You are browsing the archives of November 2010.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act was enacted in 2000 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to replace a 1994 code that outlined voluntary guidelines for releasing government information. Its guidelines extend to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while Scotland has its own Freedom of Information Act.

Freedom of information laws were first adopted at the state level beginning in 1997. These statewide laws set the precedent for the Indian Parliament to implement the Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2005. The RTI Act has since mandated government transparency for all of India except for the states of Jammu and Kashmir, which instead enforce individual state laws.

Established by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the non-profit Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) provides Canadian legal records available free of charge on the Internet. CanLII maintains an online database compiling legislation with decisions issued by Canadian courts, boards and tribunals.

Canada’s Access to Information Act was enacted in 1983 under the Pierre Trudeau government to establish public access to government documents. In addition to the federal act, each province has also passed individual freedom of information laws to govern provincial and local level agencies.