Centre for Law and Democracy

16 January 2025.

You are invited to a webinar hosted by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) on international freedom of expression standards on hate speech. The webinar will feature presentations from CLD in three different areas:

• International standards for legal prohibitions of hate speech.
• Standards for professional media regulation of discriminatory speech.
• Emerging standards on addressing discriminatory speech online (from a senior consultant to UNESCO on digital policy).

The webinar is directed at lawyers who work at the national level and wish to enhance their understanding of international law standards in these areas, including with a view to bringing national rules more fully into line with international human rights.

The webinar will be held 28 January 2025 and run from 8:30 to 10:00 Eastern Time/14:30 to 16:00 Central European Time. A draft agenda for the webinar is available here.

This webinar is being held as part of CLD’s Supporting the Establishment of Networks of Media Lawyers Globally project, funded by the Global Media Defence Fund managed by UNESCO. The project seeks to encourage the creation of and support national-level networks of legal professionals working to advance media freedom and freedom of expression. For more information on this project, please see https://www.law-democracy.org/projects/media-lawyers-networks.

You can register for this webinar at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/qbpTNo2xRGWaQcxiFfnBvQ

For further information, please contact:

Raphael Vagliano
Legal Officer
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: raphael@law-democracy.org
+1 514 506-0948
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy

14 January 2025.

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), an international human rights organisation based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, will host up to four interns for the summer of 2025. The position will involve a range of substantive legal work in areas such as freedom of expression, media law, digital rights and access to information.

CLD provides expert legal services on foundational rights for democracy for the support and promotion of these rights around the world. Select recent projects include:

• • Providing training and support to journalists, parliamentarians, lawyers, judges and activists in different countries on media law and human rights issues.
  • Providing expert input into legal reform processes in different countries.
  • Supporting strategic litigation on the human rights issues we focus on.
  • Supporting the development of networks of media lawyers in several countries globally.
  • Maintaining a global ranking of right to information laws (RTI-Rating.org) and a methodology for assessing the quality of implementation of right to information laws.
  • Campaigning against global threats to digital rights, such as mass surveillance, Internet shutdowns and efforts to undermine encryption and digital security.

We ask interns to commit to at least three months of full-time work during the months of May to August. We normally ask interns to be based in our office in Halifax, since we believe being with us in-person provides a richer all-round experience for interns. However, applications for remote internships will also be considered on a case-by-case basis. These positions are unpaid and we encourage prospective interns to seek funding from their law schools or other sources.

CLD is known for providing its interns with a rich and varied substantive legal experience. As such, interns will have the opportunity to be directly involved in advancing the cause of human rights, normally in a range of countries, over the summer. For more information on CLD’s work, visit our website at www.law-democracy.org.

Those interested in applying should send a copy of their CV, cover letter and unofficial law school transcripts to raphael@law-democracy.org by 4 February 2025. Final candidates may be asked to provide a writing sample.

Successful candidates will have a strong academic record, excellent research skills, the ability to multi-task, and a demonstrated commitment to international law and human rights. Proficiency in additional languages and international experience are assets. Applicants should be current law students or recent graduates; on an exceptional basis we will consider candidates without a law background.

17 December 2024.

Today, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), in collaboration with a number of other civil society organisations which make up the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 Data Initiative, is launching a report on the role of SDG 16 in reducing poverty, SDG 16 Data Initiative 2024 Report: SDG 16 as a Key Vector for Eliminating Poverty. Addressing the scourge of poverty is a central premise of the SDGs, as reflected in the aim of SDG 1, which seeks to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere”, and the core mantra of the SDGs, namely to “leave no one behind. The report demonstrates the causal link between progress on a number of SDG 16 targets and poverty reduction.

“The transformative power of good governance, the core focus of SDG 16, in terms of driving development and also specifically reducing poverty, has long been recognised,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “This report provides concrete evidence of that power in relation to many of the SDG 16 targets, including access to information, which CLD’s chapter focuses on.”

The report contains five chapters looking at different SDG 16 targets, including Chapter 5: States Cannot Address Poverty in Secret, authored by Toby Mendel. The first part of Chapter 5 looks at the weak progress made so far in terms of SDG Indicator 16.10.2, which measures the adoption and implementation of right to information (RTI) laws, concluding that far more needs to be done both to reduce the number of 56 UN Member States which have still not adopted RTI laws and to improve the quality of those laws which have been adopted.

