তথ্য অধিকার আইন

Daily Star, March 15, 2020
Transparency and accountability of government actions during Covid 19 pandemic
Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz
Our last column was focused on the multifarious use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in the United States. Following that exercise and some positive feedback from readers, we focus today on the use of FOIA in the United Kingdom. We hope that the vast range of use of the law in different countries would help our citizens to explore newer and more effective ways of putting it to use. Read More.

Daily Star, February 15, 2020
Using the right to information to improve the countryx/> Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz
THow has the global use of Right to Information (RTI) laws brought about important new developments and catalysed change? The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regi\me in the US is the perfect example to illustrate this story. Read More.

Daily Star, December 15, 2019
Engaging citizens to use the RTI law
Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz
Those who read this column regularly are aware of its two recurring themes. First, that the Right to Information (RTI) Act is important not simply because it enables citizens to obtain information from public authorities which they may “need to know” for personal reasons, but, more importantly, because it empowers them with a “right to access” information that sheds light on the way public offices perform their duties and spend public money. By resorting to RTI, citizens convey to public servants that they are keeping an eye on them. Read More.

Daily Star, December 15, 2019
Law needs RTI defenders
Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz
The global excitement about Right to Information (RTI) appears to be on the wane. Instead of facilitating citizens’ role to monitor public work by accessing official documents, governments are resorting to procedural and other hurdles to curtail the reach of the law. RTI enthusiasts and scholars who saw the law as an “impressive display of policy innovation at a global level”, now see it more as “democratic window dressing.” Secretive governance is striving to return. Read More.