Researcher Articles on freedom of information in Latin America, written by the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE) in Argentina, will be a regular feature in FreedomInfo.org. See this article Spanish. On June 9 and 10, the International Seminar “Inter-American Model Law on Access to […]
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1 July 2011
Ley modelo y legislación local en Dominicana
By Natalia Torres, Investigadora Principal del CELE. El pasado 9 y 10 de junio se realizó en Santo Domingo el Seminario Internacional “Ley Modelo Interamericana sobre Acceso a la Información y su aplicación en República Dominicana”. El seminario, organizado por la Secretari?a para Asuntos Juri?dicos de la Organización de Estados Americanos, el Banco Mundial, la […]
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30 June 2011
Sierra Leone Minister Says Parliament Needs Persuading
A Sierra Leone minister has said efforts are under way to convince Parliament to pass a freedom of information law. Deputy Information Minister Sheka Tarawalli said in a recent interview with Cocorioko News, “We have been lobbying MPs and embarking on sensitization campaigns as to the necessity of the Act, and it is our hope […]
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29 June 2011
Amending Access to Information Legislation
By Toby Mendel Toby Mendel is Executive Director of Centre for Law in Democracy The following is the concluding chapter (minus footnotes) of a recent report entitled Amending Access to Information Legislation: Legal and Political Issues. It is the seventh paper on access to information in the Governance Working Paper series published by the World […]
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27 June 2011
Right2Know Welcomes ANC Concessions on POIB
The Right2Know campaign has welcomed “concessions” from the African National Congress on the Protection of Information bill. One key change would narrow the scope of the bill to apply only to security and intelligence services. Other organs of state could apply for inclusion. Another modification would allow a retired judge to review disputed classification of […]
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24 June 2011
Spanish Official Promises Access to Information Bill
The Spanish government indicated June 21 that it will present an access to information bill. The announcement followed passage by the House of Representatives calling for such a law, a cause that transparency activists have pressed hard this year. A top government official in March pledged to produce a bill in a month, but did not meet […]
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24 June 2011
Luxembourg Urged to Revive Effort to Pass FOI Law
Access Info Europe June 20 chided Luxembourg for not passing a freedom of information law 11 years after one was first proposed. The group wrote to Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and to Alex Bodry of the Chamber of Deputies, the original promoter of the law and current rapporteur in charge of this file, asking what […]
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24 June 2011
South Africa Sets New Deadline for Secrecy Bill
The South African National Assembly has extended until Sept. 23 the deadline for approval of the controversial Protection of Information. The action, as reported in News24, came after an ad hoc committee working on the bill missed its June 24 deadline. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) The Right2Know campaign welcomed the action, commenting, “It is clear […]
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17 June 2011
Mongolian Parliament OKs Transparency Legislation
The Parliament of Mongolia June 16 approved the Law on Information Transparency and Right and Freedom to Access Information. “We believe that the new law will help us to consolidate democracy, freedom of expression and human rights in Mongolia,” commented Naranjargal Khashkhuu,President of Globe International. Passage of the law was supported by Globe International and […]
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17 June 2011
Rousseff Does About-Face on Brazil FOI Legislation
By Greg Michener Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has reversed her support for expedited passage of a Brazilian freedom of information law this week, ceding to senators’ desire to reappraise the law and include weakening amendments. The proposed changes aim to eliminate time limits on how long information can be classified as secret and held from […]
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17 June 2011
Jamaican Panel Recommends Ways to Improve Access Law
The Jamaican Parliament has recently passed the report of the committee that reviewed the Access to Information Act, reports Carolyn Gomes, chairperson of the ATI Advisory Stakeholders Committee. “This report recommends significant strengthening of the provisions of our Act, including the creation of a statutory body, the Access to Information Unit, which is to be […]
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17 June 2011
Senegal Leaders Support Passing Information Law
Key figures in Senegal’s government have committed to passing an access to information law, according the Committee on Access to Information in Senegal. Members of the Senate and National Assembly, and the minister of Communication, indicated their support following a June 8 seminar organized by ARTICLE 19 and the Forum Civil, in partnership with the […]