When was right to information act passed

Enshrined in law, this will ensure that the Vanuatuan media will be able to report more accurately and responsibly on government activities, and that the public will be better equipped to engage in democratic processes. Vanuatu joins other countries across the world with Right to Information laws. This website uses cookies.

CHRI's summary of the Bill was also produced. A range of civil society activists also gave evidence before the Committee. With presidential assent, the Central Government and State Governments had days to implement the provisions of the Bill in its entirety.

The Act formally came into force on 12 October The formal recognition of a legal right to information in India occurred more than two decades before legislation was finally enacted, when the Supreme Court of India ruled in State of U.

Raj Narain that the right to information is implicit in the right to freedom of speech and expression explicitly guaranteed in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. Subsequently, the Court has affirmed this decision in numerous cases , and has even linked the right to information with the right to life enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution.

With presidential assent, the Central Government and State Governments now have days to implement the provisions of the Bill in its entirety. The Act covers all Central Government, State Government and local bodies, as well as some private bodies. The Government of India has notified a new set of Rules combining the Rules relating to fees and costs payable under the Right to Information Act and the appeals procedure before the Central Information Commission which were notified in The new set of rules makes a few substantive changes in the applications and appeals procedure.

For example, an RTI applicant will be required to limit an information request to words and pay for postal charges in excess of Rs. A letter of appeal filed with the Central Information Commission may be returned to the appellant if it contains filing deficiencies described in the new Rules. Click here for the new RTI Rules. Click here for related media reports: The Hindu , Hindustan Times.

Central Information Commission. Room No. Section 22 of the Right to Information Act provides that it is to have overriding effect over inconsistent legislation or rules. Although this is a commendable provision, the practical application of the Act by bureaucrats may nevertheless be affected by the continued presence on the law books of several restrictive pieces of legislation.

It was reviewed thrice , and before it was presented in parliament for the first time in The current passage means it has taken a year to see the light of day. It will now await presidential assent.

The law will provide for the operationalisation of the constitutional right to information from public and some private institutions, subject to exemptions that are necessary and consistent with the protection of public interest in a democratic society.

It also seeks to foster a culture of transparency and accountability in public affairs and to provide for related matters. The President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had spoken of his resolve to accent to the bill once it was passed by the legislature.

Journalists in Ghana largely believe that the passage of the bill into law will make their work easier especially in the area of accessing official government data. The recent killing of an investigator linked to undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas was tagged as the most significant blot on the profession in recent years.