The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection marked two jubilees today in Belgrade, at the Metropol Palace Hotel – twenty years since the first adoption of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance in the Republic of Serbia, and fifteen years since the adoption of the law establishing the Commissioner’s competence in the field of personal data protection.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government – ​​Jelena Žarić Kovačević, the Deputy Ambassador of EU to Serbia – Plamena Halačeva, the Commissioner – Milan Marinović, the Deputy Commissioner – Sanja Unković, as well as Dominique Thierry – on behalf of the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

Minister Žarić Kovačević congratulated the institution of the Commissioner on its jubilee and recalled the importance of one of the first independent bodies of public administration.

“Today we mark twenty years of dedicated and sincere work on building a stable and independent institution of high trust and integrity, an institution that has rightfully earned the highest degree of trust of the citizens of Serbia, continuously working in their interest and wholeheartedly supporting the fundamental human right – the public's right to know, while constantly steering local public authorities to be open and transparent,” said the Minister.

The Deputy Ambassador of EU to Serbia, Plamena Halačeva, also addressed the gathering.

“This jubilee is not only an opportunity to celebrate the institutional successes of the Commissioner, but also a moment to reflect on the challenges we have faced and the work that lies ahead. We must acknowledge the many successes achieved — such as the Commissioner’s active role in enforcing the data protection law, efforts to combat unlawful personal data processing, and the resolution of thousands of complaints regarding citizens’ right to access information. However, we must also recognize areas where further progress is necessary. While the law has made significant progress in aligning the data protection framework in Serbia with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), gaps remain in implementing penalties for violations. These gaps highlight the importance of advocating for stronger sanctions and more robust enforcement mechanisms to secure complete protection of individual’s rights,” Halačeva stressed.

Commissioner Milan Marinović stressed that he is confident that in the time ahead, citizens’ awareness will be raised of who the Commissioner is, what his role is, and his importance for the human rights he protects.

“When you build a house, you need to maintain it and constantly invest in it so that it doesn’t dilapidate in its 20 years of existence. The same goes for institutions. If you don’t maintain and repair them, and actively work on their preservation and improvement, institutions, like houses, can dilapidate and completely collapse. Some have suffered that infamous fate. Fortunately, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection did not suffer a bad fate. At the time of my election to the position of Commissioner, at the end of July 2019, there were 84 employees in the Commissioner’s office, while today there are 122, with a tendency for the number of employees to reach over 150 by the end of next year,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Sanja Unković pointed out the importance of educating students, which the Commissioner's Office conducts through study programs at several faculties in the Republic of Serbia, but also the goal of raising awareness in the field of personal data protection through formal education of the youngest. She noted the importance of the Commissioner's regional offices in Novi Sad, Niš, and Kragujevac for bringing this institution closer to citizens outside Belgrade.

"In the personal data protection field, the institution has grown from a few cases per year to several thousand cases, from just a few to over 20 inspectors. Also, at the beginning of the institution's work, there were only a few in this field, but now the number of employees has increased to more than 40. In the past, a law degree was requisite for work in this Office but today knowledge of information technologies is also requisite due to the risks posed by artificial intelligence," concluded Unković.

Dominique Thierry emphasized that the Commissioner's activities are reflected not only in his contribution to personal data protection but also in the growth of trust in the institutions that protect such data. The institution of the Commissioner covers the rights on which the basic principles of work of the OSCE Mission to Serbia are based: the protection of human rights, the rule of law and trust in the work of public administration bodies.

The Commissioner expressed his gratitude for the assistance provided to now by international and domestic institutions, without which this institution couldn't function effectively.