Freedom of Expression
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Freedom of Information: a Comparative Legal Survey
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FOIA--Public Records Request
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION--REQUEST FOR PUBLIC RECORDS To: City of Liberty From: __________________________ City Administrator’s Office Name PO Box 716 __________________________ Liberty, SC 29657 Address [email protected] __________________________ City, State, Zip Code __________________________ Telephone Description of records requested: Are you asking for these records for a commercial use/purpose? Yes No Please indicate the format in which you would like the City to respond to your request. Please know the City may not be able to accommodate the requested format. Cost per the City’s policy may be applied to any of these formats. Inspection Only Hard Copy Email: ___________________________ Fax: ____________________________ Other Format: _____________________ By my signature, I hereby state that I have received a copy of the City of Liberty’s policy outlining possible charges I may incur as part of this request. Signature: ________________________________ Date: ____________________________ For Office Use Only: Date Received: _____________ Due Date: ______________ Response Date: _____________ Department(s) Responsible for Responding: __________________________________________ City Attorney Involvement: Yes No City Staff Assigned Response: ___________________________________________________ Notations:________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Associated Fees: _______________________ Paid: Yes No FREEDOM OF INFORMATION POLICY The City of Liberty upholds the Public’s right to know the activities of its government, but finds it necessary to adopt a written policy to advise its employees. With regard to our own records, this office discloses records in compliance with the state’s Freedom of Information Act. All FOIA requests must be submitted in writing and will be responded to within ten (10) business days unless the records are more than 24 months old, then it will be responded to within twenty (20) business days. -
Freedom of Information Act 2000: Slavery Abolition Act 1833
Information Rights Unit HM Treasury 1 Horse Guards Road London SW1A 2HQ 020 7270 5000 [email protected] www.gov.uk/hm-treasury 31 January 2018 Ref: FOI2018/00186 Freedom of Information Act 2000: Slavery Abolition Act 1833 Thank you for your Freedom of Information enquiry of 5 January 2018. You asked for the following information: “… ’In 1833, Britain used 40% of its national budget to buy freedom for all slaves in the Empire. Britain borrowed such a large sum of money for the Slavery Abolition Act that it wasn't paid off until 2014. This means that living British citizens helped pay for the ending of the slave trade with their taxes'. i] Is it true in 1833 Britain used 40% if it budget to buy freedom for slaves in the Empire? ii] Can you confirm that the borrowed money for the Abolition Act was only paid off in 2014?” I can confirm that HM Treasury does hold information within the scope of your request. The Government used £20 million to fund the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. In 1833, this was equivalent to approximately 40% of the Government’s total annual expenditure. This information is available online. Information on the compensation payable under the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 can be found here: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11249 Information on the UK’s Budget in 1833 can be found on tab A27 of the Bank of England’s ‘A millennium of macroeconomic data’ spreadsheet, which can be found here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/research-datasets In answering your second question, it may be useful to explain how the UK Government’s borrowing works. -
Challenges to Freedom of Information in the Digital Age
Challenges to Freedom of Information in the Digital Age David Kaye* We live in an age marked by massive contradictions. It should be the age of transparency, a time during which our access to information globally is unparalleled in history, both a byproduct and objective of the digital age. And yet, it is also an age of secrecy in which governments restrict access to information using a wide range of tools, from over-classification of security information, to a failure to devote resources to freedom of information processes and requests, to the punishment of sources and whistleblowers. I want to discuss one part of this issue, using the framework of international human rights law to address the serious pressures on, and major contributions made by, sources and whistleblowers. THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR MANDATE I will start by explaining my mandate as Special Rapporteur. The United Nations Human Rights Council operates as the central human rights body of the UN. It aims to develop human rights norms and ensure implementation of the rules of human rights law. The Human Rights Council has adopted over fifty mandates relating to human rights law, most typically relating to rights guaranteed under the UN Covenant for Civil and Political Rights and, the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (known collectively as “Special Procedures”).1 A UN mandate is typically used to refer to a long- * David Kaye, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Practice of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, gave this keynote speech at Southwestern Law School’s symposium commemorating “Freedom of Information Laws on the Global Stage: Past, Present and Future” (November 4, 2016). -
A Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information
