The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection was addressed by a number of journalists with questions or requests for clarification regarding the announcement of the Ministry of Defense about the work of the Commission set up to determine responsibility for the crash of the helicopter, as well as in connection with the finding of the Commission itself.

The Commissioner for Information is not familiar with the contents of the finding of the Commission. The Commissioner did not have access to the contents of the findings for what, after all, there was no reason, since he accesses specific documents when he conducts procedures acting upon complaints.

Even if he had access to the contents of the findings of the Commission, the Commissioner would not comment it at this stage, since there is a possibility that some of the media, journalists, NGOs, citizens, etc. can lodge a complaint with him in due course, so that such a comment could possibly be assessed as prejudging.

The Commissioner, however, must remind of some relevant legal facts. The public's right to know, namely the right of access to information on the work of an authority is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia. This right is exercised in the manner established by the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, which expressly states the following (Art. 8): "The rights under this Law may be exceptionally subjected to limitations prescribed by this Law if that is necessary in a democratic society in order to prevent a serious violation of an overriding interest based on the Constitution or law." The law, of course, provides for the circumstances in which the exercise of the rights of the public may be limited, but this limitation is justified and legally possible only under conditions specified by law. The public's right to know may not be restricted by any by-laws. In this regard, the reference made to the "Instruction on classification, reporting, recording and analysis of extraordinary events in the Ministry of Defense and the Army of Serbia" is legally untenable, as well as any basis for limiting the rights established and governed by law.