|  Indian Parliament Approves FOI Bill
The Rajya Sabha approved the Freedom of Information
Bill on 17 December by a unanimous voice vote. The bill allows
for Indian citizens to access records held by the Government.
However, there is no independent monitoring body, the Official
Secrets Act is not repealed and there are no penalties for
govt officials who refuse to provide information. (The
Hindu, 17 December 2002).
Pakistan Approves FOI Ordinance
The government on 21 September promulgated the Freedom
of Information Ordinance 2002. The law allows for individuals
to ask for information from government officials but also
includes broad exemptions to restrict release of information.
The Consumer
Rights Commission of Pakistan welcomed the law describing
it as a "a milestone in the struggle of civil rights
in Pakistan."
Taiwan Cabinet Approves FOI Bill
The Executive Yuan approved the Law on Opening Government Information
on 4 September.The bill requires the release of treaties,
laws and regulations, contact information for government agencies,
research papers, budgetary books and procurement contracts
for public projects. Government information that should not
be made public would include national secrets, yet-to-be-developed
government policies and pending legal cases. The bill now
goes to the Legislative Yuan for approval. (Taipei Times, 5 September 2002).
Slovakian Parliament Votes to Release Secret Police Files
The parliament on 19 August overrode President Rudolf Schuster's
veto and approved a law on opening the files of the communist
secret police, TASR and international agencies reported. The
vote was 82 in favor and 10 against, with 20 deputies abstaining
or failing to cast a vote. The law was first passed on 10
July. The legislation keeps classified only the files of foreign
nationals, those whose disclosure could "pose a threat to
human life and public interest," and the personal data of
people persecuted by the former secret police. The law also
sets up an Institute for National Memory, where citizens can
read the files. The institute will also gather documents on
the crimes of the communist period, as well as the period
when Slovakia was a Nazi puppet state. (RFE/RL, 21
August 2002).
Czech Cabinet Rejects FOI Improvement
On
5 August, the Czech cabinet rejected a Senate-sponsored amendment
to the law on free access to information under which people
would have easier access to information they demand from the
authorities, CTK reported. Under the rejected amendment, costs
individuals have to cover for information demanded from civil
servants would have been substantially reduced and civil servants
would not have been allowed to refuse information on the grounds
of protecting business secrets or personal data. (RFE/RL,
6 August 2002).
Jamaica, Peru Approve FOI laws. New PI
Global FOI Survey
The Jamaican Parliament approved the Access to Information
Act 2002 on 28 June after a tough vote in the Senate. (Jamaican
Observer, 30 June 2002). The Peruvian Congress passed
the Access to Information Law on
29 June. See the new Privacy International global
survey of 45 countries with FOI laws at the freedominfo.org site.
Mexican Congress Approves Freedom of Information Act.
The Mexican Senate approved the Freedom of Information Act on April 30 by a vote of 86-0. The
bill requires government agencies to release information on
their activities and creates a "Federal Institute for Access
to Public Information". The lower house approved it unanimously
the previously week and it now goes to President Fox for signature.
(Washington Post, May 1, 2002). President Fox also made his
financial information available on the Internet called "Declaranet"
on May 2. (VOA News, May 3, 2002).
Czech Senate Approves Access to Police Files Law.
Senate on 8 March approved a bill by a vote of 42 to 11,
with nine abstentions, allowing access to previously classified
communist secret police files, international agencies reported.
The Chamber of Deputies approved the bill last month and the
legislation will be enacted after its promulgation by President
Vaclav Havel. Czech citizens have been able to access their
own files since 1996, but not the files of other people. The
new legislation excludes from access only files of foreign
nationals and those containing information that could endanger
national security or the lives of other people. The bill stipulates
that a new Institute for the Documentation of the Totalitarian
Regime will oversee access to the files and ensure the transparency
of the process. (RFE/RL, March 14, 2002).
COE Releases FOIA Recommendations.
The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers released
Recommendations for Freedom of Information on 21 February 2002.
The recommendations call for member countries to adopt laws
on access to information to allow citizens access to records
held by government bodies.
Czech Parliament Approves Free Access to Secret Police
Files.
The Chamber of Deputies approved a law on 8 February that
will allow adult citizens access to any files of the former
communist secret police, upon written request, CTK and international
agencies reported. Files of foreign nationals, as well as
files whose content could endanger state security or human
life, will remain classified. The vote was 102 in favour and
53 against. The ruling Social Democratic Party's vote was
split, with CSSD Chairman Vladimir Spidla voting against and
Prime Minister Milos Zeman being absent when the vote was
taken. While CSSD Deputy Premier Pavel Rychetsky interpreted
the law as giving access only to those on whom files were
kept by the StB, Civic Democratic Party parliamentary deputy
Marek Benda said the law allows free access to the files to
any person aged 18 and over. (RFE/RL, Feb. 11, 2002).
UK Delays Implementing
FOI Act Until 2005. The government announced on November 13, 2001 that it was delaying the access
to records provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
until January 2005. The publication schemes will begin in
2002. The Lord Chancellor's Department released on November
30 its annual report
to the Parliament on the implementation of the act. CFOI press release
on delay. CFOI briefing on
problems caused by delay.
Czech Government Opposed to Opposition Bill on
Gauck-Like Office. Governmental spokesman Libor Roucek
said on 14 November that the cabinet is opposed to a bill
submitted by deputies from the ODS, the Christian Democrats,
and the Freedom Union envisaging the setting up of the Office
for the Documentation of the Totalitarian Regime modeled on
the similar "Gauck office" which operates in Germany. The
bill drafted by opposition representatives envisages establishing
an office that would administer and process all the files
of the communist secret police and would publish reports on
the work of that force under the communist regime. Roucek
said the cabinet considers the draft bill infringes on the
personal-data protection law and on the Charter of Fundamental
Rights and Freedoms, as the office would make available documents
to anyone expressing an interest in examining them. (RFE/RL,
15 November 2001).
Romania Approves FOIA Law
The Romania Parliament approved the "Law on the Free Access
to the Information of Public Interest" on October 12, 2001.
The law allows individuals to request information of "public
information" held by government departments and requires government
departments to responded to requests and provide information
about their activities within 30 days. The law goes into effect
60 days from enactment.
Polish Senate Approves FOIA Law
The Senate approved the "Bill on Public Information" with
changes on August 29 and it sent it back to the Sejm for final
approval. The act provides for access to records held by government
agencies and private actors performing public duties. Agencies
will be required to public information in the Public Information
Bulletin. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2002.
(PAP, August 29, 2001).
Bosnia Approves FOIA Bill.
The Governments of Bosnia-Herzegovina have approved the Freedom of Access to Information Law developed by the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) The law is considered
very strong and includes the creation of an information commission
and a requirement that information can only be withheld if
harm can be shown and it is not in the public interest to
release the information. (IJ Net, July 2, 2001).
Serbia Opens Secret Police Files.
The State Security Department announced on June 18 that they
were opening their files gathered under the Milosevic regime.
Individuals are allowed to see their files but not copy or
take home documents. Many files had been destroyed before
the current government took control. (Associated Press,
June 18, 2001).
German Govt Announces FOIA Effort.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior announced a proposal
and released a draft Federal Freedom of Information Act. Many
documents are excluded from the bill including drafts and
notes. The Data Protection Commission will enforcement the
act. The Ministry has set up an online discussion forum.
EU Releases Final Openness Regs.
The European Union published its regulation
(PDF) on public access to official documents held by the Parliament,
Commission and Council on May 30, 2001. The reg is required
by the Treaty of Amsterdam. It was heavily criticised by openness
groups as being inadequate. See the Statewatch Secret Europe
Page for more information.
UK
Approves FOIA Bill
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 received Royal
Assent on December 1. Home Secretary Jack Straw cut off Parliamentary
debate on the act after the opposition offered 118 amendments
to improve the act. See the CFOI Pages on the act. (The Guardian, 1 December 2000).
EU
Guts Access to Information.
The European Union on August 14 adopted new rules
to limit access to official EU documents. Documents concerning
security, defence, military and non-military crises management
can now be withheld. Heidi Hautala MEP, leader of Green Group
of MEPs, said the proposal was: "NATO introducing its culture
of secrecy by the backdoor." See the Statewatch Secret Europe Page for more information.
India
Govt Introduces FOIA Bill.
The Indian Government introduced a long-awaited
Freedom of Information bill into the Parliament on July 26.
However, the bill is considered extremely weak and unlikely
to improve access to government information. (Times
of India, July 27, 2000).
Bulgaria Approves
FOIA Law.
The Bulgarian Parliament approved the Access to Public
Information Bill on June 22. The bill authorizes access to
government records and imposes sanctions for non-disclosure.
(Sofia BTA, June 22, 2000).
Poland
to Open Communist Secret Police Files.
The Polish Parliament appointed Leon Kieres, a
lawyer and independent senator, to head the National Memory
Institute. The IPN will now take control of all archives of
the communist-era security service and those of courts, prosecutors'
offices, the former communist party and other institutions.
"It will take several months before the opening of the first
file," said Zak. Poles will be allowed to see their personal
files compiled by the authorities before 1989 and learn if
they suffered from discrimination and possibly who informed
on them. (Reuters, June 8, 2000).
Fight
for EU FOIA Increases.
European Union Ombudsman Jacob Söderman published an
opinion in the Wall Street Journal-Europe critical of the
current plans for openness in the EU in February as being
too limited.EU President Romano Prodi responded in the WSJ-E
defending the process. See the text of the pieces and Statewatch's
comments at the Secret Europe pages.
South
Africa Approves Access to Information Bill.
The South African Parliament approved the "The
Promotion of Access to Information Bill" (formerly named
the Open Democracy Bill) on January 21, 2000. The bill allows
any person to access almost all information held by government
bodies. It also allows individuals to access their records
held by companies and others. The President signed the bill
on Feb. 4. Parliamentary Monitoring Group page of drafts and submissions. (The Mail and Guardian,
28 January 2000).
UK
Government Under Fire for Freedom of Information Draft.
Home Secretary Jack Straw's introduced the UK draft FOI
act for consultation in May 1999.The draft act would allow
for access to government records and would create an Information
Commissioner (also the Data Protection Commissioner) to enforce
the act. An initial draft was strongly criticized by many
politicians across the political spectrum and NGOs as being
insufficient and weaker than the existing code of practice.
195 Members of Parliament signed a Parliamentary motion calling
for major improvements. Two select committees, in the Commons
and the Lords, recommended sweeping changes. The Campaign
for Freedom of Information, Charter 88 and 23 other organizations
started a campaign to strengthen the law in June 1999. Following
the criticism, Home Secretary Jack Straw indicated a willingness
to strengthen some of the provisions. The revised bill still
has many broad exemptions. See the CFOI Pages on the bill.
 ROMANIA
TO MAKE SECURITATE ARCHIVES PUBLIC.
The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on 25 May 1999 announced
it will allow the publication of documents on the activities
of the communist-era secret service, the Securitate, according
to a 26 May Mediafax report cited by the BBC. In addition,
citizens will be able to look at their Securitate files by
sending a written request to the National Council for Studying
the Securitate Archives. (RFE/RL, May 27, 1999).
POLISH PARLIAMENT
AMENDS LUSTRATION LAW.
The Parliament on 20 May 1999 passed an amendment to the
lustration law that will grant authorized employees of the
Lustration Prosecutor's Office access to the archives of the
communist secret services. Until now, such access was restricted
to Interior Ministry and State Protection Office officials.
(RFE/RL, May 21 1999).
Czech Republic
Approves Freedom of Information Law.
The Czech Parliament approved a new Freedom of Information
Law on May 11, 1999. Under the new law, all citizens will
have the right to be provided with information by the state
and local administrative bodies, and some other institutions.
(The Prague Post, May 19, 1999).
Japan Approves Freedom of Information Law.
The Parliament approved a Freedom of Information Act on
May 7, 1999. The new act allows individuals to request documents
from national ministries and agencies. Those requests can
be turned down if they touch on military, diplomatic or police
matters or personal privacy. The law has two years before
it goes into effect. (Associated Press, May 7, 1999).
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