The second part of the chapter highlights the strong causal relationship between increasing transparency and improving poverty alleviation outcomes. This includes bolstering government accountability, including to expose ineffective development efforts, enhancing public participation in development efforts, including so as to ensure that they are properly tethered to the needs of the poor, and strengthening efforts to combat corruption, which has been shown to have a disproportionate impact on the poor.

The Report is available here.

For further information, please contact:

Toby Mendel
Executive Director
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: toby@law-democracy.org
+1 902 431-3686
www.law-democracy.org
X: @law_democracy

29 November 2024.

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has made a submission to a public consultation by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on their Draft Recommendation of the Council on Information Integrity (draft Recommendation). CLD’s Note provides analysis of and recommendations on key parts of the draft Recommendation, with a view to align the document better with international standards, with a particular focus on freedom of expression and the right to information.

“The draft Recommendation represents an important early official attempt to elaborate standards regarding information integrity and, as such, we very much welcome it,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “But our view is that it is too focused on misinformation and disinformation to the detriment of other threats to information integrity and we hope that revisions will be made to expand it.”

Some of CLD’s key recommendations are that the draft Recommendation should:

• • Include clarifying language to the recommendation targeting foreign influence operations to ensure that it is not weaponised against international civil society organisations or local civil society groups which receive foreign grants.
  • Include more binding language vis-à-vis Internet platforms, as opposed to mere encouragement, including in respect of their content recommender systems and meeting their human rights responsibilities.
  • Include stronger and clearer language on the need to improve, in the area of access to information, both the legal frameworks in most countries and implementation.

CLD’s Note is available here.

For further information, please contact:

Toby Mendel
Executive Director
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: toby@law-democracy.org
+1 902 431-3686
www.law-democracy.org
X: @law_democracy

18 November 2024.

You are invited to a webinar hosted by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) on international freedom of expression standards on digital rights, focusing on standards for regulating online speech and emerging practices for regulating digital platforms. The webinar will feature presentations from CLD on international standards on digital rights and platform regulation, as well as a presentation from the co-director of El Veinte, a Colombian civil society organisation which has been active in digital rights litigation. The webinar is directed at lawyers who work at the national level and wish to enhance their understanding of international law standards in these areas, including with a view to bringing national rules more fully into line with international human rights.

The webinar will be held on 27 November 2024 at 8:30 Eastern Time/14:30 Central European Time. A draft agenda for the webinar is available here.

This webinar is being held as part of CLD’s Supporting the Establishment of Networks of Media Lawyers Globally project, funded by the Global Media Defence Fund managed by UNESCO. The project seeks to encourage the creation of and support national-level networks of legal professionals working to advance media freedom and freedom of expression. For more information on this project, please see https://www.law-democracy.org/projects/media-lawyers-networks.

You can register for this webinar at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvc-uhrTIpHNGar-mgbp7d56AoSSC74kSD

For further information, please contact:

Raphael Vagliano
Legal Officer
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: raphael@law-democracy.org
+1 514 506-0948
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy

24 October 2024.

A new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Freedom of Expression for Parliaments and Their Members is being launched on Monday, 28 October, and everyone who is interested in this subject is encouraged to take the course, which is available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese (see links below). The course was developed by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), and commissioned by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The primary aim of the course is to develop the skills and capacity of members of parliament, parliamentary staff, and civil society organisations, academics and others who focus on parliaments, so as to protect and promote freedom of expression inside and outside of parliament.

“This course provides an excellent introduction for parliamentarians to international standards on freedom of expression,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “We believe the need for this course has never been higher, as parliamentarians around the world grapple with how to protect the right to freedom of expression in an increasingly challenging digital environment.”

The course features a range of pedagogical tools, including readings, games and quizzes, as well as videos by internationally recognised experts and members of parliament from around the world, who share their knowledge, expertise and relevant parliamentary experiences. A core background document for this course is a 2018 IPU publication authored by Toby Mendel, Freedom of expression for parliaments and their members: Importance and scope of protection.

You can register for this free, self-paced course at the following links in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese. The course will go live on 28 October 2024. Those who complete the course will receive a certificate.

For further information, please contact:

Toby Mendel
Executive Director
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: toby@law-democracy.org
+1 902 431-3686
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy

3 October 2024.

You are invited to a webinar on international freedom of expression standards which provide particular protection to journalists, with a focus on whistleblower protections, protection of sources and anti-SLAPP measures. 