1 Union Calendar No. 127 109TH CONGRESS "!REPORT 1st Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 109–226 A CITIZEN’S GUIDE ON USING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AND THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 TO REQUEST GOVERNMENT RECORDS SECOND REPORT BY THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/ index.html http://www.house.gov/reform SEPTEMBER 20, 2005.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 21–892 PDF WASHINGTON : 2005 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:44 Sep 20, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 D:\DOCS\21892.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut HENRY A. WAXMAN, California DAN BURTON, Indiana TOM LANTOS, California ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida MAJOR R. OWENS, New York JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York JOHN L. MICA, Florida PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois CHRIS CANNON, Utah WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee DIANE E. WATSON, California CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland DARRELL E. ISSA, California LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland JON C. PORTER, Nevada BRIAN HIGGINS, New York KENNY MARCHANT, Texas ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of LYNN A. -
Right of Privacy and Rights of the Personality
AGTA Instituti Upsaliensis Iurisprudentiae Gomparativae VIII RIGHT OF PRIVACY AND RIGHTS OF THE PERSONALITY A COMPARATIVE SURVEY Working paper prepared for the Nordic Conferen.ee on privacy organized by the International Commission of Jurists, Stockholm M ay 1967 BY STIG STRÜMHOLM STOCKHOLM P. A. NORSTEDT & SÜNERS FÜRLAG ACTA Institut! Upsaliensis Iurisprudentiae Oomparativae AGTA Instituti Upsaliensis Iurisprudentiae Comjmrativae Edidit ÂKE MALMSTROM VIII RIGHT OF PRIVACY AND RIGHTS OF THE PERSONALITY A COMPARATIVE SURVEY (Working Paper prepared for the Nordic Conférence on Privacy organized by the International Commission of Jurists, Stockholm May 1967) By STIG STRÜMHOLM S T O C K H O L M P. A. N O RSTEDT & S ONE R S FÜRLAG © P. A. Norstedt & Sôners fôrlag 1967 Boktryckeri AB Thule, Stockholm 1967 PREFACE One of the author’s most eminent teachers in private law in the Uppsala Faculty of Law once claimed that an action in tort ought to lie against those légal writers who take up a subject to treat it broadly enough to deter others from writing about it but not deeply enough to give any final answers to the questions discussed. Were the law so severe, the present author would undoubtedly have to face a lawsuit for venturing to publish this short study on a topic which demands lengthy and careful considération on almost every point and which has already given rise to an extensive body of case law and of légal writing. This préfacé can be considered as the au thor’s plaidoyer in that action, fortunately imaginary. The present study was prepared at the request, and with the most active personal and material support, of the International Commis sion of Jurists as a working paper for the Nordic Conférence of Jurists, organized by the Commission in Stockholm in May, 1967. -
MEMORANDUM on the Draft Council of Europe Recommendation on the Right of Reply in the New Media Environment
MEMORANDUM on the draft Council of Europe Recommendation on the right of reply in the new media environment by ARTICLE 19 Global Campaign for Free Expression London August 2003 I. Introduction On 25 June 2003, the Council of Europe's Media Division released for comment a “draft Declaration on the right of reply in the new media environment.” 1 This is the third public version of the draft Recommendation. 2 The first two drafts, both entitled “on the right of reply in the on-line media”, envisaged the Recommendation as an ‘addendum’ for Internet-based publications to the 1974 Council of Europe Resolution on the right of reply, which was seen as applying only to off-line media. 3 In response to comments received on the first two versions, this third version recommends a set of guidelines for a right of reply with regard to all media, on-line or off-line. As such, it will effectively supersede the 1974 Resolution. This Memorandum analyses the guidelines proposed in the draft Recommendation against international standards and best practice on freedom of expression, setting out our concerns and providing recommendations and suggestions to aid further discussion. Our 1 MM-PUBLIC(2003)004, available at http://www.coe.int/T/E/Human_Rights/media/ . 2 Although the numbering of the draft indicates that this is actually the fourth draft, only three have been released on the Council’s website. 3 Resolution (74)26 on the right of reply – position of the individual in relation to the press, adopted 2 July 1974. Although this Resolution was no doubt intended to only to cover the print and broadcast media, its wording is ambiguous and it arguably applies to on-line content as well. -
Your Right to Federal Records
GSA Federal Citizen Information Center Your R ight To Federal Records Questions and Answers on the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Ta b le o f Contents Introduction ..........................................................i The Freedom of Information Act What the Freedom of Information Act is and How to Use it ........................................................1 The Privacy Act What the Privacy Act is and How to Use it ................8 A Comparison of the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act Relationship between the Two Laws and Deciding Which to Use ........................................12 Other Sources of Information ..............................13 Text of the Freedom of Information Act ................16 Introduction he Freedom of Information Act permanent resident aliens. The FOIA, on T(FOIA), enacted in 1966, provides the other hand, covers all records in the that any person has the right to request possession and control of federal execu- access to federal agency records or tive branch agencies. information. Federal agencies are required to disclose records upon This brochure provides basic guidance receiving a written request for them, about the FOIA and the Privacy Act to except for those records that are assist citizens in exercising their rights. protected from disclosure by any of the It uses a question-and-answer format to nine exemptions or three exclusions of present information about these laws in the FOIA. This right of access is a clear, simple manner. The brochure is enforceable in court. not intended to be a comprehensive treatment of the complex issues associ- In 1996, Congress revised the Freedom ated with the FOIA and the Privacy Act. of Information Act (FOIA) by passing the Electronic Freedom of Information The questions answered here are those Act Amendments (EFOIA). -
The Freedom of Information System: Falsely Giving the Appearance of Transparency?
