Panel VI – Palaissaal – 23 June 2025, 16:15
“Exchange of Experienced Information Commissioners on Challenges and Best Practices”
Moderation
Caroline Maynard, Information Commissioner of Canada
Short Biography
Since her appointment as Information Commissioner of Canada in 2018, Caroline Maynard has advocated for an efficient and responsive access to information system while investigating thousands of complaints and pursuing litigation to enforce the law and uphold the right of access. Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Maynard worked as a lawyer and senior executive. She was the Interim Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the Military Grievances External Review Committee, where she also served as Director General of Operations and General Counsel for 11 years. Earlier in her career, she was Legal Counsel in the Office of the Judge Advocate General at National Defence and with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police External Review Committee. She also worked with the Canada Revenue Agency and in private practice.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Université de Sherbrooke and has been a member of the Quebec Bar since 1994. A native of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, she lives in the National Capital Region with her family.
Panelists
Sabina Aliyeva, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Short Biography
Sabina Aliyeva graduated the Law Faculty of Baku State University in 2000. In 2002 she obtained a Master's degree in State Law.
From 2009 to 2012, Sabina Aliyeva studied International Relations in the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and in 2016 she obtained a PhD in Law. She defended a thesis in International Law and Human Rights speciality.
Since 2000 Sabina Aliyeva has worked in the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan in different positions, since 2015 she has been the Deputy Head of the Office of the Constitutional Court.
On November 29, 2019, Sabina Aliyeva was elected as the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan by the Milli Mejlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Sabina Aliyeva is Vice President of the Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA). She is a member of the Board of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Ombudsman Association (OICOA).
Sabina Aliyeva has also been a member of the Organizing Committee of the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) which was held in Azerbaijan on 11-22 November in 2024.
Krenare Sogojeva Dërmaku, Commissioner of Information and Privacy of Kosovo
Short Biography
Krenare Sogojeva Dërmaku is the Commissioner for Information and Privacy. For more than a decade she has headed the Legal Department in the Ministry of Defense, while in the Office of the Prime Minister she has been the coordinator of the legislative roundtable at the Government Coordination Secretariat and Senior Legal Officer in the Legal Office.
As a law graduate in the University of Prishtina, with postgraduate studies in European law at the European College of Parma in Italy, she has a long experience in drafting, interpretation of laws and in providing legal advices, including knowledge in the field of human rights and the field of defense and security. Mrs. Sogojeva-Dermaku is married and has two children
Ahmed Ahid Rasheed, Information Commissioner, Information Commissioner’s Office, Republic of Maldives
Elizabeth Tydd, Australian Information Commissioner
Short Biography
Elizabeth Tydd took up the position of Australian Information Commissioner in August 2024 for a 5-year term.
Elizabeth is an experienced agency head and has occupied a number of statutory decision-making roles, including Information Commissioner, CEO of the NSW Information and Privacy Commission, Australian FOI Commissioner, Deputy President of the Workers Compensation Commission and Deputy Chairperson of the former Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.
Elizabeth has extensive regulatory and governance experience at an executive and board level in a range of jurisdictions and industries, including commercial, not for profit and public sector oversight.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the University of Technology Sydney, as well as postgraduate certificates in executive management and governance together with post graduate qualifications in leadership and policy from Harvard University. Elizabeth possesses expertise in digital government and has written extensively on this subject.