[kictanet] Transparency and Silence: A Survey of Access to Information Laws and Practices in 14 Countries

[alice at apc.org]

Transparency and Silence: A Survey of Access to Information Laws and 
Practices in 14 Countries
by Helen Darbishire and Thomas Carson
This report details the results of a study undertaken by the Open Society 
Justice Initiative and its partners to discover how government offices and 
agencies in 14 countries respond to specific requests for information. The 
purpose of the study was to explore the strategy of, and trends in, one 
specific aspect of transparency: the passage of laws on freedom of 
information (FOI), or public access to government information and records. 
This report documents how various countries did - or did not - honour the 
right of access to information. As part of the study, partners of the 
Justice Initiative in Latin America, Europe and Africa filed a total of 
1,926 requests for information; the Justice Initiative and its partners then 
evaluated and analysed how the people who made requests were treated, how 
government offices and agencies responded, and the nature and quality of the 
responses to the requests. The report concludes with a number of specific 
suggestions to help countries imp!
lement effective FOI laws and regulations.
http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2006/trends-321.html