Cayman Islands Passes Freedom of Information Law

It would appear that the Cayman Islands has just passed a Freedom of Information Act, and not only is there the letter of the law but their implementation plan would indicate that there is also an intention to fulfill the spirit of the law as well.

“The law becomes effective on 1 January 2009. This 14-month roll out period is aimed at ensuring that all government departments are prepared to respond to requests for information from the public.

“The timeline that has been set out is what is thought of, at this point and time, as a practical timeline,” Tibbetts said as he explained the reason for the 14-month span between passage of the bill and its coming into effect. “We don’t want to simply rush the date for putting it into effect, and then we have a dissatisfied public.””

We in the Margin support his on general principles and we also would ask both parties in Barbados to implement such a law. I believe this has been a regular feature of political manifestos on both sides of the house however it does seem to be one of those items (like a second TV station) that falls between the cracks.

Marginal