„Right to Good Administration in Croatian Practice

epa03644178 A businessman uses a tablet computer at a park in Tokyo, Japan, 29 March 2013. Japan's unemployment rate edged up by 0.1 percentage points to 4.3 per cent in February 2013, the government said 29 March 2013. The number of unemployed people dropped by 120,000 from a year earlier to 2.77 million, falling year-on-year for the 33rd consecutive month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. EPA/KIYOSHI OTA

GONG is organizing conference „Right to Good Administration in Croatian Practice“ which will be held on 26th April (Friday) 9 am, at the International hotel in Zagreb. Presented at the conference will be the results of the Index of Good Governance in Croatia (DUH index), a research including analysis of all ministries, the Government, the…

New FoIA – A Step towards Open Government

Zagreb, 14.03.2013 - Nastavak sedme sjednice Hrvatskoga sabora. Na slici Jadranka Kosor. foto FaH/ Denis CERIÆ /dc

On February 15 2013, Croatian Parliament adopted a new Freedom of Information Act (FoIA), following a decade of advocacy, public campaigns, research, law amendments and public discussions. During its long-term monitoring of implementation and research on FoIA implementation in Croatia (researches available on Croatian here), active participation in the working group for FoIA amendments back…

How did UK Thanks to Mathematician and Jurist Efficiently Set Out ‘Yes, Minister’

Toward GONG conference anent International Right to Know Day September 28, we have interviewed one of the guests Andrew Stott, who was Director for Transparency and Digital Engagement for the United Kingdom Government. He led the work to open up government data and create ‘data.gov.uk‘. Toward GONG conference anent International Right to Know Day September…

Independent body to protect the right of access to information

epa03642358 A Chinese technician debugs a row of video surveillance cameras for pubilc safety which are assembled on a pole in the Qingdao city, eastern China's Shandong province, 27 March 2013. China's public safety budget reaches at 128.989 billion yuan (Euros 16.227 billion) in 2013, up some nine per cent compared to last year, according to the Ministry of Finance. EPA/WU HONG

GONG supports the formation of an independent body designed to protect the right of access to information, as a member of the work group for FOIA Act amendments. The introduction of an Information Commissioner would guarantee high-quality implementation of the Act since this person would be able to file complaints against decisions to withhold information.…

Whose government is the most transparent one? LOTUS 2011/12 Research Results

epa03642358 A Chinese technician debugs a row of video surveillance cameras for pubilc safety which are assembled on a pole in the Qingdao city, eastern China's Shandong province, 27 March 2013. China's public safety budget reaches at 128.989 billion yuan (Euros 16.227 billion) in 2013, up some nine per cent compared to last year, according to the Ministry of Finance. EPA/WU HONG

From September 2011 to February 2012, GONG conducted the second round of research focused on transparency and openness of local and regional self-government. The research was carried out in cooperation with the Association of Cities of the Republic of Croatia, including each of the 576 units of local and regional self-government. The aim was to…

The main reason for poor implementation of the Freedom to Information Act is the lack of political will for real change

Zagreb, 11.04.2013 - Nastavak 8. sjednice Hrvatskog sabora. Na slici sabornica prije poèetka sjednice. foto FaH/ Denis CERIÆ/ ik

On yesterday‘s GONG round table “Test of public interest and the Right of Access to Information”, organized in the Croatian Parliament on the occasion of the upcoming International Day of Access to Information, dissatisfaction could be felt with the existing law, poor implementation of institutions and with the culture of secrecy that prevails in the…