27. 10. 2004

WHAT DOES THE INFORMATION ACT PROMISE?

BELGRADE, October 27, 2004 (B92) - The Serbian Parliament yesterday continued debate on the Free Access to Information Bill. The adoption of this legislation will bring Serbia closer to European practices in the fight against corruption, because it provides for the right of citizens to demand that the state authorities provide any information, which is of public interest. Dejan Milenkovic, of the Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights, one of the organisations involved in drafting the bill, says that members of the public will be able to obtain a wide range of information from local government, state bodies, public companies and institutions once the act is adopted. The legislation will also give citizens the right to obtain information which is only relevant to them, in addition to what they are able to learn from the media. "Citizens can obtain information about the way in which contributed for the construction of local waters supply systems are spent, how the tuition fee is established in particular university faculties, whether their municipality is planning the construction of new playgrounds and so on. They can also obtain even more important information, such as whether the mayor has used an official vehicle for private purposes, at the expense of the taxpayer, who travelled to the Olympic Games in Athens at the state's expense, or whether, and for what reasons, the Serbian president and the chief of the General Staff of the Serbia-Montenegro Army have met, and so on," Milenkovic added. There are, however, certain limitations on access to information. For example, information on criminal proceedings, information regarding the security and health of individuals and information on international relations may not be made available to the public. Members of the public must submit written requests to the appropriate state body for information. The new law requires that a reply to such demands must be made within fifteen days.