Author Archives: Press

29 March 2019, The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) (Canada), Transparency Maroc (TM), Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) and Maharat Foundation (Lebanon) launched the Charter for Improving Civil Society Engagement with the League of Arab States today, ahead of the 31 March 2019 Arab League Summit being held in Tunis. The … Continue reading →

28 March 2019, The Centre for Law and Democracy has collaborated with Columbia Global Freedom of Expression and nine other universities and civil society organisations from around the world to launch a new teaching portal Freedom of Expression Without Frontiers. The goal of the portal is to promote the adoption of a global approach to … Continue reading →

28 March 2019, An Analysis of the Bermudian Public Access to Information (PATI) Act by the Centre for Law and Democracy shows that it scores 97 out of a possible total of 150 points on the RTI Rating, which would put it in 45th place out of the 123 countries around the world whose laws … Continue reading →

7 March 2019, The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is partnering with UNESCO to carry out a preliminary data collection exercise on implementation of right to information (RTI) laws as part of UNESCO’s role as “custodian agency” for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 16.10.2. SDG 16 sets targets related to peace, justice and “effective, … Continue reading →

20 February 2019, The Methodology for Assessing Right to Information Implementation in Pakistan was launched today at a workshop in Islamabad. The methodology is a sophisticated tool for assessing the quality of implementation of right to information (RTI) laws. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has been working over a period of about one and one-half … Continue reading →

28 January 2019, The Myanmar Press Council (MPC), established by the 2014 News Media Law, has been discussing amendments to its founding legislation. Over the past week, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), as part of its collaboration with International Media Support (IMS) and FOJO Media Institute, held two roundtable meetings with members and … Continue reading →

15 January 2019, The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), an international human rights organisation based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is receiving applications for up to four interns for the summer of 2019. The positions will involve a range of substantive legal work in areas such as freedom of expression, media law,digital rights and access … Continue reading →

14 January 2019, The Government of Pakistan released a document “Proposed Mandate and Scope of the PMRA” late in 2018. This document is a brief white paper regarding the establishment of a new Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMRA) to regulate all types of media in Pakistan. A Note released today by the Centre for Law and Democracy … Continue reading →

7 November 2018, Mauritius adopted the Judicial and Legal Provisions Act in May 2018. The Act focuses on the judicial process but it also includes a few provisions which restrict freedom of expression. An analysis released today by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) highlights problems with these provisions. “The new rules prohibiting blasphemy … Continue reading →

29 October 2018, The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) (Canada), Transparency Maroc (TM), Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), Maharat Foundation (Lebanon) and Social Economic Forum for Women Organization (Jordan) jointly hosted a consultative meeting in Amman from 25-26 October 2018. The focus of the meeting, which is a continuation of the … Continue reading →

28 September 2018, In an exciting development, Afghanistan has replaced Mexico at the very top of the RTI Rating, with an impressive score of 139 points out of a possible 150, or 93%. Mexico is now in second place, with 136 points, followed by Serbia with 135 and Sri Lanka with 131. An updated version … Continue reading →

27 September 2018, Halifax On 26 September 2018, in anticipation of International Right to Know Day, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner Nova Scotia, and The Right to Know Coalition of Nova Scotia sponsored a trivia night on the theme of “It’s Your Right to Know!” … Continue reading →

24 September 2018, A major report on Improving Civil Society Engagement at the League of Arab States was launched in English and Arabic today by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) (Canada), Transparency Maroc (TM), Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) and Maharat Foundation (Lebanon). The report looks at transparency and consultation … Continue reading →

27 August 2018, IDB Invest is conducting a consultation on the draft Access to Information Policy it circulated in April 2018. In its Analysis of the draft Policy, released today, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) welcomes advances over the 2005 Policy which is currently in force but also notes that significant improvements are … Continue reading →

27 July 2018, On 23 July 2018, the government of Canada published its Draft Commitments: Canada’s 2018-20 National Action Plan on Open Government, one of its obligations as a member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), which Canada currently co-chairs. In response to a call for feedback, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) today … Continue reading →

11 July 2018, The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has been working closely with the Information Commissions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces in Pakistan to develop a sophisticated, comprehensive methodology for assessing the quality of implementation of right to information (RTI) laws. Although the methodology is being designed in Pakistan, it will be … Continue reading →

2 July 2018, Eight international organisations that promote respect for the right to information released a Joint Statement today calling on the Ghanaian authorities to review the Right to Information Bill, 2018, which is currently before parliament. The Statement outlines five key areas where the Bill fails to meet international standards. “We very much welcome … Continue reading →

18 June 2018, The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is seeking a Legal Officer to begin as soon as possible. We are looking for a successful, highly motivated person who will work from Halifax, Canada. The successful applicant will be rewarded with exciting legal work, high level representational opportunities and the chance to travel … Continue reading →

12 June 2018, The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has released an Analysis of Ghana’s 2018 Right to Information Bill, which is now before parliament. The Analysis welcomes the fact that Ghana is finally moving forward to adopt this key piece of democratic legislation. At the same time, it highlights a number of weaknesses in … Continue reading →