The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection ordered by a decision to the City Administration of Belgrade to inform the Network for Restitution in Serbia - Citizens Association for the Restitution of Confiscated Properties "Belgrade" in Belgrade within five days of the receipt of the decision whether it holds information or documents which show the number and outcomes of resolved cases relating to the sites included in the "Belgrade Waterfront" project and to send copies of those documents to the requester if it holds them.
The City Administration (the Secretariat for Legalization, to which the request was lawfully submitted) had the duty under the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance (Article 16, paragraph 1) to inform the requester within 15 days of the date of receipt of the request at the latest whether it holds the requested information and, if it holds such information, to send copies containing it to the requester or otherwise, if it finds that reasons stipulated by the law pertain, to pass a decision rejecting the request.
If something regarding the filed request was not clear, the Administration could have asked clarification from the requester in an additional, specified period and it could have also determine additional extended deadline for provision of information for justified reasons, which cannot be longer than 40 days according to the Law (Article 16, paragraph 3)
The City Administration did none of the above; it just ignored the request for information, thus committing and infringement identified and punishable by the law (Article 46, item 8), after which the Network for Restitution in Serbia filed a complaint with the Commissioner. Even when in connection with the complaint the Commissioner requested from the City Administration to at least try to explain the reasons for its actions (or rather failure to act), the City Administration provided no answer. Since the subject of the request is obviously and indisputably information which is legal and legitimate subject of interest not only of the Network for Restitution in Serbia, but also of the public in general, the Commissioner passed a decision ordering provision of the requested information. According to the law, (Article 28), Commissioner's decisions are final, binding and enforceable.