The webinar will be held on 10 October 2024 at 8:30 Eastern Time/13:30 Central European Time. An agenda for the webinar is available here.

This webinar is held as part of the Centre for Law and Democracy’s (CLD’s) Supporting the Establishment of Networks of Media Lawyers Globally project, funded by the Global Media Defence Fund managed by UNESCO. The project seeks to encourage the creation of and support national-level networks of legal professionals working to advance media freedom and freedom of expression. For more information on this project, please see https://www.law-democracy.org/projects/media-lawyers-networks.

You can register for this webinar at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsduuopz4qG9zGNbhIJORYnyhoHHGlaTjh

26 September 2024.

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) would like to wish everyone a happy International Right to Know Day (IRTKD), 2024. First established in 2002 by civil society organisations, IRTKD has grown in stature and recognition, ultimately being formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly as a formal UN day, International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), in 2019. IDUAI provides an opportunity to reflect on the importance of and progress towards realising the right to information (RTI), which was included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as Target 16.10: “Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements”.

“As we celebrate IRTKD this year, at CLD we are thinking about the slowing rate of adoption of new RTI laws, which number only 10 since 2020, or an average of approximately two per year”, said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “More needs to be done to increase this rate while, as always, significant implementation challenges exist in many countries.”

For its part, CLD is participating in numerous events this year to celebrate IRTKD. Toby will attend UNESCO’s main event, being held in Ghana under the title Mainstreaming Access to Information and Participation in the Public Sector. Specifically, Toby will moderate a panel on Challenges and Opportunities in implementing Access to Information Laws in the SIDS. CLD has also contributed a video to the event taking place in Uzbekistan and will participate in videoconferences in Mexico, Ukraine and yesterday participated in an event in Atlantic Canada.

CLD has also, as it does every year, updated the RTI Rating, adding two countries since last year – namely Qatar and Zambia – for a total of 140 countries, updating a number of other national ratings and adding more sub-national jurisdictions.

Happy International Right to Know Day!

For further information, please contact:

Toby Mendel
Executive Director
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: toby@law-democracy.org
+1 902 431-3686
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy

25 September 2024.

Today, as a pre-International Right to Know Day event, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is releasing its Principles on Right to Information for Small Island Developing States: The Case of the Pacific. The right to access information held by public authorities, or the right to information (RTI), is a human right which should be respected by all States, large or small. And yet small population countries face particular challenges in this area, in particular in putting in place the needed administrative structures. The CLD Principles represent the first attempt to look at how traditional approaches to delivering RTI can be adapted so as to be practical for very small States while still respecting human rights standards.

“A recent review by CLD showed that of the 56 UN Member States which still lack RTI laws, 17 or nearly one-third have a population of less than one million, illustrating the challenges these States face in adopting such laws”, said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “Our Principles provide guidance to these States as to how to adapt RTI laws to make them more practical for small bureaucracies, and also on how to streamline implementation.”

A key idea in the Principles is that instead of appointing separate information officers in each public authority to respond to requests, a central unit can do this for the whole of the government, thereby both reducing the strain on the bureaucracy and concentrating expertise. Such a central unit can take on other roles, such as reporting centrally on the processing of requests by the whole of the government and leading on the proactive publication of information for the whole of government. The Principles also set out the key powers oversight bodies need to process information appeals, opening the way for allocating this role to an existing body rather than creating additional administrative structures.

CLD calls on all small States which have not yet done so to adopt RTI laws, and encourages them to reach out to us for assistance in this endeavour. We have other support materials for this work, such as legal drafting proposals which implement the recommendations in the Principles.

The Principles are available here.

For further information, please contact:

Toby Mendel
Executive Director
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: toby@law-democracy.org
+1 902 431-3686
www.law-democracy.org
twitter: @law_democracy

23 September 2024.

Three of Atlantic Canada’s access to information oversight offices are coming together during this year’s Right to Know Week for a live virtual panel discussion. Joining them will be a representative from one of the world’s leading access to information organizations, the Centre for Law and Democracy. The discussion will take place on September 25, 2024 from 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. (Newfoundland Time) and we are inviting everyone to attend.

Join us for this engaging live virtual panel discussion that will explore why access rights are foundational to democratic governance as well as some of the current and pressing challenges to the right of access to information. The panelists are:

• Tricia Ralph, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nova Scotia
• Maria MacDonald, Deputy Information and Privacy Commissioner, Prince Edward Island
• Sean Murray, Director of Research and Quality Assurance, OIPC Newfoundland and Labrador
• Raphael Vagliano, Legal Officer, Centre for Law and Democracy

Don’t miss this opportunity to join in!

OIPC NL is hosting this Atlantic virtual event through Zoom Webinar. Register to attend.
 

Background

Right to Know Day (September 28) is an internationally recognized day dedicated to creating awareness about the importance of people’s right to access government information, while promoting freedom of information as essential to both democracy and good governance. In Canada, Right to Know Day extends to a week of celebrations known as Right to Know Week, which takes place this year from September 23 to 29, 2024.

Media contacts:
OIPC NL
Sean Murray
Director of Research and Quality Assurance
709-729-6309
commissioner@oipc.nl.c

OIPC PEI
Maria MacDonald
Deputy Information and Privacy Commissioner
902-368-4099
InfoPrivacy@assembly.pe.ca

Centre for Law and Democracy
Raphael Vagliano
Legal Officer
514-506-0948
raphael@law-democracy.org

You are invited to CLD’s webinar on 18 July, Introduction to Creating a Media Lawyers’ Network. This webinar provides a general introduction to the concept of creating a national professional network of media lawyers, steps which can be taken to establish one and resources developed by CLD to support the formation of such networks. 

Register here and learn more about our project on creating media lawyers’ networks here.

24 June 2024. 

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief to the Constitutional Court of Colombia in a case in which a journalist was blocked on X (formerly Twitter) by the official account of a regional government.

Official government accounts are part of the wider public information system, in this case using social media to communicate important updates and information to the public. Blocking users, especially journalists, interferes with their right both to access information and to express themselves on the platform. Like other restrictions on freedom of expression, such actions are invalid unless they meet the test for such restrictions under international human rights law.

“Journalists need to access government social media accounts to be able to fulfil their crucial role of disseminating important public information to their audiences,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “Limiting journalists access to such accounts undermines their ability to report on government actions, a breach not only of their right to information but also of the rights of others to receive information.”

The brief argues that blocking a journalist from an official social media account would only very exceptionally be legitimate, for example if the journalist was posting spam or acting in a way which interfered with participation by other users. Such an action can never be legitimate if its aim is to target those who are critical of government of officials. In addition, blocks should be imposed only following repeated violations of a clearly worded social media policy and pursuant to a procedure which incorporates due process protections.

In this case, the journalist was blocked arbitrarily after he had made critical comments about government officials. CLD hopes that the Colombian Constitutional Court will consider the serious concerns such circumstances raise under international human rights law.

CLD’s amicus curiae brief is available in English and Spanish.

El informe de amicus curiae está disponible en español aquí.

For further information, please contact:

Laura Notess
Senior Legal Officer
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: laura@law-democracy.org
+1 782 234 4471
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy

16 May 2024.

Today, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is releasing its Observations on the draft Access to Information Policy (and accompanying draft Directive), which we submitted to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as part of its Consultation on the draft Policy. The draft Policy is generally robust and includes some very positive proposals, such as getting rid of the negative public interest override, which granted the EBRD broad discretion to refuse to disclose information. But only minor changes are being proposed for the regime of exceptions, which involves a number of overbroad exceptions and class-exclusions, and grants a number of parties a veto over the disclosure of certain types of information.

“Ultimately, the regime of exceptions is at the heart of any access to information system”, said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “If it is overly broad – which is certainly the case with the draft Policy being proposed by the EBRD – the system will fail in its overriding goal of promoting transparency.”

The introductory paragraph to the main provision on exceptions includes an exemplary statement of the standards that should be applied, namely that exceptions apply where disclosure of the information “would cause harm to specific parties or interests that would outweigh the public interest in disclosure”. Unfortunately, the operative provisions on exceptions do not align with those standards. For example, almost all information “related to” the Board of Directors is confidential unless disclosure is “expressly approved” by that Board. All communications between staff are exempt, as is a wide range of financial information, while third parties are granted a veto over the disclosure of information provided by them.

Another very serious shortcoming in the draft Policy is that, unlike for many international financial institutions (IFIs), there is no option for lodging an appeal with an independent appeals panel when access to information is refused.

