RTI

As Sri Lanka marks two years of operationalization of the Right to Information Act, No. 12 of 2016 on 3rd February 2019, the Right to Information Commission (RTIC) is pleased to announce the commencement of public sittings and the hearing of appeals in Sri Lanka’s provinces. On 19th of January 2019, the RTIC held its […]

Following the decision by the Presidential Secretariat to go before the Court of Appeal against the declaration of assets and liabilities of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, which are filed at the President Secretariat, Transparency International (TI), the organisation which called for information under the Right-To-Information (RTI) Act, finds the new situation quite surprising, Executive Director […]

Media urged to use RTI, other tools Opposition and Government join in calling for more responsible reporting Journalists should be the compass of citizens, says Norwegian Ambassador Media freedom is essential to a functioning democracy, but reckless use of such freedoms will be the death of it. This was the key takeaway at the 20th anniversary celebration […]

Few would quarrel with President Maithripala Sirisena’s statement on Tuesday as he inaugurated the second session of the 8th Parliament, that his National Unity Government had enacted several ‘people friendly laws’, including the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The President praised the RTI Act as ‘the strongest such act to empower citizens of any country […]

Image: Sri Lanka RTI has no   full access to information/data gathered by the Office of Missing Persons (OMP). By Shamindra Ferdinando. Attorney-at-law Kishali Pinto Jayawardane, Commissioner, RTI (Right to Information) Commission yesterday censured the government for depriving the Commission full access to information/data gathered by the Office of Missing Persons (OMP). Jayawardane was responding to a […]

Image: waiting for the jobs. Thursday August 24th 2017 –  Information on state recruitments and alleged irregularities or malpractices in government/ provincial councils, overseas travel details of politicians, unauthorised constructions, audits of school development societies, compensation payments for land acquisitions, information on school admissions, rental agreements entered into by public corporations and a variety of other […]

Image: Sri Lanka Army by globalriskinsights.com. A wide-ranging Right to Information Act request was filed with the Army on Saturday, requesting details of how state resources have been used to aid soldiers and officers accused of attacks on media personnel and to confirm or deny whether the army has spied on the police and public […]

Image: If they suspect of whereabouts of missing children parents can now request relevant information. Sri Lanka’s Right to Information (RTI) Act came  into effect from 3 February 2017. Right to Information has been a decades long struggle spearheaded by press freedom organisations in the country. Public Authorities have a lot of information that is […]

The Right to Information that has been much hyped by the leaders of the Yahapalanaya government in the recent past seems to be one of the main issues not or less understood by the same leaders and the officials under them. Some bigwigs arrogantly scorn at and ridicule the media men in public when the […]

(The right to know is incomplete without the right to information. STOCK PHOTO) Congratulations Mexico For the World’s  Best Right to Information Law. This 28 September, International Right to Know Day, is a truly momentous one. It marks five years since the launch of the RTI Rating, a comparative assessment of national legal frameworks for […]

( Protest calling for justice for disappeared Sri Lankan journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda) Taylor Dibbert. Nalaka Gunawardene has worked in the public media and development spheres for over 25 years both in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in Asia. He is the chief editor of Rebuilding Public Trust: An Assessment of the Media Industry and Profession in […]

by Alexis Wheeler [JURIST] The Parliament of Sri Lanka [official website] passed [press release] the “Right to Information” Bill [bill, PDF] Friday. The bill, introduced in March, was passed to encourage the public to combat corruption and hold its government accountable. The Act contains provisions on the right to access information, when that right may […]

By  R.Sampanthan. Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member. We are debating an important Bill, the Right to Information Bill in the House today. This Bill should have been brought to Parliament a long time ago, but unfortunately, that did not happen. The Right to Information Law has been passed in many countries world over and is […]

(Remarks by Ambassador Keshap at Right to Information (RTI) Interactive Dialogue Launch, May 16, 2016, Water’s Edge Hotel, Colombo) Honorable Minister, Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, It is an honor to address this gathering as you discuss the creation of a Right to Information bill designed to enhance citizens’ access to transparency and insight […]

Contrary to what certain media reports excitably proclaimed this week, the Supreme Court’s Determination on the constitutionality of Sri Lanka’s Right to Information (RTI) Bill held little surprises. In the main, the ruling did not pose formidable challenges to the basic integrity of the Bill. However, it did reflect a degree of judicial conservatism therein. […]

( Jaffna based journalist Ramachandran disappeared after taken in by military check point years ago, No investigation has launched yet) By Gehan Gunatilleke. Sri Lanka is on the brink of a historic moment. Following a long struggle spanning over a decade, a Bill on the Right to Information (RTI) was tabled in the Sri Lankan […]

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) alleged today, that the Government had restricted peoples’ right to obtain information on certain subjects, including information released by the Central Bank and information related to International Trade Agreements, under the new Right to Information Bill while accepting the access to information as a right. JVP MP Vijitha Herath said […]

(Matters are no different elsewhere. The destruction of the Wattala jogging track is a clear instance.) The ‘Ides of April’ and the absence of governance by Kishali Pinto Jaywardene Sri Lankans were blithely reassured this week by President Maithripala Sirisena that they need not fear the Ides of March anymore, taking into account the annual […]

Attempts to put operations of Sri Lanka’s central bank out of the ambit of a draft ‘Right to Information’ bill are wrong and will deny economic democracy to the people, a top economist and former central banker has said. W A Wijewardene, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka says through […]

By Chandani Kirinde. The long-awaited Right to Information (RTI) Bill that seeks to give every Sri Lankan the right of access to information which is in the possession, custody or control of a public authority was presented to Parliament on Thursday by Minister of Parliamentary Reforms and Media Gayantha Karunatillake. The Bill which was gazetted […]

International organisations rate Sri Lanka RTI draft one of the best in the world; As key beneficiaries, media should lead the process of deliberation . The New Year that begins today will probably open a new chapter in the history of democracy in Sri Lanka with the legal acceptance of the people’s right to access […]

The Right to Information Bill approved by the Sri Lanka cabinet of Ministers are now available on the Media Ministry website. The PDF version is given below. The Ministry has called for  views, proposals, and comments on the draft Act on Right to Information to the following address or email address. Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary […]