Posts Tagged ‘rti legislation’
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4 May 2011
Aquino to Advance FOI Bill Proposal, Aide Says
The chances of a freedom of information in the Philippines improved this week as aides to President Benigno Aquino said that a FOI bill will be presented to the House of Representatives. The Palace bill has not yet been made public, but even the prospect of a written proposal is considered positive news after Aquino […]
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29 April 2011
Changes in Hungary Seen Undercutting FOI Rights
Hungary has replaced the independent Data Protection and Freedom of Information Commissioner with an administrative authority, seriously weakening the right to access information, according to Human rights and media freedom groups. The changes result the new Hungarian constitution, recently signed by Hungary’s president Pál Schmitt. “There is still a lack of clarity about the proposed […]
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29 April 2011
Ghana Parliament Delays Holding Meetings on RTI Bill
By Toby McIntosh Key leaders of the Ghana parliament are continuing to postpone holding consultations on a pending right to information bill. Since at least late last year, the parliamentarians have said they want to conduct hearings around the country on the bill, which was referred to committee back in September. But no hearings have […]
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22 April 2011
Cayman Commissioner Makes Suggestions for FOI Law
The Cayman Island information commissioner has made recommendations to revise the 2007 freedom of information law for a Legislative Assembly subcommittee tasked with conducting a review. The most recent submission by commissioner Jennifer Dilbert concerns fees and requests submitted using a pseudonym, according to press release from her office. Last September, she made recommendations on […]
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21 April 2011
European Parliament Holds Hearing on Transparency
Pro-transparency members of the European Parliament last week called for an improved European Union disclosure policy, continuing to fuel a now long-running schism with the European Commission and Council. Action by a parliamentary committee on its proposals to change the European disclosure standard, Regulation 1049/2001, is not likely to occur until early summer, after a […]
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20 April 2011
Brazilian FOI Bill Clears Two Senate Panels, One to Go
The proposed Brazilian freedom of information law cleared two Senate committees April 19, leaving one committee to go in an apparent sprint to meet the Brazilian president’s declared goal of passage by May 3. The bill was passed the committees of Human Rights and Science and Technology and will now be considered by the Committee […]
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18 April 2011
Rousseff Praise Brightens Outlook for Brazilian FOI Bill
By Greg Michener Greg Michener is a Canadian, a professor of political science, and lives with his wife Carolina in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is currently writing a book for Cambridge University Press on Freedom of Information in Latin America. More of his work can be accessed at http://gregmichener.com Heartening events and significant setbacks […]
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15 April 2011
Passage of FOI Bill in Sierra Leone May Be Problematical
By Sulakshana Gupta The author works for the BBC World Service Trust in Sierra Leone and is also a freelance journalist Since October 2010, the Freedom of Information Bill in Sierra Leone has been pending in Parliament and now there’s a good chance it might not pass until much later. Sources at the Ministry of […]
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15 April 2011
ANC Holding Firm on Secrecy Legislation in South Africa
The ruling African National Congress in South Africa this week indicated it will not make significant changes to its controversial Protection of Information Bill. “Reading the position paper, it’s clear that the ANC’s position has hardly shifted since the massive public outcry last October,” said Alison Tilley of the Right2Know campaign. Little progress was made […]
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8 April 2011
Bar Group Urges Passage of FOI Legislation in Nigeria
The Human Rights Institute of The Nigerian Bar Association this week advocated for passage of freedom of information legislation. A letter signed by Festus Okoye, the secretary of the Institute, highlighted the nine major differences between the version passed by the Senate and that passed by the House. A joint committee has been named to […]
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7 April 2011
Zoellick Says Work Bank Promoting Transparency
World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick April 6 lauded the Bank’s work on making itself more transparent and helping national governments become more transparent, and noted the revival of interest in freedom of information in Egypt and Tunisia. His comments came in a speech to the Peterson Institute for International Economics about the Middle East and […]
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4 April 2011
Mongolia Considering Draft RTI Legislation
The Mongolian parliament is considering right to information legislation proposed by the Ministry of Justice. The draft law was submitted in January 2011, and has strengths and weaknesses, according to a critique by the Centre for Democracy and Law. CLD Executive Director Toby Mendel said: “It has a number of positive features, including a very […]
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1 April 2011
Selangor Passes FOI Bill; First in Malaysia
The Selangor state assembly April 1 passed a freedom of information bill, the first state government in Malaysia to do so. The Center for Independent Journalism Malaysia, which leads the FOI Task Force of the Coalition for Good Governance, hailed an “historic step” while also noting that the final product was improved from the first […]
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1 April 2011
Improvements to Mexican Transparency Law Passed
A handful of potentially harmful proposals to change the Mexican freedom of information law were defeated March 30 as a key congressional committee approved a package of more positive reforms. Although approval by several other committees and the full lower body of Congress still lies ahead, and activists are concerned about the possible opposition from […]
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1 April 2011
Sierra Leone Coalition Urges Action on FOIA Bill
The Sierra Leone Freedom of Information Coalition March 28 wrote to President Ernst Bai Koroma expressing “disappointment concerning the delays associated with the enactment of the Right to Access Information Bill.” Promised action on the bill has been postponed by a series of delays in Parliament. The letter chronicled: It was anticipated that the Bill […]
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1 April 2011
Croatian Court Creates Chance to Rewrite FOIA Law
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia on March 23 overturned the 2010 law on access to information, according to an announcement by Transparency International Croatia (TIC), which brought the lawsuit and said it hopes a better law will be written the next time around. TIC had argued that the Act on the Amendments […]
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1 April 2011
Utah Repeals Controversial Law Restricting Access
The U.S. state of Utah has done a fast reversal, repealing a heavily criticized law that would have restricted public access to some government records. Gov. Gary Herbert signed the repeal bill March 30, and a special committee has began work on redrafting the original legislation, which was hastily passed. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Open […]
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25 March 2011
Amendment to UK FOIA Subject of Hearing
The Campaign for Freedom of Information has recommended a variety of changes to the proposed amendments of the United Kingdom’s freedom of information law. The UK Information Commissioner also submitted extensive comments. Their evidence was presented at a March 24 hearing before the Protection of Freedoms Bill Committee. For video of the meeting, look here. […]
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24 March 2011
Pakistani Activists Urge Promise-Keeping on RTI
The Pakistan government should fulfill its promise to enact a new right to information law, activists said during a demonstration in Islamabad. A March 17 walk to the parliament building was organized by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives. They asked why top officials have not fulfilled pledges to replace the Freedom of Information […]
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23 March 2011
Consortium Issues Draft of Transparency Principles
A draft set of “Principles on National Security & Access to Information” has been released for comment by groups developing them as a resource for policymakers. Developing the principles are: the Open Society Justice Initiative, Article 19, Centre for Law & Democracy, Centre for National Security Studies, ICJ, Institute for Security Studies, National Security Archive, […]