FOI Act USA
Freedom of Information Act USA
FOIA was enacted in USA in sixties. There have been several revisions to the Act. Several provisions of RTI appear to be based on FOIA. The exemption section is very similar in the two countries. However there are key differences in the two. RTI applies to all of the Governments, including Central Government, State Governments, Municipalities and other local agencies. FOIA applies only to Federal Government and its agencies. RTI imposes penalties for failure to comply. FOIA has no provision for penalties. However FOIA allows attorney’s fees to requestor of information, if his/her case is upheld by courts. This works somewhat like a penalty. RTI mentions, time and again, that information that may be confidential, must still be disclosed if there is public benefit in doing so. FOIA generally does not take into consideration general public benefit. FOIA allows consideration of public benefit only if government deeds (or misdeeds) would be exposed by release of that information. Overall RTI is far more disclosure oriented then FOIA, in its depth and breadth.
FOIA The Law: This is the part of US Code which spells out the law FOIA 5 U.S.C.Section 552
American Bar Ass. This is a concise 11 page Word file. Summary FOIA
American Bar Ass: Excellent 97 pages analysis of FOIA prepared in 2001. Word File. Detailed Guide FOIA
Dept. of Justice Web Site: This web site has exhaustive discussion of all aspects of FOIA. It has analysis of almost all major court cases in this field. The purpose of this site appears to be, to help government attorneys and other officials answer requests for FOIA as well as defend cases filed against the government. The analysis is a little biased. It emphasizes those issues, in court cases, that help the government officials. DOJ FOIA GUIDE