Why pass FOI laws? The politics of freedom of information – The Constitution Unit

Posted February 22nd, 2017 in foreign jurisdictions, freedom of information, legislation, news by sally

‘Why are there now more than 100 freedom of information laws around the world, even though they help opponents and hinder governments? In a new book, published this month by Manchester University Press, Ben Worthy investigates. He concludes that the main reason is that as a symbolic pledge in opposition FOI laws are hard to resist. Once in power these promises are hard to back down from, though experience suggests that proposed laws are often watered down before being enacted. These findings are summarised here.’

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The Constitution Unit, 16th February 2017

Source: www.constitution-unit.com