Source: Blic

Freedom of information includes of necessity both an active and a passive component.  The former, of course, implies an obligation of the government to grant proper treatment to all requests for free access to information submitted by citizens, journalists, media, NGOs, political parties - the public in general.  The latter, however, implies something more - an obligation for the government to provide the public with as much information as possible on what it does and how it does it before someone actually requests it. Even if the government complies with this second obligation (and it is well known how extremely problematic this can be in our country), it is not irrelevant how exactly it does that. Marshall McLuhan, a famous media theorist, rightly said that even the choice of media through which information is conveyed to someone is in fact very important information. 

Source: Borba

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance Mr. Rodoljub Sabic, requested of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) to put in the public domain reports on the sources, amount and structure of funding for campaigning for the presidential elections held at the beginning of the year and to submit them to the requesters.  

Source: Blic

Recently, the media have once again reported “interesting” news about the so-called “road mafia”. It was the news that some of the accused for organized robbery on highway toll booths, who had been suspended from work on that account, were reinstated by court order. The purported legal grounds for this were certain formal, procedural mistakes made by the legal department of the road utility company “Putevi Srbije” during the proceedings.  

Source: Borba

We cannot be satisfied with the effects of what has been achieved in legal and practical terms to create the necessary conditions for journalists and the media to perform their vital function in a way which would be far better suited to the standards and requirements of a democratic society. When exercising their rights under the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, journalists and the media often face problems that verge on the ludicrous. The complaints they increasingly lodge with the Commissioner show that they are denied even the information which the government, under the law and the criteria of a democratic society, owes to the wider public without specific requests. Information is denied without proper justification or by putting forth “grounds” the legitimacy of which is questionable, to say the least. 

Source: Danas

State Audit Institution exists since 2005, but only on paper

Personal attitude, Rodoljub Sabic

At this time last year our country had an extremely rare opportunity.  Early in May 2007 it was Serbia's turn to take over six-month presidency of the Council of Europe. The opportunity to preside the largest international organization of states after the UN, measured by the number of members, is something that happens once in about 25 years. Thus, it is very rare and therefore has great importance for every member state. And the delicate international position of our country increased the significance of the fact that the country presiding the Council of Europe takes the spotlight in the international public, which opens for it great opportunities to affirm its advantages and disperse with possible negative prejudices about it. 

Source: Danas

Belgrade - The Ombudsman, the State Audit Institution, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, the Committee to Prevent Conflict of Interest, the Public Procurement Administration and the Commission for Protection of Rights warned yesterday that the lack of basic working conditions puts a strain on their ability to perform their constitutional and legal powers and achieve the goal for which they were founded.