Posts Tagged ‘rti litigation’
-
16 April 2015
Croatian CSO Files Appeal Against Denial of Information
A civil society organization in Croatia is appealing a court ruling that overturned the information commissioner’s order for the government to disclose its legal bills to defend two persons before the International Tribunal in the Hague. GONG, the CSO, is challenging the recent decision by the High Administrative Court, which ruled that the commissioner had […]
-
8 April 2015
Judge Orders Nigerian Parliament to Report Constituency Payments
A Nigerian Federal High Court judge has ordered the National Assembly to disclose details of budgetary allocations made to individual legislators for physical projects and the details of the progress of the projects. Justice Abdu Kafarati issued the ruling in response to a of Information suit filed by the a nongovernmental organization, the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP). The […]
-
26 March 2015
UK Court Blunts Government Veto of Releasing Royal Mail
A British journalist has won a case to get access to letters sent by Prince Charles to government agencies, a decision has ignited debate about when the government should be able to “veto” disclosures under the Freedom of Information Act. The Supreme Court ruling prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to issue a statement saying that the law […]
-
24 March 2015
Albania to Disclose Data About Telephone Surveillance
Albania’s General Prosecutor’s Office has agreed to disclose statistical information on telephone surveillance. The move was applauded by the nongovernmental organization NGO Res Publica welcomed the decision. The disclosed document, operational surveillance measures were authorized in relation to 689 cases and concerning 3,140 individuals in 2014, as opposed to 3,112 individuals in 2013 and 2,315 […]
-
17 March 2015
CIC Concedes Defeat in Political Parties Case
India’s Central Information Commission on March 16 said it can’t enforce its 2013 order that the six major political parties are subject to the Right to Information Act. A three commissioner panel concluded the CIC could not impose penalties or compensatory damages on the parties, or otherwise compel compliance with a decision it defended as still […]
-
17 March 2015
White House Cements Exemption From FOIA
The White House Office of Administration on March 17 officially exempted itself from the Freedom of Information Act, relying on a seven-year-old court decision. The Office of Administration amended its regulations, relying on a judicial decision from 2009 in which U.S. District Judge Coleen Kollar-Kotelly dismissed a government watchdog’s lawsuit seeking records on missing White House […]
-
12 March 2015
Ugandan Magistrate Orders Disclosure by Government
In a major first victory under the Ugandan Access to Information act, a magistrate ordered the government to disclose information about the procurement of equipment to fight forest fires. The requester was Edward Sekyewa, Executive Director of the Hub for Investigative Media. The decision has not been adequately reported by the media, according to an […]
-
11 March 2015
Canadian Ruling Says Courts Can Review Long Extensions
The Federal Court of Appeal in Canada on March 3 issued a decision confirming that courts can review the reasonableness of time delays in agency responses to freedom of information requests. A lower court had dismissed an application for judicial review filed the information commissioner, with the requester’s consent, under section 42 of the Access […]
-
5 February 2015
RTI Complaints Not Allowed Under Indian Consumer Law
India’s national consumer commission has ruled that an dissatisfied right to information applicant may not seek recourse through the Consumer Protection Act, according to the ruling and an article in The Hindustan Times. Sanjay Kumar Mishra of Panchkula had filed a petition challenging the orders of a state RTI commission, claiming to be a consumer […]
-
22 January 2015
South African Ministry Drops Appeal Over `Key Points’
The South African Police Ministry will drop its objections to disclosing a list of National Key Points. A South African court in December gave the ministry 30 days to make public the list of places designated by the government as being of key security importance. (See previous FreedomInfo.org article.) The ministry has decided to withdraw […]
-
8 January 2015
Indian Commission Considers Penalties in Political Case
The Indian Central Information Commission has taken a preliminary step to deal with six political parties refusing to obey its order to comply with the right to information law, and a bigger decision is pending. The CIC on Jan. 4 told the Urban Development Ministry to make public all records of land and bungalows allotted […]
-
24 December 2014
South African Court Orders Release of Key Points Data
A South African court has given the Ministry of Police 30 days to make public a list of National Key Points, places designated by the government as being of key security importance. The South Gauteng High Court Dec. 1 decision says the government’s justification for withholding these records amounted to “platitudes and a recitation of […]
-
17 December 2014
Uruguayan Court Orders Release of Mine Information
The Civil Court of Appeals in Uruguay has ordered the release of information about an iron mine, finding that disclosure under an environmental law trumps the company’s confidentiality claim. (See decision in Spanish.) In confirming a lower court decision, the court said the Ministry of Industry must release the information related to the mining project […]
-
2 December 2014
Environmental Group Wins Appeal in South Africa
The Supreme Court of Appeal Nov. 26 ordered steel producer ArcelorMittal SA to hand over environmental information to Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA), an alliance of five environmental organizations. The unanimous court rebuked ArcelorMittal for its initial handling of the requests for information under the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The court in its […]
-
17 November 2014
Charges Against Oil Officials Sent to Tanzanian Speaker
Two top officials at Tanzania’s state-owned oil agency, arrested Nov. 3 on charges of failing to give requested information to parliament, have been released without charges, according to journalist Kizoto Makoye. The two executives had declined to provide parliament with 26 oil and gas contracts the government signed with foreign and local investors, according to […]
-
12 November 2014
Indian CIC Schedules Hearing On Nov. 21 for Political Parties
The Indian Central Information Commission has scheduled a Nov. 21 hearing on non-compliance by six political parties withy a June 3, 2013, order bringing them under the purview of Right to Information Act. The commission has asked the parties to appear before it and produce all relevant documents. One such order was issued Feb. 7. […]
-
6 November 2014
Arkansas Judge Orders Public Official Arrested
A judge in Arkansas on Nov. 5 issued an arrest warrant for a government agency official over claims he didn’t provide documents requested by an Arkansas newspaper. A prosecutor earlier this week had issued an arrest affidavit for the official, accused of a misdemeanor charge of violating the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Pulaski County […]
-
29 October 2014
Court Finds Database Redaction Too Burdensome
By Harry Hammit Hammit is publisher of Access Reports, a bi-monthly report on U.S. and Canadian freedom of information legal developments. A ruling by Judge Rudolph Contreras finding that personally identifying information contained in several FTC complaint databases is protected by Exemption 6 (invasion of privacy), while almost certainly correct based on case law interpretation, […]
-
23 October 2014
El Salvadoran Court Orders Open Proceedings on Judges
The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice in El Salvador has decided administrative proceedings against judges must be transparent. The court ruled that the Access to Information Act, through its article 110, tacitly abolishes the provision (article 70 of the Judicial Career Act of 1990) that established the confidentiality of the administrative punitive […]
-
14 October 2014
Argentina’s Supreme Court Backs RTI for Legislator
The Supreme Court of Justice from Argentina on Oct. 14 issued two decisions supporting the right of access to information. In both cases the defendant, the national government, said that the plaintiff, a national congressman, was not entitled to ask for public information, because he had require it as a legislator. The Court, however, said […]