"This book is meant to present the basics of freedom of information or right to information, defined as the universal right to access information held by public bodies. It presents in an easy-to-understand and non-technical fashion the basic principles of freedom of information, such as maximum disc
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losure, obligation to publish, promotion of open government, limited scope of exceptions and the process to facilitate access. In this new edition, the introduction, the comparative chapter, and the section on international standards and trends, have been totally revised. The country chapters provide an in-depth-analysis to the right of access in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, India, Jamaica, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Uganda, United Kigdom and the USA. According to the author "since the last edition five years ago, we can now say that every region of the world has adopted right to information laws." (CAMECO Update 2-2008)
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"This Guide complements the Practical Guidance Note on Right to Information, which provided guidance on approaches for designing and implementing programmes in this area. It builds on this knowledge, and focuses on the monitoring and evaluation of those programmes, paying particular attention to the
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use of appropriate indicators, including gender and pro-poor indicators. It outlines the basic principles of programme evaluation, but concentrates on assessing outcomes. It outlines four broad areas of right to information that must be considered in any context for a thorough evaluation. These are: (1) the legal regime for the right to information; (2) the implementation of right to information legislation by government; (3) the use of right to information by the general public and civil society; and (4) the use of right to information by marginalised group. It then suggests questions for each area, and derives from these typical baseline assessment features, outputs and outcomes." (Abstract)
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"This report records and analyzes the results of a study in which partners of the Justice Initiative in 14 countries filed a total of 1,926 requests for information. In each country, seven different requesters twice submitted up to 70 questions to 18 public institutions. Requesters included NGOs, jo
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urnalists, business persons, non-affiliated persons, and members of excluded groups, such as illiterate or disabled persons or those from vulnerable minorities. The requests were for the types of information that public bodies hold—or should hold." (Summary of findings, page 11)
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"In passing and implementing the Access to Information Act 2002, Jamaica has established a new and more open form of governance and accomplished what many other countries are still attempting. The Act, which provides citizens an enforceable right to official documents held by public authorities, is
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key to enhancing democracy, ensuring citizens’ participation, and building greater trust in Government decision making. Access to public documents can assist citizens in exercising their other fundamental socioeconomic rights, such as the right to housing, appropriate health care, and a clean and healthy environment, and it can serve to make government more efficient and effective. Passing an access to information law is, relatively speaking, easy in comparison to the practise of implementation, which can be challenging for any country. Successful implementation of an open information regime requires a commitment of resources (human, financial, and time), preparation of public bodies, development of procedures, change in culture and behaviours, and expertise. It is clear that the Jamaican Government and its public authorities, who entered into effect in phases with the final large group beginning in July 2005, have made great progress in the implementation of the Act including training of civil servants in the law and best practices. Many of the efforts in Jamaica serve as a model for other jurisdictions. However, as with any new regime there is the potential for constructive reform and advancement." (Introduction)
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"This book is divided into three main parts. In the first part, I speak about one important human right long neglected in Slovenia: the right to obtain information [...] The second part is dedicated to the right to privacy and the mechanisms of its protection when it is invaded, unjustifiably or dis
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proportionately, by the media [...] In the third part, I look into the mechanisms of self-regulation and self-control in the media. This chapter is also an attempt to resuscitate the initiative to establish a press council in Slovenia." (Foreword, page 8-9)
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"This Tool Box is meant to help keep up the pressure on the authorities not just to pay lip service to the idea of free access to information but to implement it. It will describe in some more detail why such access is an essential citizen's right and how it can be exercised efficiently, without com
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promising other rights or legitimate concerns in the process. It will also look at those pieces of existing legislation that need to be reviewed to ensure open and transparent government." (Page 6)
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"This manual for public officials is designed as a resource for officials who want to adopt administrative practices that conform to the best standards of freedom of information. It should help them to make their work and procedures more professional, which will increase the public’s trust in and
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appreciation of their administration. This manual can be used in three basic ways: used as a teaching guide for trainers running courses for public officials responsible for handling information requests; used as a learning tool by such officials – in other words they can work through the manual on their own; used as a reference tool by officials who have already gone through a training course." (Introduction)
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"The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) regards this brochure as a document for discussion and orientation on the growing importance of information – and especially access to information – in international development cooperation. This document seeks to establish a framework for
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stimulating activities in this domain. It is also a contribution from SDC to the wider debate on access to information as one of the essential components of governance." (Introduction, page 4)
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"Conceptually, there are three stages in the promotion of a right to information regime: pre-legislation stage; during drafting stage; and post-legislation stage. Civil society in India has played a role in all the three stages. Accordingly, this paper examines how civil society has 1. brought about
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a conceptual shift in the debate on right to information; 2. used public hearing as a mode of mobilizing people to demand transparency and accountability; 3. used several methods of social audit to promote transparency and accountability; 4. exerted pressure, through networking, on government for a legislation on right to information; 5. supplied drafts of possible legislation and flagged gaps in the legislation once it was passed; 6. used state-level legislation, created awareness about it, prepared people to use it and officials to implement it. This paper concentrates on the role of civil society in promoting the concept of social audit through four methods: public hearings, report cards, budget information, and social audit under «panchayati raj». Social audit is a way of measuring, understanding, reporting and ultimately improving an organization’s social and ethical performance." (Executive summary, page 3)
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"This Practical Guidance Note aims to: heighten awareness and knowledge within UNDP country offices (COs) on right to information generally and right to information legislation specifically; assist COs by providing practical information and guidance for right to information legislation programming;
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signpost additional resources, sources of expertise and further reading." (Executive summary)
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