Source: Blic
Reaction to the statement of the secret services’ first man
Ombudsman announces the first control of BIA by the end of January. Mesarovic: The High Council did not in writing or orally request from BIA, or ordered BIA or Ministry of Internal Affairs to deliver any data whatsoever.
Т. N. Djakovic
Security-Informing Agency did not have order from the High Judiciary Council for collecting data about judges during re-elections - said for „Blic“ Nata Mesarovic, Chairlady of the High Judiciary Council, after explanation of Sasa Vukadinovic, Manager of BIA, that the Agency collects data on persons of special importance for the state, and that data on judiciary authorities’ representatives available to it haven’t been abused and are not in the hands of unauthorized persons.
Rodoljub Sabic, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection says that this act of BIA is against Constitution and that the Agency does not have constitutional authorizations for that. Sasa Jankovic, the Ombudsman, has announced the first control of BIA by the end of January, during which this issue shall also be discussed.
- The High Council didn’t request from BIA either in writing or orally, or give the order to BIA or to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to deliver data on judges. We don’t have legal authority for that. It is well known based on whose order measures of eavesdropping and surveillance are applied, but that can not be based on the order by the High Council, because it would be completely unauthorized. We can not issue an order, because that would mean we have during the election of judges performed criminal acts. From the media I have found out that the Manager of BIA has stated that he gave data based on the request of the Ministry of Justice, but it was clear that the Minister of Justice didn’t ask for that, who is a member of the High Judiciary Council according to her position - says Mesarovic.
Rodoljub Sabic, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection says that not one law envisages a base for using data from BIA during re-election of holders of judiciary functions.
- From the legal aspect, the situation is completely clear on the Constitutional level. Based on Constitution, any personal data processing can be performed only on legal basis, and not on some other enactments of lesser legal power. As much as I know, not one law envisages strict basis for use of BIA data in the process of re-election of holders of judiciary functions - stated Sabic. He underlined that, independently from the issue of constitutionality of such an act, he does not know whether there is a by-law that would explicitly enable use of BIA data in the re-election procedure. He also added that after numerous media have by the end of the year transferred the statement of the Minister of Justice, Mrs. Snezana Malovic, that BIA data have been used for re-elections, he has immediately reacted and talked to the Minister. She has than, as stated for „Blic“, „offered assurances that the news is not true, that this is a misinterpretation of her statement, that is, that BIA data haven’t been used“.
Sabic says that it is not out of question that the issue shall be opened in a formal way in his office, because some of the complaints have been already publicly announced. Sasa Jankovic, the Ombudsman, Protector of the Citizens, says that he is absolutely intensively monitoring the events regarding judges’ re-elections, as well as that he fully trusts the steps undertook by the authority in charge for personal data protection - Rodoljub Sabic, as well as that he maintains daily contact with him.
- Many issues have been initiated in the expert and broader public by judges’ re-elections. One of them is – has BIA acted, that is, if its data have been used for judges’ re-elections – this has to do primarily with constitutional and legal provisions on personal data protection. If it would appear that personal data have been collected and processed without a legal base, than it would have to do also with the respect and exercising of the other guaranteed rights of candidates for positions of judges and prosecutors - quotes Jankovic.
He adds that the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection has every authority to sanction such data processing, if it existed, and for breach of other rights that would result from possible illegal collection and processing of personal data, like the breach of the right to work, other institutions are available, if necessary even the Citizens’ Protector - quotes Jankovic.
He announced that the Commissioner, if claims are sent to him, which have been publicly announced, would surely check if there was a legal base for BIA’s undertaking certain measures, and if the rights of judges have been violated, and if the data on them have been collected and used according to the law.
- That would be checked by the Commissioner, but that will also be one of the topics for my control visit to BIA by the end of month – Jankovic was strict.
Does he have a check mechanism or he would just believe to the word of BIA Manager?
The Ombudsman said that as a Protector of Citizens he is authorized to gain insight into all facts and data in order to pass an estimate about correctness of work, regardless of the degree of secrecy.
- No one in control is believed just if he says something, that isn’t control any more. The control is not an issue of trust or mistrust, but it’s the duty of the person performing control to determine facts, and the duty of the controlled subject is to present them, there is no vanity in it. Only in that way the citizens can know that someone, who is not responsible to the executive power is protecting them from abuses, even in the situations in which secrecy has to be secured – he quoted.
Boxed bold text: Jankovic: I also turned to the President
- Based on legal text strict penalties have been provided for illegal data processing. Responsibility shall, if existing, surely be determined, and the public informed. The question of method of judges’ election is crucial question for the state, public and the citizens of Serbia. I talked about that issue with the Chairlady of the Association of Judges of Serbia, Dragana Boljevic, but also with the President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, who also insists that claims of those who consider that their rights in the elections process have been violated must be checked. That, if necessary, would also be done by the Citizens’ Protector - says Sasa Jankovic.
