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5
November 2004
Serbian
Parliament Adopts Access Law
The Serbian National Assembly, in its Plenary Session on
November 2, 2004, adopted the Law on Free Access to Information
of Public Importance. The Law will enter into force eight
days after its publication in the Official Gazette of Serbia.
The
Law establishes the right of free access to information
in the possession of public authorities (state organs at
all levels, as well as legal persons established and financed
wholly or mostly by state organs) to all without discrimination
and regardless of intended use. Government agencies are
to respond to applications for information "without
delay" and within a maximum of 15 days. For issues
regarding the protection of life, personal freedom, or threats
against public health or the environment, the deadline is
48 hours. The Law also envisages exceptional circumstances
under which state organs are not obliged to release information.
As
it now stands, the new law has both strengths and weaknesses.
On the positive side, the Law establishes a new, sui
generis institution, the Commissioner for Information
of Public Importance, as an independent, second-level appeal
instance. A majority of parliamentarians understood the
need for a strong, independent, second-level appeal instance
in the shape of the Commissioner, even if it was not envisaged
in the current Serbian institution. Free access to information
will be better granted and protected by a new special institution
that, according to the Law, has the right and the obligation
to promote and enhance free access to information in practice
and to assist all state organs in carrying out their new
responsibilities. The main "battle" during discussion
was between those in favor of such a new institution and
those who opposed it on constitutional grounds.
The
main weakness of the Law is that it does not allow an applicant
to file a complaint against the decisions of high-level
authorities: the President of the Republic, the National
Assembly, the Government, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional
Court and the Office of the Republican Prosecutor. However,
in such cases an administrative dispute may be filed. The
amendment that was intended to solve this problem was unanimously
adopted within parliamentary commissions, but has not received
enough votes during the Plenary Session.
However,
the main challenge will be in the Law's implementation.
The Coalition of NGOs for Free Access to Information will
monitor the implementation of the Law during 2005 as a pilot
project of the Fund for an Open Society, Serbia. It is expected
that future efforts will result in a better understanding
of the Law's potential and address its apparent weaknesses.
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