On request of the Beta Agency to comment on what he expects would happen further in connection with denial of documents in the case of the Health Centre "Studenica" Kraljevo, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Rodoljub Sabic said the following:

"As regards the case of the Health Centre "Studenica" Kraljevo, I expect it will be ended in the near future in the only possible way - by giving copies of requested documents to the husband of the late Andjelka Popovic according to the order of the Commissioner for Information.

I spoke yesterday about that case with the Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic and he guaranteed he would personally see to it. It is commendable he would do it, but it is really absurd that so much energy has to be spent in order to enable a quite normal thing, to ensure exercise of the right set by a bounding decision of a competent authority to a citizen.

I would like to emphasize that this is one more case which indicates two important things in a characteristic way.

First, we often witness examples of disregard of government officials' responsibilities towards citizens and the public. It is necessary to introduce more stringent liability for public authorities' failure to meet their duties. It is hypocritical and unacceptable to turn the citizens into scapegoats on whom the principle of lawfulness, discipline and strictness will be enforced by the Government which does not fulfil its duties.

Second, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of the duty of public authorities and their employees to train themselves, to learn and to educate themselves for the implementation of new democratic, European legal standards which are becoming part of our lives with new laws. It is necessary because we cannot expect the implementation of European standards to be provided by human resources whose notions of human rights or secrecy are at the level of the first half of the previous century."