Law Assoc: Postpone FOIA debate

THE Law Association is calling on Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to postpone debate on the Miscellaneous Provisions (Tax Amnesty, Pensions, Freedom of Information, National Insurance, Central Bank and Non-Profit Organisations (NPO) Bill, 2019. Debate on the bill is scheduled to take place in the House of Representatives today.

In a statement yesterday, the association said it supports the call for public consultation on clause seven of the bill which seeks to amend the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to extend the period within which a public authority is required to inform an applicant of its decision in relation to a request for information.

This period would be extended from 30 to 90 days.

A public authority would, however, be required to obtain the approval of the AG before refusing a request. The AG would have 90 days to inform the public authority of his decision.

The period during which a request is referred to the AG would not be included in the calculation of the 90-day period that the public authority must to inform the applicant of its decision.

“The FOIA has become a cornerstone in civil society’s effort to hold public authorities to account,” the association said.

The association argued that any substantive changes to FOIA should be considered after the views of key stakeholders are widely canvassed and thoroughly ventilated. The bill was laid in the House of Representatives last Friday by Finance Minister Colm Imbert. According to the House Order Paper, Imbert will open debate on the bill.

At a post-Cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on May 23, the Prime Minister hinted about about the proposed amendments to the FOIA, referred to in the bill. Dr Rowley said a new policy is being put in place to notify the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs about any requests people have made for information from government agencies under the FOIA.

He said it was common for people making any FOIA request to a government entity, not being granted the information, taking the matter to court and winning the case. Rowley said this results in the agency making million dollar payments to people’s lawyers, with the taxpayers who fund state agencies, being the ultimate losers. Rowley said this allows the AG’s office to advise on the agency’s decision whether or not to grant the information. He added that millions of taxpayers dollars could be saved by this simple piece of advice.

The bill also proposes amendments to the Retiring Allowances (Legislative Service) Act, President’s Emoluments Act, Prime Minister’s Pensions Act, Judges Salaries and Pensions Act, National Insurance Act, Central Bank Act and the Non-Profit Organisations Act, 2019