CLD calls on the EBRD to fundamentally reconsider its approach to these issues so as to bring its access to information framework into line with better practice at other IFIs.

The Observations are available here.

For further information, please contact:

Toby Mendel
Executive Director
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: toby@law-democracy.org
+1 902 431-3686
www.law-democracy.org
twitter: @law_democracy

7 May 2024.

Kyrgyzstan adopted a new Law on the Right of Access to Information which entered into force in January and which replaced the earlier, 2007 right to information (RTI) law. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has updated its assessment on the RTI Rating, which measures the strength of legal frameworks for RTI globally. The Law now earns 103 points out of a possible total of 150 points, up from 87 previously, increasing the ranking of Kyrgyzstan from 64^th out of the 140 countries assessed on the RTI Rating to a strong 36^th place globally.

“We very much welcome the important improvements introduced by Kyrgyzstan’s new RTI Law, which sets a whole new standard for countries in the Central Asian region”, said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “The challenge now will be for Kyrgyzstan to meet the same standard when it comes to implementation of the new law.”

In addition to updating the RTI Rating assessment, CLD has prepared a Note on the 2024 Law on the Right of Access to Information. Although it is much stronger than previously, there are still important areas where the Law could be further improved, including the following:

• • The scope of the Law in terms of the public authorities which are covered should be clarified and expanded.
  • The Law continues to rely on Kyrgyzstan’s Ombudsman for oversight of RTI, which lacks specialised expertise on the right to information or a _specific mandate to promote this right, so consideration should be given to creating a specialised information commission for oversight purposes.
  • The exceptions should be narrowed and structural elements of the regime of exceptions – such as a general public interest override and sunset clauses of 15 or 20 years for exceptions – should be added.
  • Protection for those who release information in good faith pursuant to the Law and for whistleblowers should be added.

The full Note is available in English here.

For further information, please contact:

Toby Mendel
Executive Director
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: toby@law-democracy.org
+1 902 431-3686
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy

3 May 2024.

Today, the specialised mandates tasked with promoting and protecting freedom of expression at the UN, OAS, OSCE and African Commission launched their annual Joint Declaration, this year on the Climate Crisis and Freedom of Expression. The Joint Declaration, which was drafted with the assistance of the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), describes the important role of freedom of expression in combatting the climate crisis, a key challenge of our time. It follows the last few joint declarations in focusing on the role on freedom of expression and a free media in supporting key social and human rights goals, with the most recent focusing, respectively, on democracy, gender justice, and politicians and political figures.

“The 2024 Joint Declaration highlights the key ways in which freedom of expression is central to efforts to address the myriad challenges posed by the climate crisis, including the threats the latter poses to freedom of expression itself, as well as other human rights”, said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “Freedom of expression is, in particular, key both to forging social consensus so as to enable the adoption of needed measures to prevent further climate-driven disasters and to exposing actors which fail to implement and respect those measures.”

The Joint Declaration is divided into five separate sections, with the first focusing on the all-important issue of the right to access to information about environmental and climate issues, something that many States and corporate actors have failed to respect. Standards addressed here include the obligation of States not only to disclose but also to collect relevant information, as well as the responsibility of corporations to produce and disclose detailed information on the environmental impact of their operations. Other sections focus on creating an enabling environment for public participation, upholding environmental journalism, the role of freedom of expression in ensuring access to climate justice, and the protection of marginalised groups.

The Joint Declaration is available here.

For further information, please contact:

Toby Mendel
Executive Director
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: toby@law-democracy.org
+1 902 431-3686
www.law-democracy.org
twitter: @law_democracy

15 April 2024. 

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), at the request of our local partners, prepared an analysis of the Republic of Congo’s 2001 Law on Freedom of Information and Communication and more recent amending legislation based on international human rights standards, in particular relating to freedom of expression. Although the Law, as amended, has some positive features, it also suffers from some serious flaws, including imposing a range of illegitimate content restrictions and failing to secure the independence of the regulator, the Superior Council for Freedom of Communication.

“The Law on Freedom of Information and Communications is now well over 20 years old and it is in serious need of a significant overhaul,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “A number of unduly restrictive rules should simply be removed, regulation should be done by a robustly independent body and other parts of the Law should be modernised and elaborated on more clearly.”

