Hungarian Civil Liberties Union www.tasz.hu
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Transcript Hungarian Civil Liberties Union www.tasz.hu
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
www.tasz.hu
Ádám Földes
Strategic Litigation in
Freedom of Information
Activities of HCLU
public advocacy
legal aid
litigation
Civil liberties
patients rights, reproductive rights, HIV/AIDS,
Hepatitis patients, psychiatric patients
Freedom of information, privacy
Drug policy
Aims
freedom of information can be an
instrument for the orgainzation’s
other issues,
but
lessons learned are also useful in
FOI for FOI
- challenge the exemptions
- test the current law
- help public advocacy of FOI
How to find the case?
the client comes in
the HCLU contacts the client
HCLU is the client
no client /class of clients cases
someone else has the client
the client comes in / HCLU contacts the client
– legal aid
− the legal problem is given / selection
− almost no planning
− the client is exposed
− weighty stories
− no control over the story/client
HCLU is the client
– planning
− the legal problem is chosen
− sometimes the HCLU employees are exposed
− divisive stories
− full control over the story
no client / class of clients cases
– extra-judicial cases: Parliamentary Commissioner,
Constitutional Court, other
− planning
− the legal problem is chosen
− less tangible ~ difficult to communicate
− no deadline ~ difficult to communicate
− full control over the story
someone else has the client
– no planning
− the legal problem is given / selection
− better impact
− more expertise
− cooperation or concurrence ?
− limited control over the story
Planning I.
time
Program of the Government
legislative plan of the Parliament
European Union legislation
international agreements
(for 4 years)
(for 6 months)
sources of issues
cases of the Parliamentary Commissioner
legal aid
media
legislation
Planning II.
window of opportunity
planned
evergreens
novelty
evergreens:
- rise & disappear
novelty:
- raise attention
unplanned
Outcomes I.
• good sentences of higher courts:
re-use & publicize
• bad sentences of higher courts:
re-interpret
media
publicize
widely used jurisprudence
re-interpret by legislation
Outcomes II. (lost cases)
lost-won cases
cement the interpretation
continue at Constituional Court,
international courts, etc.
Thank you for your attention!
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
www.tasz.hu
[email protected]