Access to Information in the West Indies: Gradual Progression to Greater Openness

Abstract

Since the turn of the 21st century, the region formerly known as the British West Indies has begun to embark slowly on the implementation of information rights legislation including freedom of information (FOI) legislation. The historical trajectory of the region has had a profound impact on its current position on the sharing of information between public entities and citizens. One of the challenges affecting the success of the implementation of FOI legislation is the state of recordkeeping in the territories, which has resulted in difficulties with providing access to official records and information over time. This article, from the perspective of an archivist/records manager, explores whether the historical past of the West Indies has some bearing on the slow enactment of FOI in the region and how proper recordkeeping could enhance the chances of success in implementation of FOI. It focuses on two main concepts, ‘open government’ and ‘citizen engagement’, underpinning FOI to assess whether the region has fully embraced these ideas and thus paved the way for implementation. It examines the Jamaican experience with FOI to determine whether this can be viewed as an effective model for other territories of the region to provide access to information for the betterment of West Indian society at large.     

Freedom of Information,Right to Access Information,Open Data: Who is at the Table?

Many national governments have adopted the idea of the ‘right to access information’ (RTI) or ‘freedom of information’ (FOI) as an essential element of the rights of citizens to freedom of opinion and expression, human rights, trust in public discourse and transparent, accountable and open government. Over 100 countries worldwide have introduced access to information legislation: 50+ in Europe; a dozen in Africa; 20 in the Americas and Caribbean; more than 15 in Asia and the Pacific; and two in the Middle East (Banisar, 2014 Banisar, D. (2014) National Right to Information Laws, Regulations and Bills 2014 Map, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1857498, accessed 15 May 2015. [Google Scholar]). This article will provide an overview of access to information legislation and focus on the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a case example. It will discuss the impact of the UK FOI Act on public authorities, with particular attention to records management implications, drawing on research undertaken by University College London. In the final section, it will reflect on relationships between access to information and open government data. If governments are moving to more openness, what implications might this have for those charged with implementing FOI and RTI policies, including for records management professionals?     

Control over Personal Data in a Digital Age: Google Spain v AEPD and Mario Costeja Gonzalez

In the Google Spain judgment, the Grand Chamber of the EU Court of Justice determined the circumstances in which a search engine is obliged to remove links to data pertaining to an individual from the results displayed. The Court also considered the material and territorial scope of the EU data protection rules. This note argues that the Court's findings, which have been heavily criticised, are normatively coherent. The broad scope of application of data protection rules and the right of individuals to have their data deleted when certain conditions are fulfilled both play a part in granting individuals effective control over their personal data – an objective of EU data protection law.     

Governance in the European Union: A Policy Analysis of the Attempts to Raise Legitimacy through Civil Society Participation

Abstract

The article focuses on two flagship initiatives – the open method of co-ordination and online consultations – in which the European Union aimed to improve democratic legitimacy through collaborative governance. Offering an analytical framework to scrutinize the large body of existing theoretical and empirical research, the article concludes that not only were the high expectations on the effects of applied governance disappointed, the results also hint at larger, more general implications for the governance concept that, in contrast to the high expectations, appears to be indeed strongly dependent on government-like conditions to operate successfully.     

基于大数据的反恐怖预警问题研究

反恐怖预警是防范和打击恐怖主义的重要环节。大数据为反恐怖预警带来了极大便利的同时,也为反恐怖预警提出诸多挑战。比如,软、硬件设施,领导管理体制,相关法规制度还需进一步完善等。对此,必须从反恐怖预警信息的收集、分析、决策和执行四个阶段对上述矛盾加以克服,才能适应大数据时代的客观要求,才能适应反恐怖行动的客观要求。     

我国城镇贫困群体社会救助状况实证研究

社会救助是协调公平与效率关系的基本途径。本文从全国城镇贫困群体的社会救助出发,在对其整体状况进行分析的同时,以现有经济理论为基础,通过实证检验影响我国社会救助的重要因素,从而为进一步完善我国的城镇贫困群体社会救助制度提供相应的经验证据。     

现行政府信息公开制度与档案开放立法的完善

《政府信息公开条例》的颁布使我国政府信息公开工作规范化,将极大地推动政府信息工作的开展。信息公开是档案利用的一个重要组成部分,《条例》的颁布对档案信息利用立法是挑战,也是一种机遇。其在立法理念、信息公开的主体、方式等方面对我国档案利用立法形成较大的冲击。档案部门必须积极应对,不断健全和完善相关法律法规．确立开放利用为原则的立法理念,协调档案开放立法层次,把机关档案室纳入档案开放服务机构体系,缩短细化档案开放时限,扩大档案开放范围,设立档案开放制度保障机制。     

浅析现场照片的证据归类

本文对案件发生过程中拍摄的现场照片如何归类进行了论证,从目前各种学术著作对书证和视听资料所做的界定进行分析,探究现场照片作为诉讼证据是否被涵盖其中。现场照片如果归入书证的范畴,那么对传统意义上的书证需要做出新的思考;对于存储在电子设备中的数码照片,如果归入视听资料的范畴,对传统意义上视听资料的特点也需要做出修正。     

浅谈数据恢复技术

数据恢复是网络取证研究的基础。作者研究了数据恢复的理论基础,通过对硬盘数据各级组织结构的分析,设计了硬盘数据恢复的模型,提出了适用于不同层次数据恢复的一般方案和技巧。     

“运行”计算机内“易挥发数据”的取证问题

当前司法实践中对现场中处于运行状态的计算机大多采用“二步式”取证的方式来收集数字证据,即先由侦查人员对涉案计算机实施关机分离和保全,尔后再移交专业机构进行数字证据司法鉴定。该方法虽保障了数字证据的原始性和证明力,但无形之中却造成了存储于RAM中的“易挥发”数据以及其他形式的潜在数字证据的丢失。而计算机信息系统中的这些“易挥发数据”可为案件的侦破提供重要线索和潜在的数字证据,因此进行现场动态分析,收集这些“易挥发数据”对数字案件侦查取证意义重大。