The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance Rodoljub Šabić has sent to the addresses of almost a thousand of authorities and organizations vested with public authorizations, a written warning regarding their obligation to deliver to the Commissioner for Information a Report on Activities Implemented in order to Implement the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance. The Reports from those authorities and organizations should serve as a basis for compilation of the Annual Law Implementation Report, which the Commissioner delivers each and every year to the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.
In relation to that, the Commissioner Rodoljub Šabić also stated the following:
„After four years of validity of a certain law, it should be excessive to remind anyone, especially the bodies in power of the obligations that they have, based on that law. However, having in mind unfortunately evident lack of discipline of the bodies in power towards their own obligations, as well as the need to present the state of affairs in this field to the National Assembly in the most complete way, I considered it adequate to once again remind the bodies in power of the obligation to deliver reports with relevant information about the number and contents of the submitted requests for free access to information, about the way of treating them, about number and reasons for complaints against the proceedings or enactments in which the information have been declined, about collected compensations for execution of the right to freely access information and primarily, about measures undertook in relation to publishing the Information Booklet and training of the employees for qualitative execution of their legal obligations.
I don't want to prejudice the contents of the Report, or to be pessimistic, but I think that, although it shall as each year certainly confirm a certain progress, it won't give many reasons for satisfaction. This especially pertains to the obligation to publish the Work Information Booklet determined in Article 39 of the Law on Free Access to Information, further developed by the Instruction to Publish Information Booklet about the State Authority Work, which I as a Commissioner have passed, based on my legal authorizations.
Even if there wasn't legally explicit obligation to publish the Work Information Booklet, the bodies in power, as well as the subjects with public authorizations or property, should try to offer to public, on a proactive basis, and not waiting for someone to request it specifically, an increasing number of relevant, updated information about their own work. Unfortunately, many of them do not fulfill even their strict legal obligation, and the great majority of those whose Work Information Booklet has been published are not updating them, and in the Work Information Booklets there are as a rule lacking, or are rarely found information that are most often topic of public interest. Due to that we as a society have been deprived of strong control mechanism, efficient in fight against abuses and corruption, what the public represents in the majority of democratic societies. Besides that, the public comes to the information which it indisputably has the right to have, just after clashing, almost scandalous situations. Damage from this is big and evident.
Publishing of the Work Information Booklet is explicit legal obligation. Infringement sanction has been envisaged for failure in fulfilling that obligation. It is high time that the authorities should start treating their obligations in a correct way, which is otherwise requested from the citizens. And it is high time that the Government of Serbia shall activate supervising mechanisms in the necessary scope and capacity that would besides else secure that those infringing the Law on Free Access to Information and who disrespect constitutionally and legally guaranteed rights of the public shall become responsible for that."
