Tag: Jan Liebaers
New light on Bridger probe
(CNS): The decision from the Information Commissioner’s Office on Tuesday ordering the release of reports relating to Operation Tempura shed some new light on the ongoing RCIPS investigation into Martin Bridger, the former head of the discredited and controversial internal police probe. The details of why he has been on the RCIPS radar for more than […]
CoP blocked ICO probe into Tempura report
(CNS): The acting information commissioner has once again ordered a redacted release of the infamous Tempura report after reviewing the objections of the governor’s office, which has refused to release the documents for four years. In his latest ruling Jan Liebaers revealed further twists and turns by the authorities, including a U-turn by the police commissioner […]
Customs knows bulk fuel pricing mark-up
(CNS): The acting information commissioner has said that customs was right to refuse an FOI request and withhold information about the price bulk suppliers are paying for the fuel it imports into the Cayman Islands because lifting the lid would be a breach of confidence that would not be overridden by public interest. However, Jan Liebaers revealed that […]
Government transparency gets worse
(CNS): The average time it is taking for information managers to respond to freedom of information requests is not only getting longer but now falls outside the requirement of the law. On average it is taking 31 days for applicants to get a response regarding their applications, with more than 50% of all requests going […]
ICO to put procedure problems on fast track
(CNS): People making freedom of information requests are still frequently running into procedural difficulties with many public authorities, so the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is launching an initiative to fast track technical problems outside of the formal hearing process. As Right to Know Week gets underway, Jan Liebaers, the acting information commissioner, said that on many occasions delays, timeline overruns, […]
Reflections on Freedom of Information in the Cayman Islands
Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers writes: On September 28th the Cayman Islands joins more than 100 jurisdictions around the world in a celebration of the Right to Know. Thousands of people on all six continents use their access rights under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws to gain access to information that is important to them, […]
CIG is sending wrong message over FOI
(CNS): The failure of government to fill the information commissioner’s post, the comments from the premier about the frivolous nature of some FOI requests and plans to merge the office with a the complaints commission are just some of the issues that the acting commissioner feels are undermining the advancement of information transparency in government. […]
Disclosure ordered in dentist complaint FOI case
(CNS): Documents detailing complaints made against a dentist by three former employees should be released, the acting information commissioner has found in his latest decision over a disputed freedom of information request. The Department of Health Regulatory Services had withheld information following the dentist’s request about the complaints made against him on the basis that […]
FOI deputy confirmed as top job remains in limbo
(CNS): Jan Liebaers, who is currently acting as the information commissioner, has had his government contract renewed for another two years in his substantive post as deputy in the office that oversees the compliance of the open records law. But the recruitment of a new commissioner seems to have stalled as government continues to explore […]
FOI law needs protection
(CNS): As government makes plans to merge the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) with the Office of the Complaints Commissioner (OCC) and a new police complaints body under a super-ombudsman, the acting information commissioner has called for the protection of his office from unnecessary changes. Despite the regular problems that users of the FOI law encounter in […]