The CLD Analysis contains several recommendations for reform, including the following:

• • The procedures for issuing broadcast licences should be clarified and a tailored and less onerous licensing procedure for community broadcasting should be added.
  • The numerous illegitimate criminal and administrative content restrictions in the Law should be reviewed and either amended or repealed entirely. Among those that should be repealed entirely are criminal defamation, insult and false news provisions.
  • The unclear procedures for rights of reply, response and correction should be clarified and consideration should be given to removing one of the rights of reply or response, given that one is sufficient.
  • The scope of the Law’s guarantee of source protection should be clarified.
  • The limited provisions on the right to information for journalists should be replaced with a comprehensive right to information law which applies to everyone.

The CLD Analysis is available in English here.

For further information, please contact:

Raphael Vagliano
Legal Officer
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: raphael@law-democracy.org
+1 514-506-0948
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy

26 March 2024.

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has joined a civil society letter to Media Freedom Coalition Member States calling for action on the safety of journalists in Gaza. The letter notes that while “on December 5, 2023, 24 members of the Media Freedom Coalition expressed concern about the plight of journalists in Israel and Gaza, in more than five months of a devastating conflict, with record numbers of journalists killed, primarily by Israeli forces in Gaza, there has been no credible action taken by MFC Member States.”

The letter calls on Member States to call for journalists to be treated as civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law norms, urges “immediate and unfettered” access of journalists to Gaza and calls for “prompt, independent, effective and thorough investigations” into killings of journalists.

The full letter is available here.

4 March 2024. 

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has submitted a Note on the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Revised Proposal for its Access to Information Policy. The Revised Proposal will, when adopted, replace the current 2010 Access to Information Policy. An initial draft proposal was released by the IDB in 2022 and CLD published an Analysis of that draft in December 2022. The current Note, which focuses on changes made since then, should be read alongside CLD’s earlier Analysis.

“Although the Revised Proposal represents a significant improvement over the current Policy and even the earlier draft, the most significant problems identified by CLD in 2022 have still not been addressed,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “We call on the IDB to show real leadership on access to information by addressing these remaining issues.”

The Note comments on several changes in the Revised Proposal as compared to the 2022 draft, including the following:

• • The rules on making and processing requests have been improved in several small but significant ways.
  • Changes to three of the exceptions are more mixed and, overall, the regime of exceptions, although notably improved from the 2010 Policy, still contains a restrictive public interest override and a veto for third parties over information provided by them.
  • The list of information in the Annex which will be routinely disclosed has been expanded to cover basic operational information, but a clear framework for proactive disclosure is still lacking.

The Note is available here and CLD’s Analysis of the initial draft is available here.

For further information, please contact:

Laura Notess
Senior Legal Officer
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: laura@law-democracy.org
+1 782 234 4471
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy

15 January 2024.

A new right to information (RTI) Bill was presented to Panama’s National Assembly in August 2023 but was then withdrawn the following month due to civil society pressure. At the request of local civil society groups, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) prepared an analysis of the Bill, with the aim of supporting advocacy efforts to improve future drafts.

The Proposed Transparency and Access to Public Information Bill was to replace Panama’s current RTI law, first adopted in 2002. The proposed legislation would have improved the current RTI legislation, as assessed by CLD’s RTI Rating, which measures the strength of legal frameworks for RTI globally. Specifically, the current law scores just 93 points out of a possible 150 whereas the Bill scored 102 points.

“If the Bill had been adopted, Panama would rank 37^th among the 139 countries currently assessed on the RTI Rating”, said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “While this represents an improvement over the current situation, the Bill would need to be improved in several areas to align with the many countries in the Americas which have really strong RTI laws.”

CLD welcomes the fact that the Bill was withdrawn and efforts by local civil society groups to advocate for improvements. Our key recommendations for reform include the following:

• • The legislation should cover all entities which provide public services, rather than only those which provide such services on an exclusive basis.
  • Requesters should only be required to provide a description of the information sought and an address for delivery of the information (such as an email or mailing address).
  • The legislation should override secrecy provisions in other laws, to the extent of any conflict and the regime of exceptions should be amended so as to protect only clearly and narrowly defined legitimate interests against harm.
  • Individuals who act in good faith to disclose information under the RTI law, as well as whistleblowers, should be protected against sanctions.

CLD’s analysis is available here and its RTI Rating of the proposed legislation is available here.

For further information, please contact:

Raphael Vagliano
Legal Officer
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: raphael@law-democracy.org
+1 514 506-0948
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy