2004 freedominfo.org Global Survey Results - Czech Republic
Text from the freedominfo.org Global Survey: Freedom of Information and Access to Government Records Around the World, by David Banisar (updated 12 May 2004)

The 1993 Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms provides for a right to information. (1) Article 17 states: (1) Freedom of expression and the right to information are guaranteed. (2) Everybody has the right to express freely his or her opinion by word, in writing, in the press, in pictures or in any other form, as well as freely to seek, receive and disseminate ideas and information irrespective of the frontiers of the State. (3) Censorship is not permitted. (4) The freedom of expression and the right to seek and disseminate information may be limited by law in the case of measures essential in a democratic society for protecting the rights and freedoms of others, the security of the State, public security, public health, and morality. (5) Organs of the State and of local self-government shall provide in an appropriate manner information on their activity. The conditions and the form of implementation of this duty shall be set by law.

The Law on Free Access to Information was adopted in May 1999 and went into effect on January 1, 2000. (2) The law allows any natural or legal person to access information held by State authorities, communal bodies and private institutions managing public funds. Requests can be made in writing or orally. The public bodies are required to respond to requests within 15 days.

There are exemptions for classified information, privacy, business secrets, internal processes of a government body, information collected for a decision that has not yet been made, intellectual property, criminal investigations, activities of the courts, and activities of the intelligence services. Fees can be demanded for costs related to searching for information, making copies and sending information.

Appeals are made to the superior body in the state authority concerned, which must decide in 15 days. An "exposition" can be filled when a central state body rejects an information request. The decision can then be appealed to a court under a separate law. NGO Otevrená Spolecnost is currently seeking a decision of the Highest Administrative Court to force the government to release copies of all FOI decisions nationwide.

Public bodies must also publish information about their structure and procedures as well as annual reports of their information-disclosure activities.

The NGO Otevrená Spolecnost's Right to Information Project conducted studies in 2001 and 2002 and found that citizens have obtained access in a majority of cases and the authorities have not been overwhelmed by requests. (3) It also found a number of problems including excessive fees being imposed, the overuse of commercial secrets and data protection as justifications for withholding, unjustified denials by agencies that claim that they are not subject to the act or simply ignore the law, and a failure of agencies to provide segregable information. Amendments to the law were debated in the Senate in 2002 but were not adopted.

The Protection of Classified Information Act was approved in May 1998 as part of the Czech Republic's entry into NATO. (4) It sets 28 types of information that can be classified into four levels of classification. The Constitutional Court ruled in June 2002 that some provisions were unconstitutional because they did not provide for judicial review and the law was amended. (5) The Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (UDV) is in charge of security checks.

In April 1996, Parliament approved a law that allows any Czech citizen to obtain his or her file created by the communist-era secret police (StB). (6) The law placed the Interior Ministry's Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism (UDV) in charge of the files. (7) 3,000 people accessed their files between 1996 and 2002. (8) The Interior Ministry was estimated to hold 60,000 records but it is believed that many more were destroyed in 1989. In March 2002, President Havel signed legislation expanding access to the police files of the communist regime. (9) Now any Czech citizen over 18 years old can access nearly any file. President Havel said the need for truth prevailed over the risks of releasing information. (10) The government published a list of 75,000 StB collaborators in 2003 on the Ministry of Interior's website. (11)

The 2000 Data Protection Act allows individuals to access and correct their personal information held by public and private bodies. (12) It is enforced by the Office for Personal Data Protection. (13)

The Czech Republic signed the Aarhus Convention in June 1998 but has not yet ratified it. Law No 123/1998 on the right to information on the environment requires that public bodies disclose information on environmental matters. (14)

Notes

1. Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. http://www.psp.cz/cgi-bin/eng/docs/laws/listina.html

2. Law Dated 11 May 1999 On free access to information, 106/1999 Coll. http://www.aitel.hist.no/~walterk/wkeim/files/foia-czech.htm

3. See Open Society, b.a., Free Access to Information in the Czech Republic, August 2002. http://www.otevrete.cz/index.php?id=142&akce=clanek

4. Act 148/1998 dated 11 June 1998 on Protection of Classified Information and on Amendment to Certain Acts. http://www.nbu.cz/en/act148.php Most recently amended by Act No. 310/2002 Coll. Regulation 348/2002 concerning Security Eligibility of Individuals, July 22, 2002. http://www.nbu.cz/angl/regulation.html

5. Finding No. 322/2001 Coll.

6. Act N. 140/1996 Coll. of 26 April 1996 on Disclosure of Files Established by Activities of the Former State Security Force. See Former Secret Police Files Will Be Open to Public. http://www.mzv.cz/washington/newslet/c09-1296.htm

7. Homepage: http://www.mvcr.cz/policie/udv/english/

8. RFE/RL, Czech Republic: Bill Would Open Communist Secret Police Files To General Public, 13 February 2002.

9. Act 107/2002 amending Act No. 140/1996 Coll. on providing access to volumes created within the activities of the former State Security, and some other Acts.

10. RFE/RL, March 15, 2002.

11. Radio Prague, Czechs wait thirteen years for official names of secret police collaborators, 24 March 2003. http://www.radio.cz/en/article/38934

12. Act of 4 April 2000 on Protection of the Personal Data, http://www.uoou.cz/eng/101_2000.php3

13. Web Site: http://www.uoou.cz/eng/index.php3

14. Law No. 123 /1998 on Access to Information on the Environment, of May 13, 1998. http://www.eel.nl/countries/czech_act.htm