The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection,  Rodoljub Sabic, talked today with Lisa Soto, one of the most renowned American and global Lawyers specializing in the field of Protecting Data Privacy and Safety, and the Chair Lady of the Advisory Committee for Integrity and Protection of Data Privacy in the USA Homeland Security Department.

Visit of the American Expert has been implemented by the Commissioner in cooperation and with USAID assistance, in order to secure the necessary continuous and quality education of our staff about many open data protection issues. Evaluating the visit and the engagement of Lisa Soto as very useful, especially her participation in the work of adequate seminar for education of staff from those authorities in our country in the activities of which personal data protection has special importance, the Commissioner Rodoljub Sabic also stated as follows:

„As the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, I continuously warn that we as a state, regarding personal data protection are facing very serious problems. We are practically right at the beginning, with big backlog even in relation to many neighboring countries. We have to change that situation.

We have to do many things on a normative level, primarily by passing a series of new legal and solutions on the level of by-laws.

We also have to do much in creating presumptions for supervision over implementing new data protection standards, that is, on creating both normative authorizations as well as staff-related ones, logistics and other resources for acting of the Commissioner's institution in this field.

However, we should probably do the most in education. Education, of both the widest circles of citizens, and also specifically of the people working in institutions the activity of which understands intensive, robust or delicate personal data processing.

The seminar which the Commissioner is organizing in cooperation with the USAID and where besides Ms. Lisa Soto shall also participate my colleague, Slovenian Commissioner for Information, Natasa Pirc-Musar, who is also undisputable expert authority in the European circles, is dedicated primarily to the people from structures like Ministry of Internal Affairs, BIA (Security-Information Agency), VBA (Military Security Agency), Prosecutor's Office, Ombudsman's office, etc. I am assured that the Seminar would be useful step on a long road ahead of us. I would try to secure, in the same manner, numerous similar other seminars. But I stress that the education should not be brought down just to the activities of the Commissioner's organization. It is the obligation of all authorities in power to continuously educate the staff with whom they work, and to train them for implementing new standards we include in our legal order."