Secrecy and Society ISSN: 2377-6188 Volume 1 Number 2 Secrecy and Authoritarianism Article 8 February 2018 The Freedom of Information System: Falsely Giving the Appearance of Transparency? Aloysia Brooks Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/secrecyandsociety Part of the Public Policy Commons Recommended Citation Brooks, Aloysia. 2018. "The Freedom of Information System: Falsely Giving the Appearance of Transparency?." Secrecy and Society 1(2). https://doi.org/10.31979/ 2377-6188.2018.010208 https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/secrecyandsociety/vol1/iss2/8 This Response is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Information at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Secrecy and Society by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. The Freedom of Information System: Falsely Giving the Appearance of Transparency? Keywords FOIA, freedom of information, torture This response is available in Secrecy and Society: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/secrecyandsociety/ vol1/iss2/8 Brooks: The Freedom of Information System: Falsely Giving the Appearance of Transparency? The Freedom of Information System: Falsely Giving the Appearance of Transparency? Aloysia Brooks The rationale for introducing freedom of information (FOI) legislation in both Australia and the United States was to provide the public with the means of accessing government documents. Accountability and transparency are considered to be key features of a democratic state. However, years of attempting to obtain documents both in Australia and the U.S. have led me to believe that the system largely serves to provide only the appearance of transparency. -
The Public's Right to Know
The Public’s Right to Know: Principles on Right to Information Legislation 2016 These Principles were originally developed in 1999 and updated in 2015. They have been endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, in his report to the 2000 Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2000/63), and referred to by the Commission in its 2000 Resolution on freedom of expression, as well as by his successor in 2013 in his report to the UN General Assembly in 2013 (A/68/362, 4 September 2013). ARTICLE 19 Free Word Centre 60 Farringdon Road London EC1R 3GA United Kingdom T: +44 20 7324 2500 E: [email protected] W: www.article19.org Tw: @article19org Fb: facebook.com/article19org ISBN: 978-1-910793-09-1 © ARTICLE 19, 2016 This work is provided under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial- ShareAlike 2.5 licence. You are free to copy, distribute and display this work and to make derivative works, provided you: 1) give credit to ARTICLE 19; 2) do not use this work for commercial purposes; 3) distribute any works derived from this publication under a licence identical to this one. To access the full legal text of this licence, please visit: http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ legalcode. ARTICLE 19 would appreciate receiving a copy of any materials in which information from this report is used. 2 Table of Contents Principle 1: Maximum disclosure 3 Principle 2: Obligation to publish 4 Principle 3: Promotion of open government 5 Principle 4: Limited scope of exceptions 6 Principle -
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): a Legal Overview
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): A Legal Overview Updated August 24, 2020 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R46238 SUMMARY R46238 The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): A Legal Overview August 24, 2020 Daniel J. Sheffner Originally enacted in 1966, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes a three-part Legislative Attorney system that requires federal agencies to disclose a large swath of government information to the public. First, FOIA directs agencies to publish substantive and procedural rules, along with certain other important government materials, in the Federal Register. Second, on a proactive basis, agencies must electronically disclose a separate set of information that consists of, among other things, final adjudicative opinions and certain “frequently requested” records. And lastly, FOIA requires agencies to disclose all covered records not made available pursuant to the aforementioned affirmative disclosure provisions to individuals, corporations, and others upon request. While FOIA’s main purpose is to inform the public of the operations of the federal government, the act’s drafters also sought to protect certain private and governmental interests from the law’s disclosure obligations. FOIA, therefore, contains nine enumerated exemptions from disclosure that permit—but they do not require—agencies to withhold a range of information, including certain classified national security matters, confidential financial information, law enforcement records, and a variety of materials and types of information exempted by other statutes. And FOIA contains three “exclusions” that authorize agencies to treat certain law enforcement records as if they do not fall within FOIA’s coverage. FOIA also authorizes requesters to seek judicial review of an agency’s decision to withhold records. -
The Right to Information in Times of Crisis
Key Highlights: Æ Public access to information serves public health The Right to and economic goals and should be seen as part of the response and not as an external burden. Æ The right to information is a fundamental human Information in right. The experience of many countries shows that it is possible to maintain right to information Times of Crisis: systems during a health emergency. Æ States are under a positive obligation to disclose on a proactive basis key emergency-related health, budgetary, policy-making, procurement, Access to Information – economic, benefits-related and other information. Æ A health emergency may result in logistical Saving Lives, Building Trust, barriers to the processing of requests for information, such as an inability to access Bringing Hope! physical documents or to provide information to requesters who are not digitally enabled. Workarounds should, as far as possible, be sought to this. Æ The view that public authorities are too busy Issue brief in the UNESCO series: to process requests for information during a health emergency can be addressed, in part, by World Trends in Freedom extensive proactive disclosure as a way to limit of Expression and Media the volume of requests. Development Æ Digital technologies provide robust means to maintain right to information systems during health emergencies.Building on lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic, States should put in place robust digital systems for the right to information, including in preparation for possible #AccessToInfoDay crises. The Right to Information in Times of Crisis 1 CI-2020/WTR/4 I. Introduction The right to access information held by public authorities, or the right to information, is recognised under international law as a fundamental human right.