The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Rodoljub Sabic has forwarded a formal initiative to the Ombudsman of the Republic of Serbia today suggesting that the Ombudsman, in accordance with constitutional authority to propose to the Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information Bill an amendment in the function of protection of insiders.
The Commissioner estimates that, from the aspect of human rights and also from the aspect of fight against corruption, it is very important that the people who have opposed formal and informal rules on protection of secrets in order to protect public interest have a guarantee that they can not bear any negative consequences because of that.
The Commissioner deems that the absence of provisions on protection of insiders is a serious drawback of the Bill which the Government has recently forwarded to the National Assembly and he is certain that the Ombudsman will accept this initiative and submit an appropriate amendment.
In view of this, the Commissioner Rodoljub Sabic has said the following:
‘'In our country, people who, opposite to formal and informal rules, make available to the public certain ‘'classified'' information on abuses, criminal and corruption in order to protect public interests, are often inadmissibly faced with very unpleasant consequences.
They are exposed to various inconveniences, disciplinary procedures, and they even lose their jobs.
Fair attitude towards human rights, reasons of equity as well as the reasons of more effective fight against criminal and corruption indicate the necessity to give a legal guarantee to these people, the insiders, or the whistle blowers, as they are more and more often called in the world, that they will not bear any undeserved consequences.
Finally, apart from the above mentioned reasons, one should consider the performance of obligations which we as a state are formally undertaking at the international level. In view of this, I would like to remind that our obligation to protect the whistle blowers is set under the UN Convention against Corruption, Civil Law Convention on Corruption, as well as under one of the binding GRECO recommendations.
Starting from the afore mentioned I am certain ton personal data protection in relation to automatic data processing hat the Ombudsman will accept my initiative and submit the appropriate amendment, and I wish to believe that the MPs will adopt it when the time comes.''
