Category Archives: News

A Submission by the Centre for Law and Democracy to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression notes the importance of encryption and anonymity tools to online speech and sets out five key Principles which should guide future discussions on these issues. The Principles include a significant need for transparency around surveillance … Continue reading →

The Human Rights Working Group of the International Council on Archives has prepared a set of draft Basic Principles on the Role of Archivists in Support of Human Rights. The draft Principles highlight the role Archivists can play in supporting human rights, as well as the conditions needed to allow them to do this. The … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and International Media Support (IMS) are launching a set of twelve Briefing Notes on key freedom of expression issues. The Notes focus on key themes – such as restrictions on freedom of expression, regulation of broadcasting, criminal content restrictions and digital rights – and aim to provide a … Continue reading →

On 24 January 2015, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and the Myanmar Media Lawyers’ Network (MMLN), with the support of International Media Support (IMS), carried out a training on freedom of expression for 80 lawyers in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city. The event introduced participants to international freedom of expression standards, focusing on … Continue reading →

Representatives of 80 different NGOs, from all regions of Myanmar, met in Yangon on Wednesday with the support of the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and International Media Support (IMS) to discuss the importance of the right to information (RTI) to the country’s democratic transition. The workshop, which was organised by a working group … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in a constitutional appeal in Indonesia lodged by the Central Information Commission asserting that there are problems in its founding legislation in terms of the protection of its independence. While the members of the Commission have historically been independent … Continue reading →

An international delegation visiting Indonesia last week raised concerns about the current state of media freedom in the country, calling on the Widodo administration to take a new approach towards freedom of expression. Criminalisation of online speech, a climate of impunity for attacks against journalists, the concentration of media ownership among five moguls and the … Continue reading →

On 12 November, representatives from a dozen NGOs met for a workshop in Yangon on the right to information (RTI) in Myanmar. The workshop, which was hosted by the Local Resource Centre and the Centre for Law and Democracy in collaboration with International Media Support, culminated in a joint Statement stressing the importance of RTI … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy has sent a letter to His Excellency President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives calling on his government to do more to fulfil its obligation to protect journalists and the media. The immediate focus of the letter is the disappearance of journalist Ahmed Rilwan, missing since 8 August … Continue reading →

Sweden passed the world’s first access to information law in 1766 but it took nearly two hundred years for the next law to be adopted, by Finland in 1951. The pace has picked up a bit since then, and this month the world celebrated a milestone, as Paraguay’s Law for Citizens’ Free Access to Public … Continue reading →

A coalition of eighteen civil society organisations, including the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), has submitted an analysis and set of recommendations to the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its draft revised EIB Group Transparency Policy. The proposed changes would substantially undermine openness at the EIB, among other things by limiting the scope of … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has responded to the consultation on Canada’s second Open Government Partnership (OGP) Action Plan by calling on the government to commit to clear and ambitious measures to advance transparency across the public sector. CLD’s Submission to Canada’s Open Government Consultations points to problems with both the consultation process … Continue reading →

CLD today released an Analysis of the draft Kenyan Freedom of Information Bill, 2014, which found that, although the draft is relatively robust, it is significantly weaker than the version which was proposed in 2012. The biggest change is the decision to scrap the dedicated oversight body, the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Commission, … Continue reading →

CLD has issued a letter to MPs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) urging speedy passage of the proposed Law on Access to Information (Loi sur l’accès à l’information). Although the right to information is protected under DRC’s 2006 constitution, this law would for the first time give practical effect to that guarantee. Click … Continue reading →

CLD has prepared an analysis of the latest version of Morocco’s draft right to information (RTI) law, Draft Law No. 31.13 on the Right of Access to Information. An assessment of the draft Law using the RTI Rating assessment tool (www.RTI-Rating.org) shows that the draft is substantially weaker than the draft published in August 2013. … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and Global Partners Digital are launching a new publication, Travel Guide to the Digital World: Surveillance and International Standards, aimed at helping Internet users understand digital surveillance and its human rights implications. The report, part of the Travel Guide to the Digital World series, is designed to be … Continue reading →

Yesterday, Michael Karanicolas testified on behalf of the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) before an independent panel reviewing Newfoundland and Labrador’s Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA), presenting CLD’s formal Submission to the review. Premier Marshall has stated that he wants an access law which would “rank among the best” internationally. … Continue reading →

Earlier this week a group of lawyers in Myanmar with an interest in media law came to an important decision: to form the Myanmar Media Lawyers’ Network. The decision was made at a workshop for media lawyers, the third such meeting facilitated by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and International Media Support (IMS), … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) have sent a letter to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, the Honourable Sheikh Hasina, urging her government to reconsider passage of the proposed Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act, 2014 (the Bill). The Bill would grant the NGO Affairs Bureau, a department under the … Continue reading →

On 6 June 2014, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) adopted its first ever Access-to-Information Policy, giving individuals a right to access the information it holds. The event was unimpressive not only for its tardiness – the World Bank adopted its first access to information policy in 1994 – but also for the surprisingly weak … Continue reading →