The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance has talked today with the experts from the European Agency for Reconstruction about some specific problems regarding the protection of personal information. It was agreed that the passage of a new law, harmonised with European standards, followed by the establishment of an efficient mechanism of personal data protection should be some of the priorities of the new Government.
On this occasion, Commissioner Sabic said, “Personal data protection is quite an acute problem, whose solving is obviously lagging behind. This is not only about the need to pass a law but it is also about the establishment of a really efficient mechanism that will enable the exercising of this right. We need the right solution. Some time ago, in 1998, Serbia passed the Law on Personal Data Protection that, from the aspect of its basic principles, was near the then dominant European standards, but it was not truly effective in practice.
It is no coincidence that the latest Report of the EU Commission states that the personal data protection exists in Serbia only in theory, but not in practice. The right to the protection of personal information is guaranteed under the new Constitution and it is a real shame that the constitutional law does no deal with this matter. The postponement can drag forever, which is a serious oversight and something that should definitely be dealt with.
The events indicating the escalation of the problem should not be ignored either. A typical example is the postponed application of the new law on biometric IDs equipped with electronic chips and the dilemmas and misunderstandings arising from it. From the aspect of the personal data protection, the field of public health protection and the data obtained in the course of medical treatment is another rather delicate matter that was discussed in the meeting today.
However, what is encouraging is the fact that Serbia could count on the expert assistance in creating prerequisites for the establishment of efficient protection of personal information. This, together with the fact that the assistance is being offered from various international institutions and the fact that the bills proposing serious normative and other solutions have already been prepared by our experts, shows that the problem can be resolved provided there is a political will to do it.“
