Category Archives: News

Weak civil society demand for information, combined with a lack of understanding about how to make requests for information, can be a major implementation weakness in countries seeking to implement new right to information (RTI) laws. To help address this problem in Indonesia, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and the Alliance of Independent … Continue reading →

The 15th Philippine National Congress failed to pass a right to information (RTI) law, despite promises by the Aquino administration – to the Philippine people and in its Open Government Partnership (OGP) Action Plan – to ensure the adoption of this key democratic legislation. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and the Philippine based … Continue reading →

Canada’s right to information system is broken and comprehensive legal reform is now an urgent priority. There has for some time been consensus on this among journalists, civil society, Information Commissioners and even Parliamentary committees. But successive governments have refused to take action to resolve the problem. On International Right to Know Day, 28 September … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy, as part of the International Media Mission to Nepal, has written to Dr Baburam Bhattarai, the Rt. Honourable Prime Minister of Nepal, urging him not to obstruct the murder case against Dekendra Thapa, a journalist who was brutally tortured and then murdered in 2004. From 3-5 January 2013, the … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy is today releasing its analysis of the provisions in the draft Egyptian Constitution that protect freedom of expression, information and the media, as the days tick down to the constitutional referendum scheduled for 15 December. Although the draft contains reasonably solid positive protections for freedom of expression, it leaves … Continue reading →

Immediately after it was passed on 12 September 2012, the Philippines’ Cybercrime Prevention Act was met with a flurry of legal challenges from journalists and civil society organisations in the Philippines. An Analysis released today by the Centre for Law and Democracy confirms and supports their concerns, finding that the law perpetrates significant violations of … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy, in collaboration with four other civil society groups – the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA), Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) and Pen Canada – provided a Submission to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process on Canada. … Continue reading →

On 15 July 2012, Mam Sonando, a prominent Cambodian broadcaster, was arrested and charged with attempting to form a secession movement in the province of Kratie. The charges were wholly without merit, and the arrest was announced the day after Mr. Sonando appeared at the International Criminal Court for a presentation by the Khmer People … Continue reading →

Egypt is in the midst of a vitally important phase in its democratic transition, and a vibrant debate is ongoing over the nature of its constitutional protections for human rights. In order to provide support to this discussion, the Centre for Law and Democracy today released a set of Comments, in English and in Arabic, … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of International Right to Know Day by launching two comparative publications and by hosting a debate on the right to know. “Incredible progress has been made on the right to information in the last the years,” said CLD Executive Director Toby Mendel. “But … Continue reading →

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and International Media Support (IMS) today released an Analysis of the guarantees for freedom of expression in the 2008 Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Although the 2008 Constitution represented an important step forward in terms of democracy and human rights, the Analysis highlights shortcomings … Continue reading →

On 23 August 2012, Egypt’s newly elected President, Mohamed Morsi, passed his very first decree after having wrested back legislative powers from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) earlier that month. The decree cancelled the possibility of pre-trial detention for journalists charged with insulting the president, leading to the release of Islam Afifi, … Continue reading →

The Government of Myanmar is preparing a press law which is supposed to significantly democratise regulation of the print media, an important part of its overall plans to become a democracy. In order to help ensure that the law promotes press freedom, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), working with the Southeast Asian Press … Continue reading →

Centre for Law and Democracy, along with Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada and the International Federation of Journalists – Asia Pacific, have drafted an open letter to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to protest the detention of Mam Sonando, an independent broadcaster and prominent critic of Cambodia’s government.