Analysis

27 March 2013

Different kinds of public information received from the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia

Information received from the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia is already available on the web-site. The agency ignored request about reports on release of public information. In all the other cases the provided information is complete. As it became clear from the received information, the general director of the Agency, Nikoloz Vacheishvili received bonus of 61 850 GEL in 2012. In September he received 12 500 GEL as a bonus, while in October

20 March 2013

Statistical Analysis of the Project “Public Information Database” (July 2012 – February 2013)

During 8 months of the project Public Information Database-www.opendata.ge IDFI has addressed public authorities with the total of 2193 requests, 1325 of which have been replied completely. Out of 2193 requests sent by the Institute 337 have been left unanswered, 168 have been answered incompletely, there were 18 cases of refusal and in the rest 345 cases the public authorities stated that they either did not have the requested information, or had not carried out the specific action (e.g. pro

18 March 2013

For the First Time: the AmountsTransferred to the State Budget through the Use of Plea Bargaining Agreements

Despite high public interest, the amounts transferred each year to the state budget through the use of plea bargaining agreements were unknown until now. IDFI publishes the information about the amounts transferred to the state budget for the first time. IDFI became interested in the amounts transferred to the state budget through the use of plea bargaining agreements. In particular, with the following information: 1. Information about the amount transferred to the state bu

6 March 2013

Commissioner and Openness of Public Information - Overview of the Worldwide Practice

Author: Constantine Janjghava In respect of the regulation of freedom of information on a global scale, there comes the need for considering the general functions, obligations and institutional aspects of the corresponding supervisory organ Information Commissioner. This is the very topic of the given research. On the example of a number of countries worldwide, we will attempt to give the reader information about the role of the Information Commissioner in the context of openness of

5 March 2013

Commissioner and Openness of Public Information - Overview of the Worldwide Practice

5 March 2013 Author: Constantine Jandjgava In respect of the regulation of freedom of information on a global scale, there comes the need for considering the general functions, obligations and institutional aspects of the corresponding supervisory organ Information Commissioner. This is the very topic of the given research. On the example of a number of countries worldwide, we will attempt to give the reader information about the role of the Information Commissioner in the context of

20 February 2013

OVESSG v. Austria - Obligation of Public Institutions to Process Public Information

Decision of the Tyrol Real Property Transactions Commission to refuse information request of an NGO constitutes interference within right to receive and impart information. The complete refusal and commissions choice to hold a monopoly on information, made it impossible for the applicant to carry out its task and is thus not justified as being “necessary in a democratic society” (para. 47).

11 January 2013

The Openness of Government Meetings in Georgia or the Necessity of Bringing the Georgian Government out of “Shadow

Author:Constantine Janjghava The Openness of Government Meetings in Georgia or the Necessity of Bringing the Georgian Government out of Shadow -Comparison of Practices - Georgia and the United States of America. The following paper deals with the concept and practice of the openness of government meetings. The main question that needs to be answered is the following: Should the meetings of the Government of Georgia be open as a rule? To answer this question, first of all, it is co

5 December 2012

Freedom of Information: Legislation and Practice

Freedom of Information: Legislation and Practice - Georgia, United Kingdom (Scotland), United States ofAmerica, Estonia Comparative Analysis. Author: Eliso Chabrava Editor: Giorgi Kldiashvili The following study is comparative analysis of Georgian and international legislation the United Kingdom (Scotland), the United States of America, Estonia) prepared within the framework of a project Research on the Effectiveness of the FOIA Provisions in Georgia, implemented by the Institut

17 February 2012

Open Government Partnership Initiative and Georgia - New Challenges

By Giorgi Kldiashvili Giorgi Kldiashvili is the director and co-founder of Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI). He holds a Masters degree in Modern and Contemporary History of Europe and America from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and is currently professor of American Studies at the same University. Published at Democracy and Freedom Watch: http://dfwatch.net/open-government-partnership-initiative-and-georgia-new-challenges-21083 On

17 February 2012

Access to public information in Georgia

By Levan Avalishvili Levan Avalishvili is co-founder and chairman of the board of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and Director of the project Public Information Database www.opendata.ge which is intended to promote transparency and accountability of state authorities and access to public information in Georgia. Published at Democracy and Freedom Watch: http://dfwatch.net/access-to-public-information-in-georgia-87274 According to the survey