record-keeping – Access Info Europe

11 Jan 2018

Leave no trace: the right to information and the duty to document

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:05+01:00

This report, Leave No Trace, contains the first comprehensive research into the laws, guidelines, and practices on record keeping across a range of 12 European jurisdictions and the European Commission. It reveals an extremely weak legal infrastructure and hugely variable practice on record keeping, which is undermining the public’s right of access to information: it is impossible to obtain documents that do not exist. The report contains a comparative analysis of the of laws, guidelines, and practices as they relate to the creation and maintenance of information needed for participation and accountability. The direct consequence of the lack of clear-cut

Leave no trace: the right to information and the duty to documentHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:05+01:00

13 Dec 2016

Leave no trace? How to combat off the record government

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:57+01:00

[Article first published by Progressive Economy @ TASC] Dublin, 13 December 2016 - While historical archives are a rich part of our cultural heritage, there are many day-to-day reasons why we should care about how governments and public bodies currently make and keep records of their actions and decisions. At a very basic level, records and are vital for good administration and efficiency. Records – like minutes of meetings, briefing documents and memos – tell us what, where and when something was done and why a decision was made. Records also provide a ‘paper trail’ of evidence for accountability purposes,

Leave no trace? How to combat off the record governmentHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:57+01:00

5 Sep 2016

Record-keeping and timely publication of information are essential for meaningful participation Access Info tells Council of Europe

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:00+01:00

Madrid, 5 September 2016 – Access Info has submitted recommendations to the Council of Europe on how to improve its Draft guidelines for meaningful civil participation in political decision-making so as to ensure that records are kept and that there is timely publication of relevant documents. This recommendation comes after research across Europe by Access Info and partners revealed abysmal levels of record keeping. For example, of 21 decision-making processes in nine countries, for half of them (10) no minutes of meetings had been created. Similarly, the research found that for only four of 34 processes were documents submitted by

Record-keeping and timely publication of information are essential for meaningful participation Access Info tells Council of EuropeHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:00+01:00

8 Jul 2016

Post it-sized minutes of European Council meetings unacceptable says Access Info Europe

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:01+01:00

Madrid, 8 July 2016 – Access Info Europe has denounced the European Council’s recurrent lack of detail in its record-keeping, something highlighted by the shockingly minimalist minutes of the 17-18 March 2016 European Council meeting during which the so-called EU-Turkey “agreement” was concluded. The minutes of this significant meeting on the refugee crisis, which produced a controversial solution – many experts have raised doubts about its conformity with EU and international law – are so brief that they fit into a post it: “Post it-size accounts of high-level decision making about vital human rights issues are entirely unacceptable,” commented Helen

Post it-sized minutes of European Council meetings unacceptable says Access Info EuropeHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:01+01:00