Press Releases - Archive

Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection has sent a letter to the Protector of Citizens informing him about multiple violations of the law and the right to know by the Ministry of Economy regarding the request to make available to the public the Agreement on the Provision of Management Services between the Company "Zelezara Smederevo" and the Company "HPK Engineering".

Under the Ruling of the Commissioner dated 29 June 2015 the Ministry of Economy was to forward to the organization ''Transparency Serbia'' a copy of the Agreement on the Provision of Management and Consulting Services, entered into on 21 March 2015, between the Republic of Serbia, Company ''Zelezara Smederevo'' d.o.o, HPK MANAGEMENT d.o.o. from Belgrade and HPK ENGINEERING B.V. from Amsterdam, Holland, after having previously protected the personal data.

Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection received the representatives of the Citizens' Association "Truth - Tamara's Laws", which filed a complaint against the Republican Public Prosecutor's Office to the Commissioner due to the denial of the Prosecutor's Office to provide answers to a series of questions relating to the actions or failure to act in court cases related to the tragic incident in the discotheque Contrast in Novi Sad.

Representatives of the Association informed the Commissioner about their activities, and about their satisfaction due to the passing of the so called Tamara's Law after their three-year action and due to the conviction of some of those responsible for the tragedy; however, they also informed him of their absolute dissatisfaction with the absence of any kind of accountability of any of the officials, who were to control the installations and prevent the tragedy. This dissatisfaction had been the reason for referring a series of questions to the Republican Public Prosecutor's Office, and since they did not receive any answers they submitted a complaint to the Commissioner.

Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection has estimated that the deferral of the deadline for adoption of the necessary amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance (hereinafter: LFAIPI) for mid-2016 under the third draft Action Plan for Chapter 23 suggests a disturbing unwillingness to resolve long-outstanding problems.

Considering that the new deferral, which is one of who knows how many, could not have been agreed without the consent of Kori Udovicki, who is at the helm of the ministry which ''oversees the implementation of LFAIPI", the Commissioner, Rodoljub Sabic, has sent her a letter in which he expresses his inability to understand this decision, his dissatisfaction and concern.

Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection has sent a letter to the Government of the Republic of Serbia in which he warns of a worrying trend that the change in regulations from the departments of individual ministries lowers the right of access to information below the level prescribed by the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance (FOIA), which systemically regulates this matter. The Commissioner sent letters identical in content to the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government and to the Republic Secretariat for Legislation.