Category Archives: News

6 August 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is today releasing open letters sent last week to the leaders of the three main Nova Scotian political parties, the Liberal Party, Progressive Conservative Association and New Democratic Party, along with the responses of each party (Liberal/PC/NDP). Sent in the middle of an election campaign, … Continue reading →

30 July 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), with the support of the Global Media Defence Fund run by UNESCO, is running a project designed to support the formation and development of national networks of lawyers dedicated to media defence work and promoting freedom of expression. “Media lawyers’ networks can be crucial forums … Continue reading →

15 June 2021. Today, Toby Mendel, Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), is appearing as an expert witness and presenting a written Statement before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Palacio Urrutia and Others v. Ecuador. The case challenges the conviction of journalist Urrutia and fellow defendants … Continue reading →

12 May 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is releasing two documents analysing, respectively, Mauritius’ Information and Communication Technologies Act 2001 (ICT Act) and recently proposed amendments to that Act. The first is a Note highlighting current human rights problems with the ICT Act, including the lack of independence of media regulators and … Continue reading →

10 May 2021. Myanmar’s military took control of the country in a coup on 1 February 2021. Just two weeks later, on 14 February, they introduced important changes to the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code which have become the primary legal provisions being used to charge journalists, student leaders, civil servants and others … Continue reading →

7 May 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is pleased to join more than 100 other organisations and individuals in endorsing a letter in solidarity with Ivan Pavlov, a Russian human rights activist and lawyer who has been criminally charged with disclosing data of a preliminary investigation which has been declared secret. The … Continue reading →

30 April 2021. Today, as Namibia hosts the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference 2021, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) released an Analysis of Namibia’s Access to Information Bill. This Bill, which was tabled in parliament in 2021, would give individuals a right to access information held by government. Overall, the Analysis shows … Continue reading →

25 April 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is today releasing an Analysis of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (referred to informally as the national security law for Hong Kong). The law has become notorious for its broad restrictions … Continue reading →

14 April 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy has released a summary, in English and Burmese, on the rights of protesters in Myanmar and of the media workers who cover protests. Widespread protests have broken out across Myanmar in response to the 1 February 2021 military coup d’etat, and the military has responded with … Continue reading →

12 April 2021.  The Centre for Law and Democracy has published a Note that explains the recent legal troubles faced by Hong Kong publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai. Lai is facing reprisals from authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China due to the outspoken newspaper he founded, Apple Daily, and his other activities as … Continue reading →

10 March 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has provided a Submission on disinformation to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. The Submission is in response to a call by the Special Rapporteur for inputs into her June 2021 report to the Human Rights Council, which will focus on disinformation and … Continue reading →

1 March 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief to the Constitutional Court of Colombia, setting out international standards to support the claim that a civil defamation provision from a 1944 law is unconstitutional. The provision, Article 55 of Law 29 of 1944, provides … Continue reading →

23 February 2021. CLD joins with Malaysian and international media organisations and freedom of expression groups to voice concern over the conviction of Malaysian news outlet Malaysiakini on contempt of court charges. This conviction could have serious impacts on the exercise of freedom of expression throughout the country. The conviction is based on five comments … Continue reading →

18 February 2021. CLD is one of 45 organisations jointly calling on Cambodia to reconsider the Sub-Decree on the Establishment of the National Internet Gateway. We are concerned about the harmful impact of this Sub-Decree on the exercise of human rights in Cambodia, especially the rights to freedom of expression, access to information and privacy. … Continue reading →

1 February 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) has provided a written Submission on Normative Frameworks for the Right to Information to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The OHCHR is preparing a report on this issue to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council at its … Continue reading →

15 January 2021. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD), an international human rights organisation based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, will host up to four interns for the summer of 2021. The position will involve a range of substantive legal work in areas such as freedom of expression, media law, digital rights and access to … Continue reading →

11 December 2020. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is today releasing a Human Rights Analysis of Biometric Digital ID Systems providing insight into the issue of developing a human rights compliant biometric digital ID system. A system of this sort is currently being considered in Myanmar. The Analysis reviews the human rights that … Continue reading →

10 December 2020. For United Nations Human Rights Day 2020, CLD’s Toby Mendel shared a blog post about media freedom in Myanmar at the website of partner International Media Support. The blog is available here and reproduced below.   Standing up for journalists’ rights – a status from Myanmar Blog by: Toby Mendel This blog … Continue reading →

27 November 2020. Today, the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) provided a written Submission to the five-year review of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. This is the first review since the law was substantially overhauled in 2015, after which it earned 111 out … Continue reading →

24 November 2020. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is today releasing a Note highlighting a number of legal developments which have an impact on freedom of expression and which were proposed or adopted in 2020. These are part of CLD’s ongoing work in the country on media freedom issues, in collaboration with International … Continue reading →