Source: Danas
Belgrade - Republic Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry for Capital Investments are the only ones from the state institutions that haven't delivered the reports to the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance. In relation to the last year the number of reports on implementation of the Law on Information of Public Importance, submitted to the Commissioner by the state institutions, has doubled in relation to 2005, is underlined in the Annual Report of the Commissioner for Information of Public Imoprtance that has been delivered to the Assembly of Serbia. The Commissioner also points out to negative examples and problems in law implementation, and as the most prominent negative example states Safety Information Agency (Bezbednosno informativnu agenciju). As systemic problems, Sabic quoted the lack of functioning of the legal mechanism for monitoring the Law implementation, including the transgression liability. Sabic especially glimpsed on the lack of readiness of the Government to implement, when it is necessary, its legal obligation to provide for execution of the Commissioner's Decisions. - Just recently, the Ministry in charge has started transgression procedures and the first penalties have been declared. It is good that something is happening, but we would have difficulty in compensating for the damage made during two years we have missed - points out Sabic. He underlines that on the level of the Province obligations have been fulfilled by the Executive Council, Assembly and Secretariats, as well as that all four cities have delivered their reports. The worst situation is with the local self-government, where the report has been delivered by 53 percent, while in the last year 48 percent of the institutions did so. According to his words, bearing in mind that this is the third year of law application, this data is still worrisome.The Commissioner Sabic also states that it is obvious that the citizens throughout Serbia increasingly use the right of free access to information, as well as that the number of complaints from the citizens, journalists and non-governmental organizations has been increased because of denial of that right. He pointed out that during 2006 around 6,000 applications from citizens have been registered, which is three times more than a year before.
During the last year some 1,850 complaint cases have been processed, four times more than in 2005. So many cases have been resolved with difficulties, because the Commissioner's Service employed only six out of envisaged 21 employees. M. M.
