Hungarian Civil Liberties Union Hungarian Civil Liberties Union Ádám Földes Strategic Litigation in Freedom of Information

public advocacy Activities of HCLU 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

 the client comes in  the HCLU contacts the client  HCLU is the client  no client /class of clients cases  someone else has the client How to find the case?

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 (for 4 years)  legislative plan of the Parliament (for 6 months)  European Union legislation  international agreements sources of issues  cases of the Parliamentary Commissioner  legal aid  media  legislation

Planning II. evergreens: - rise & disappear novelty: - raise attention window of opportunity window of opportunity plannedunplanned evergreens novelty

Outcomes I. good sentences of higher courts: re-use & publicize bad sentences of higher courts: re-interpretpublicize mediawidely 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