Has any person authorised by a government body submitted Annual Report (for year 2004) on activities of that body taken so as to observe the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, in compliance with the Art. 43 of the Law, and, if so, which government body is in question?
Answer:
None government body up to now has submitted Annual Report set forth under the Art. 43 of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance.
From the point of exclusively formal view, it could be said that there was an obligation for the government bodies to submit such reports for year 2004, taking into account that the Law came into force last year, on 13 November, and that accordingly has been in force since 2004, at least for only one month and a half during that year.
It would not have been realistic to expect actually from the government bodies to answer to that formal obligation. The Law had been adopted without necessary preparations, there had been no interim period left for its application and time for appointment of competent persons, nor had been provided a number of prerequisites for its more quality application.
At the end of 2004, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia actually appointed a person responsible for executing the office of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, however, in practice, by 1 July even basic prerequisites for operation of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, as government body, had not been provided. Among other problems, he even didn't have his headquarters, i.e. address.
Due to all mentioned above, the question of presenting of the Report on Work set forth under the Art. 43 of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, as realistic one, shall be addressed upon termination of year 2005.
