FF submits RTI draft amendment for legislating Open Data provisions

As part of its lobby and advocacy for legislating Open Data provisions in the under-amendment Right to Information laws of Nepal, Freedom Forum has submitted a draft outlining areas for amendment to the RTI Act and Regulation to the Government of Nepal, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and National Information Commission on February 20. The draft has outlined technical recommendations in seven areas including four in the RTI Act-2007 and three in its Regulations-2009. Key areas recommended for amendments to the law include existing definition, information obtaining process, proactive disclosure arrangement, roles and responsibilities of information commissioners, costs involved in requesting information and medium and formats of information disclosure stated in the RTI Act and Rule. "The recommendations for amendment are outlined and finalized through a process of consultation with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) championing the cause of access to information through RTI and Open Data", shared Taranath Dahal, Executive Chief, Freedom Forum. A face-to-face consultation and frequent distance communications were held with representatives of Civil Society Organizations, including individual champions, advocates and practitioners to produce a technical recommendation for the RTI amendment from open government data perspectives. The discussion was based on the review as how Open Data has been legislated in other countries, in particular where it has formed part of the RTI/FOI legislation, and how this has been put into implementation. For More Information Freedom Forum 01-4102030/ 4102022