By sending a letter to almost a thousand addresses, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Rodoljub Šabić, reminded the state institutions and organizations with public responsibilities of their obligation to submit yearly reports to the Commissioner on the activities undertaken to implement the Law on the Free Access to Information of Public Importance.
In relation to that, the Commissioner stated the following:
“The obligation of submission of yearly reports to the Commissioner is outlined in Article 43 of the Law on the Free Access to Information of Public Importance. The deadline for submission of reports is January 20th, and they should contain as many information as possible in relation to the number and kinds of requests citizens and the media had filed for information access, as well as the measures undertaken by the authorities related to the publishing of a booklet containing information on the scope of work, the maintenance of information archives, employee training, etc. This data, which is an important element in evaluating the state of affairs in this field, and its analysis, will be a part of the yearly report which the Commissioner submits to the National Parliament.
The report by the Commissioner should contain as many elements as possible in order to provide the National Parliament and the general public with an objective evaluation of the state of affairs in relation to the fulfillment of rights to free information access. This evaluation is important for many things related to the transition process – the fight against corruption, the reform of state institutions, the use of more modern methods of work and communication, e-government, etc.
With an aim to have a report for the National Parliament that was as complete as possible, the Commissioner reminded the authorities each year of their obligation, which had led to an increase in the number of state subjects which fulfilled this obligation. Still, we cannot be fully satisfied, and that is why the Commissioner decided to do the same this year, despite the fact that this reminding should not have been necessary for quite some time. The authorities should set a good example. Failure to fulfill an obligation, no matter which law it stems from, leads to the crumbling of authority necessary for maintaining the law’s basic role – achieving the rule of law and bearing responsibility for law violation.
Failure to submit the report to the Commissioner is an offence, punishable by law. For these offences, very few people have been held accountable. The recent changes to the Law on the Free Access to Information of Public Importance should ensure a more efficient way of prosecuting these offenders. Starting from the fact that the responsibility for law violations should not be limited only to citizens, while the responsibility of the authorities is forgotten, the Commissioner will insist on confirming the aforementioned efficiency in practice.“
