Posts Tagged ‘rti litigation’
-
21 November 2013
Nigerian Judge Applies Federal FOI Law to States
A Nigerian judge has ruled that the federal freedom of information law covers state governments. The Oyo State High Court said the 2011 FOI law it does not need to be domesticated by any state before taking effect in all the states across the federation. The presiding judge S.A Akinteye said the National Assembly’s actions […]
-
8 November 2013
Chile’s Supreme Court Orders Disclosure of Official E-mails
The Chilean Supreme Court of Justice has ordered the Ministry of Transport to release e-mails from public officials related to the modification of the public urban transport system in Santiago. The Supreme Court decided Nov. 6 that the disclosure of the e-mails about the Transantiago contracts doesn´t violate the privacy of the officials and that […]
-
17 October 2013
Top European Court Rules in Favor of Transparency
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) Oct. 17 ruled that the Council of the European Union can’t keep secret the identities of member states making proposals in the context of negotiations on EU legislation. “This is a significant victory for transparency and participatory democracy,” said Helen Darbishire, Executive Director of Access-Info Europe, the winning plaintiff. The final […]
-
8 October 2013
Indian Supreme Court Rules in Case Impacting RTI
The Indian Supreme Court ruled Oct. 3 in case that may have implications for which nongovernmental organizations are “substantially financed’ by public funds and are thus covered by the Right to Information Act, Although analysts are just beginning to sort through the ruling, there are indications it might reduce coverage of the RTI Act and […]
-
3 October 2013
U.S. Court Rules for White House on Visitors’ Records
By Harry Hammit Hammit is publisher of Access Reports, a bi-monthly report on U.S. and Canadian freedom of information legal developments. The D.C. Circuit has finessed the issue of whether visitors’ logs at the White House or the Vice President’s office are agency records subject to FOIA because they are used by the Secret Service […]
-
5 September 2013
Indian Court Reverses Qualifications Decision
The Indian Supreme Court Sept. 3 retracted most of its controversial ruling seeking to dictate the qualifications for membership on information commissions. The court had ruled that only retired judges or those having legal training could be appointed as information commissioners at the Central Information Commission and at the state level. Justices A.K. Patnaik and […]
-
31 July 2013
Nigerian Judge Has It All Wrong
By Edetaen Ojo Ojo is Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda in Lagos, a former Chair of the Steering Committee of and a member of the Working Group of the African Platform on Access to Information (APAI).This article was originally published on the Media Rights Agenda website. In a recent ruling, his lordship, Justice Gabriel […]
-
29 July 2013
UK Supreme Court Upholds Request for Pay Structure
The U.K. Supreme Court ruled July 29 that information relating to South Lanarkshire Council’s staff pay structure should be disclosed. The judgment is the first considered by the Supreme Court under Scotland’s freedom of information law. The requester in 2010 sought details of the number of people placed at specific points on South Lanarkshire Council’s pay […]
-
26 July 2013
Liberian Commissioner Orders Release of Asset Disclosures
Liberia’s information commissioner, in his first ruling, has ordered the nation’s Anti-Corruption Commission to release the asset disclosure statement of Cabinet ministers and their deputies. The records were sought by the Center for Media Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP) . Mark Bedo-Wla Freeman in his July 23 decision stated, “The asset declarations are part of efforts […]
-
26 July 2013
Appeal Granted in Case Involving Prince Charles
Three British high court judges have allowed an appeal of a decision denying public access to letters from Prince Charles to government agencies. The Guardian newspaper has been seeking the letters for eight years. In July, the British High Court refused to overturn a government decision to block the disclosure of Prince Charles’ correspondence. (See previous […]
-
26 July 2013
Summer Reading: Will the Public Interest Test Prevail?
By Helen Darbishire Darbishire is Executive Director of Access Info Europe. For FOI Geeks interested in the application of the public interest test who also like a good quick read over the summer, there’s a recent decision that can compete with page-turning novels. There’s no sex, but we do learn about the intimate and very […]
-
12 July 2013
UK Courts Upholds Secrecy for Prince Charles’ Letters
The British High Court on July 9 refused to overturn a government decision to block the disclosure of Prince Charles’ correspondence with government departments. The UK Attorney General Dominic Grieve in October 2012 has vetoed the release of 27 letters sent by Prince Charles to seven government departments. A FOI tribunal court had ruled that […]
-
10 July 2013
Israeli Court Orders Disclosures About Tax Breaks
The Tel Aviv District Court July 8 ruled that the Finance Ministry must disclose the list of companies that have received tax breaks under the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investment. The judge said that the information requested was not confidential under the tax code, as the government argued. Judge Michal Agmon-Gonen gave the government […]
-
10 July 2013
U.S. State Court Makes GIS Data Subject to Access Law
A California state court ruled July 8 that the state records formatted with an electronic geographic information system (GIS) are subject to the state records law at nominal cost. “The California Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Sierra Club v. County of Orange means that the Sierra Club, which has been seeking Orange County’s basic set […]
-
10 July 2013
Indian CIC Rejects Request by Death Row Inmate
The Indian Central Information Commission has held that the Constitution prohibits releasing to a death row convict the reasons for denial of his mercy request. A.G. Perarivalan, a death row convict in the 1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, requested the advice tendered by the Council of Ministers to the president, according to an article in […]
-
26 June 2013
European Human Rights Court Rules Against Serbia
The European Court on Human Rights has supported a right to access information held by public bodies, holding that Serbia violated the human rights of a group seeking information. With language grounded in international human rights standards, the European Court of Human Rights June 25 backed the arguments of a non-governmental organization based in Belgrade, Serbia, the Youth Initiative […]
-
10 June 2013
U.S. Court Overturns Decision in Trade Case
Quoting George Washington, a U.S. appeals court June 7 denied access to a document concerning unsuccessful trade negotiations conducted in the 1990s and 2000s. A three-judge panel overturned a lower court ruling giving deference to the opinion of the U.S. Trade Representative that disclosure of a past position could jeopardize future negotiations and limit the […]
-
7 June 2013
EU Court Backs Secrecy in International Trade Talks
The General Court of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg June 7 upheld secrecy in trade negotiations and privileged access for business and trade associations. The plaintiff, the watchdog group Corporate Europe Observatory, said in a summary that the court “concludes that the European Commission did not violate EU rules when withholding information about […]
-
3 June 2013
Indian CIC Says Political Parties Covered by RTI Law
India’s Central Information Commission June 3 ruled that political parties are covered by the Right to Information law. The Commission in a 54-page decision said the six national parties receive substantial indirect funding from the central government and perform public functions, thus making them public authorities under the law. Unless overturned by a court, the […]
-
31 May 2013
Nigerian Judiciary Supporting New FOI Law, Group Reports
Court rulings in Nigeria are consistently upholding the two-year-old freedom of information law, according to a Nigerian watchdog group. Media Rights Agenda praised the judiciary, saying that most rulings have counteracted refusal to disclose information by public institutions. The May 28 press release cited a number of specific examples. MRA’s Deputy Executive Director Jennifer Onyejekwe […]