Freedom of Information Laws By Country - Pending Legislation By Country

Pending Legislation By Country

• In Argentina, national freedom of information legislation is pending, though some individual regions have legislation on a local level.
• In Barbados, the Government headed by David Thompson has proposed to put in place a Freedom of Information Bill. The Government has launched various initiatives to vett the proposed bill with the citizens of the country for comment.
• In Botswana, as of 2003, the government was quoted as saying "The Freedom of Information Bill is not a priority for the new ministry, but some activities like information gathering and initial planning will start."
• In the Cayman Islands, the Freedom of Information Regulations Act 2008 is expected to go into effect on January 1, 2009.
• In Fiji, the constitution gives a general right of access, but enabling legislation has not yet been passed. A draft Freedom of Information Bill was circulated in 2000 but derailed by political unrest; the government has not yet begun work on a second bill.
• In Ghana, the Right to Information Bill 2003 was resubmitted to the Cabinet in 2005.
• In Indonesia, the House of Representatives drafted and submitted a freedom of information bill in 2004,and in 2008 passed with the name Public Information Openness Law.
• In Jordan, there is a draft Law on the Guarantee of Access to Information which was passed onto Parliament at the end of 2005.
• In Kenya, the draft Freedom of Information Act 2007 will soon be tabled into Parliament.
• In Lesotho, the Access and Receipt of Information Bill was before Parliament in 2003-4, but the current status of the legislation is unknown
• In the Maldives, there is currently no freedom of information legislation. In 2004, the government announced that a bill was expected to be passed in that year, but this has not yet transpired.
• In Mauritius, there is currently no freedom of information legislation. In 2005, the government pledged to enact a Freedom of Information Act but no legislation has yet been passed.
• In Mozambique, the government produced a draft Freedom of Information Bill in August 2005. It is expected to become law within two years.
• In Nauru, the Freedom of Information Act 2004 was laid before the parliament in that year, but was not passed. Further work on the legislation is currently being held back, pending a review of the country’s Constitution.
• Philippines. Article III, Section 7 of the country's Bill of Rights recognizes the people's right to information on matters of public concern. Its Supreme Court has upheld this right in many of its decisions. However, there is no legislation that sets the procedures for access and disclosure of information and provides penalties for officials who fail to release the requested information, without justifiable reasons. In 2008, the Lower House of the Philippine Congress passed House Bill No. 3732 (Freedom of Information Act) that addresses these gaps. A counterpart bill is still pending in the Philippine Senate. Leading the campaign for the bill's passage is the Access to Information Network, co-convened by Action For Economic Reforms and Transparency and Accountability Network.
• In Sri Lanka, the 2004 draft Freedom of Information Act has been endorsed by both major parties, but had not been passed as of January 2005.

(Unless stated otherwise, information is current as of July 2008).