International news

Ireland - Eighth Report by the Minister for Finance on Freedom of Information January - December 2005 (PDF)

"The statistics show continuing intensive usage of the FOI Act. At end 2005, some 107,600 FOI requests had been received by public bodies. Approximately 72% of these have been granted either in full or in part, 8% were the subject of an internal review and 3% were appealed to the Information Commissioner. Over 14,600 requests were received by public bodies last year, an increase of 16% on 2004. 82% of requests were made by members of the public, business users accounted for 5.5% of requests with journalists accounting for 6.5%. Members of staff of public bodies account for 5%. The remaining 1% of requests were submitted by public representatives."

Canada - Blank v. Canada (Minister of Justice), 2006 SCC 39
The Globe and Mail - Top court ruling opens door to information
"he Supreme Court of Canada struck an important blow in favour of freedom of information and the right to pursue a lawsuit yesterday, opening up a potential gold mine of information to future litigants. The 5-2 judgment was sweet vindication for a Winnipeg man who has spent 10 years battling the government for files it had suppressed relating to his prosecution on environmental offences."