www_rti-ratingGlobal RTI Rating Website Update Launched

www.RTI-Rating.org

28 September 2012, Halifax/Madrid – Today, Access Info Europe (AIE) and the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) launched an improved version of the RTI Rating website. The new website contains updated results on all 93 countries with national right to information laws, searchable on various parameters, including total score and score in each category of the RTI Rating.

Serbia retains top position in the updated rating, with 135 points out of a possible total of 150, while Austria languishes in bottom place, with 39 points. AIE and CLD first launched the RTI Rating website a year ago, on 28 September 2011.

“There has been enormous interest in the RTI Rating over the last year,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy. “It has stimulated strong media attention in the shortcomings of the RTI laws in many countries, while campaigners have used it to highlight weaknesses in proposed laws in other countries.”

The RTI Rating has been criticised by some for focusing exclusively on the legal framework, and ignoring implementation. But having a strong law is essential to full realisation of the right to information. Campaigners in countries around the world – including Austria, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland and the Philippines – have used the RTI Rating in their advocacy campaigns. The Rating has also fed into international initiatives, such as the development of an African Union Model RTI law.

“We recognise the need to evaluate implementation, which we see as a second phase,” noted Helen Darbishire, Executive Director of Access Info Europe. “But the Rating’s objective and scientific analysis of existing and proposed legal frameworks for RTI has proven its value in numerous contexts.”

The RTI Rating is constantly being updated as countries adopt RTI laws or amend their legal frameworks. This project has only been possible due to the support of national and international experts who helped design the methodology and ensure that the national ratings are as accurate as possible. We thank them and call on users to keep sending feedback to enrich this useful tool.