"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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"The first section in this paper examines the barriers to access to learning materials faced in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), analyzing the responsibility of intellectual property legislation within the complex structure of systems that are consequential to consumers and learners. In th
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e second section the authors remind us that the informal economy in knowledge goods is an access mechanism, prompting a conceptual consideration of the phenomenon of piracy, and then, through a case study in Uganda, they suggest possible policy lessons. The third section frames the environment described in the first two sections in a survey of intellectual property law in SACU member countries, and audits the limitations or exceptions available within the law, in the light of those that may be made use of, as a consequence of access to learning materials. The authors conclude that currently “neither does copyright legislation in SACU countries make significantly positive provisions for access to learning materials, nor does it take full advantage of the flexibilities provided by TRIPs. Ironically, it is precisely in this disabling legal environment that the SACU countries are being asked – by domestic and international publishing industry lobbies – to strengthen the enforcement of criminal sanctions for certain copyright violations, even as they constitute an access mechanism in a context that offers few alternatives." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 1802)
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"An introduction and a reference guide to the main legal issues facing journalists, this book presumes no prior legal knowledge but covers all the relevant areas including defamation, privacy contempt of court, freedom of expression, and intellectual property." (Publisher description)
"This book aims to provide a descriptive and analytical account of subsidy policies for periodical publications in Western Europe in 2006. It sets out the position of the policymakers who design and implement such policies, of sector industrial federations and of academics specialised in media polic
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ies and economics, as presented at the First International Symposium Press Subsidies in Europe: Development, Pluralism and Transparency, held in Barcelona on 19 and 20 June, 2006, and promoted and organised by the Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya via the Communication Secretariat, the Catalan Institute for the Cultural Industries and Patronat Català Pro Europa) and by the Institute of Communication of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona." (Back cover)
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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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"Dans cette région d'Afrique, dont plusieurs pays ont connu, au cours des dernières années, des conflits violents ou des troubles importants, l'outil radiophonique joue un rôle essentiel dans les processus de reconstruction et de consolidation démocratique. A travers cet ouvrage, nous souhaiton
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s fournir aux acteurs du pluralisme radiophonique en Afrique centrale, aux partenaires au developpement, aux autorités publiques et aux associations professionnelles, un état des lieux des législations en vigueur, pays par pays, mais aussi de leur degré d'application, des éventuelles difficultés constatées et des expériences positives à souligner." (Description de la maison d'édition)
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