Shamsul Bari

One of the institutional casualties of the global Covid-19 pandemic is people’s right to information.

The Covid-19 pandemic, sowing misery across the world, has thrown the role of the state into stark relief.

Our last column was focused on the multifarious use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in the United States.

How has the global use of Right to Information (RTI) laws brought about important new developments and catalysed change? The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regime in the US is the perfect example to illustrate this story.

Those who read this column regularly are aware of its two recurring themes.

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.

The euphoria accompanying the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War era late last century was followed by an upsurge of democracy in the new republics and a resurgence in nominal democracies.

Last month, the International Right to Know Day was an occasion for the champions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act in Bangladesh to show how the law helps to strengthen democracy and advance good governance.

The United Nations observes September 28 as the International Day for Universal Access to Information, informally known as the International Right to Know Day. It is one of the 165 annual international days declared by the UN to raise public awareness about

With some 130 countries around the world having adopted Right to Information (RTI) laws, we now know a great deal about how citizens use this law in a variety of social, political and economic contexts—in as rich a variety of ways as there are cultures and peoples on this planet.

You are really doing a great job,” said the Designated Officer (DO) of the District Social Welfare Office of Dinajpur. He was talking to a member of the public who had gone to his office to submit a Right to Information (RTI) request.

Khandaker Mozammel Haque passed away early Thursday, August 8, 2019. Readers may know him for his contribution to the

Funds stolen by political leaders. School supplies siphoned off by a contractor.

When young Shovon moved to Dhaka from his village not very long ago, he went looking for ponds to bathe in. He discovered quite a few of them, spread all over the city.

Bank loan defaults and their harmful impacts on the economy are not matters of public concern in Bangladesh alone. It has agitated the public mind in neighbouring India for a long time. A recent directive of the Supreme Court of India has some lessons for Bangladesh.

In recent weeks, two important government ministers—Law Minister Mr Anisul Huq, and Information Minister Mr Hasan Mahmud—have given vocal support to a fuller implementation of our national Right to Information (RTI) Act.

In her first address to the nation after being sworn in for her third consecutive term last month, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced “zero tolerance for corruption” as a key policy of her new government. This was followed by the release of Transparency

International observers who follow global trends on the progress of transparency and accountability instruments, such as Right to Information (RTI) or Freedom of Information (FOI), which have witnessed phenomenal growth in the last three decades, are often asked if the laws have fared well in their new abodes with varying levels of democratisation.

As the Right to Information (RTI) regime nears completion of its first decade of existence, we asked a few scholars, advocates and users of the law for their views on its progress so far. Results were mixed.

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” A slight tweak of this famous quotation from British writer George Orwell will make it equally appropriate for the right to information: