Posts Tagged ‘rti litigation’
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14 September 2012
Indian Court Says Judges Must Head Commissions
The Supreme Court of India has ordered that all Chief Information Commissioners must be retired judges and that each case must be heard by a two-member bench, with one judicial member and one non-judicial member. The Central Information Commission (CIC), the final appellate authority for RTI Act, suspended hearings on Sept. 14, held an urgent […]
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30 August 2012
German Court Rules on FOI Corporate Coverage
By Rafael Njotea This article appeared in Wobbing Europe on Aug. 23. Companies owned by the state for 50 percent or more fall under the same transparency regulations as public bodies, a court ruling by the Berlin Administrative Court says. Previously, the freedom of information regulation only held for companies owned by the state for […]
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27 August 2012
Israeli Court Orders Release of Educational Test Records
Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of data about the scores of individual schools in national and international comparative exams. The request was filed six years ago by a group of parents active in a nongovernmental organization concerned about education in poverty neighborhoods. The Ministry of Education denied, attempts at compromise failed, and an […]
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27 August 2012
US Judge Provides Detailed Guide to Electronic Searches
A federal judge in United States has provided a detailed examination of proper electronic search techniques in the freedom of information context. The lengthy decision by Judge Shira A. Scheindlin came in the context of a request for agency records regarding immigration. She criticized the federal agencies involved for their search efforts, and provides an […]
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10 August 2012
Chile Decrees Confidentiality Despite Court Ruling
By Dolores Lavalle Cobo Lavalle Cobo is an Argentine lawyer, member of Centro para la Información Ciudadana (Center for Citizen´s Information) and author of books and articles. The Chilean Government published Decree No.155 on July 26 ordering the confidentiality of the legal services hired by the National Directorate of International Limits and Boundaries. The Directorate is a division of […]
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12 July 2012
A Chilean Case: About the Disclosure of Names and Fees of Legal Advisor
By Dolores Lavelle Cobo Lavalle-Cobo is an Argentine lawyer, member of Centro para la Información Ciudadana (Center for Citizen´s Information) and author of books and articles. The right of access to public information as a fundamental right is not an absolute one. Its exercise has specific limitations. Nevertheless, in its implementation and application to concrete […]
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6 July 2012
Nigerian Court Orders Disclosure by Assembly
Amid a swirling controversy over President Goodluck Jonathan’s adamant “don’t give a damn” refusal to disclose his assets, a Nigerian judge has ordered the National Assembly to disclose information on salaries, emoluments, and allowances received by its members between 2007 and 2011. The president’s statement has arroused heated debate and even involved the U.S. embassy. […]
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29 June 2012
Indian CIC Elaborates on Access to Cabinet Papers
India’s Central Information Commission has ruled that Cabinet documents should be disclosed after a bill had been offered in Parliament and that requesters do not need to wait until after Parliament acts. The Commission ordered the Department of Atomic Energy to produce the Cabinet note, papers and file notings relating to the Nuclear Safety Regulatory […]
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21 June 2012
Indian Court Says Presidential Donations Covered by RTI
Donations made by the Indian president using public funds are covered by the Indian right to information law, the Delhi High Court held May 14. The court directed the President’s Secretariat to provide the information, rejecting objections that it would impinge on the president’s privacy. The court also ordered that the donations information be published online. […]
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8 June 2012
World Bank Reverses Decision; Releases Draft Egyptian FOI Law
The World Bank’s Access to Information Committee has reversed an earlier decision and granted FreedomInfo.org access to draft freedom of information legislation for Egypt, prepared by a Bank consultant. The Bank had denied access to the document on March 20, asserting that it was covered by the “deliberative information” exception under the Bank’s Access to […]
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18 May 2012
U.S. Judge Declines to Release Bay of Pigs History
More than year after the National Security Archive sued the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to declassify the full “Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation,” a U.S. District Court judge May10 sided with the Agency’s efforts to keep the last volume of the report secret in perpetuity. In her ruling, Judge Gladys Kessler accepted the […]
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27 April 2012
Indian State Commission Pulls Bank Under RTI Law
An Indian State Information Commission April 24 ruled that the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited is a public authority under the 2009 Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act. The bank was created by legislative act, is majority-owned by the government, has three government-appointed directors, and carries out instructions from the government, according to the […]
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23 April 2012
FOI Amendments in Poland Illegally Passed, Court Says
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal April 18 has annulled amendments to the freedom of information law passed in 2011. The court ruled that the rules of the legislation process under which the changes were approved violated the Polish Constitution. Polish transparency activists had opposed the changes which were largely aimed at limited access to materials related to the […]
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13 April 2012
Is Europe’s Top Court Finally Embracing Right to Know?
By Darian Pavli Pavil is Senior Attorney, Open Society Justice Initiative On April 3, the top body of the European Court of Human Rights upheld the right of two social science researchers to access research data held by a public university. This is the first time that the Grand Chamber of the court, its top […]
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13 March 2012
U.S. Judge Orders Release of FTAA Trade Talks Document
A U.S. district court judge has ordered the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to release a “classified” one-page document concerning a U.S. position on an issue in the failed negotiations aimed at creating a Free Trade Area of the Americas. The judge rejected a third round of government arguments that disclosure would damage relations […]
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28 February 2012
United States Court Rules Mug Shots Protected
By Harry Hammit Hammit is publisher of Access Reports, a bi-monthly report on U.S. and Canadian freedom of information legal developments. After the Supreme Court put most personal information off limits in its 1989 Reporters Committee decision, appellate courts in particular began to find any number of reasons why such information was protected by Exemption […]
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23 February 2012
Indian Health Foundation Told to Comply With RTI
India’s Central Information Commission has ruled that the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) had falls under the Right to Information Act, using the decision to underscore its position that other public-private partnerships are also covered, a contentious issue. Commissioner Shailesh Ghandi, who wrote the opinion, directed the chairman of PHFI to appoint a Public […]
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17 February 2012
Indian CIC Orders Agency to Post More on Website
The Indian Central Information Commission has told the Ministry of Environment & Forests to put more information on its website. The Jan. 18 decision by Commissioner Sailesh Gandhi resulted from a complaint brought by Shibani Ghosh of The Access Initiative India Coalition (TAI India) arguing that certain categories of information should be available on the […]
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10 February 2012
Bangladesh Court Upholds Penalty for Impeding Access
The High Court of Bangladesh on Feb. 8 upheld an Information Commission fine for a government official who refused to provide information under the 2009 Right to Information Act. The court rejecting a petition filed by a government official challenging the Commission’s decision to fine him Tk. 1,000 ($12). The ruling was hailed as the […]
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6 February 2012
Indonesia Groups Appeal Denial of Water Agreement
A group of Indonesian NGOs led by the People’s Coalition on the Right to Water (KRuHA) is appealing to the National Information Commission the government’s refusal to provide details about the privatization of the water utility in Jakarta. The groups have been seeking access to the agreement that provides the framework for the production and […]