Category Archives: News

6 November 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic’s second-wave continues to sweep across much of the country, the federal government has maintained a very cavalier approach to meeting its legal obligations under Canada’s Access to Information Act. According to a 21 October report in the Winnipeg Free Press, less than half of federal access to information … Continue reading →

16 October 2020. CLD has submitted initial input for the idea-generation phase of consultations hosted by the Government of Canada as part of preparations for Canada’s fifth Open Government Partnership (OGP) National Action Plan. The text of our submission is available below.   Centre for Law and Democracy16 October 2020Initial Input for the Idea-Generation Phase … Continue reading →

15 October 2020. CLD joins with community leaders, over 50 other Canadian civil society groups and over 50 parliamentarians in calling for Canadian government action to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong officials and protect Hong Kongers at risk of political persecution. The statement is as follows: Joint statement calling for sanctioning of Chinese and Hong … Continue reading →

28 September 2020. On this International Right to Know Day, the Centre for Law and Democracy joins with other civil society organisations from around the world in calling on governments to avoid using the COVID-19 crisis as a pretext for limiting the right to information. Instead, we are urging governments at least to restore and … Continue reading →

28 September 2020. 28 September, International Right to Know Day, is a day when people around the world celebrate the importance of the right to access information held by public authorities (the right to information). This year, International Right to Know Day also represents the 10th anniversary of the launch of the RTI Rating, which … Continue reading →

27 September 2020. UNESCO is hosting a series of events to celebrate the United Nations’ International Day for Universal Access to Information or International Right to Know Day, 28 September. Toby Mendel, CLD Executive Director, will moderate the High-Level Panel, taking place from 1400-1530 Paris time that day. The panel, titled Access to Information – … Continue reading →

3 September 2020. The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is seeking a Legal Officer to begin working with us 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 in countries all over the world, … Continue reading →

19 August 2020. The Centre for Law and Democracy has joined a number of other organisations in issuing a Joint Statement condemning the adoption, on 30 June 2020, of the new national security law by the top legislative body in China and the subsequent active use of the law by Hong Kong authorities. These actions … Continue reading →

11 August 2020. Today, CLD is releasing its fifth and final regional report in its series on the law and policy environment for civic space globally, covering seventeen countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights legal restrictions which pose more serious risks to the ability of civil society to operate freely in each country, with the … Continue reading →

4 August 2020. CLD has released its regional report on the legal environment for civil society in the Middle East and North Africa. The report, the fourth in our global series, highlights laws and policies in the region which prevent civil society from organising, meeting, fundraising, advocating, researching, expressing their opinions and otherwise operating. The … Continue reading →

28 July 2020. CLD today released the third regional report in our global series on the law and policy environment for civic space. The report focuses on nine countries in Latin America, highlighting laws and policies which restrict the ability of organisations to establish themselves and obtain funding, to conduct activities safely and to engage … Continue reading →

21 July 2020. Today, CLD released a report on the legal environment for civil society in the Europe and Central Asia region. This report is part of a series evaluating laws which enable or restrict civil society from engaging freely in basic activities, including researching, advocating, fundraising and organising. By highlighting laws which are problematic, … Continue reading →

20 July 2020. CLD is one of 78 organisations who have formed a coalition in support of Maria Ressa and independent media in the Philippines. Today, the #HoldTheLine Coalition released the following statement: #HoldTheLine Coalition Calls for Criminal Tax Charge to be Dropped as Maria Ressa Returns to Court The #HoldTheLine Coalition  demands the Philippines … Continue reading →

14 July 2020. Civil society can only flourish if a country has put in place an enabling legal environment that supports organisations’ right to organise, communicate, research, advocate and fundraise freely. In recent years, global observers have expressed increasing alarm at the growing number of legal burdens and restrictions that governments are imposing on civil … Continue reading →

9 July 2020. CLD and 12 other organisations have highlighted ongoing concerns with freedom of expression in Myanmar in a Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Myanmar. The UPR process is conducted by the United Nations Human Rights Council and involves a review of human rights issues in a given country.  The … Continue reading →

9 July 2020. CLD is one of 60 organisations and supporters who have formed a coalition in support of Maria Ressa and independent media in the Philippines. Ressa is a prominent Filipino-American journalist and founder of the news website Rappler. On 15 June 2020, she was convicted of cyber-libel along with her former Rappler colleague … Continue reading →

22 June 2020. CLD has signed a civil society statement calling for an end to the shutdown of all mobile internet access in Myanmar’s Rakhine and Chin States. The 21 June marked the first anniversary of the shutdown, now the longest in the world. The full statement and list of signatories is available here. 

16 June 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised challenging new questions about the extent to which States may restrict human rights during public health emergencies.  Some States have chosen to restrict the normal rules governing the processing of requests for information, while others have tried to continue to respond to requests. Those that have introduced … Continue reading →

27 May 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has created both significant burdens for governments, as they are called upon to protect citizens’ health and minimise the economic impact of the pandemic, and significant operational challenges, as many staff are working from home. Many States have responded by imposing limits on the right to information while others … Continue reading →

6 May 2020. An assessment of two laws adopted recently in Puerto Rico to establish a legal right to access information held by government reveals the laws are very weak, according to an Analysis published today by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD). According to the RTI Rating (www.RTI-Rating.org), the two laws – the … Continue reading →