Access to public information in Croatia

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Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law. [1]

Contents

In the course of EU accession negotiations Croatia harmonised its media legislation to European standards. This process touched also legislation on access to public information which has been amended to reflect European and international standards. [2]

Croatia thus adopted its law on the Right of Access to Public Information in 2013, after a decade of advocacy, campaigns, and public discussions led by civil society organisations. [3] [4] However, despite the improvements of the legal framework regulating access to public information, problems remain in the implementation, especially for journalists willing to request and obtain information from the government. [2]

In Croatia, access to public information has become a constitutional right with the 2010 amendments of the Constitution. [5] It is regulated by the Law on the Right to Access Information adopted by the Croatian Parliament in 2013. The Law also regulates the re-use of information held by public authorities. The Law complies with the Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the re-use of public sector information and with Regulation 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. [6]

According to the Law, the right of access to information encompasses the right of the beneficiaries, i.e. any local or foreign natural person or legal entity, to seek and acquire information, as well as the obligation of public authorities to guarantee access to requested information, regardless of the request. [6]

The Croatian law on Access to public information is in informed by four principles:

Public bodies are obliged to publish on the Internet the following relevant information: laws and other regulations in their field of activity, including draft proposals of laws; general acts and decisions affecting the interests of beneficiaries; annual plans, programmes, strategies and financial reports referring to the work of public authority bodies; information on budget, financing sources and subsidies; information on their internal organisation; notes and conclusions from official sessions; information on public procurement and tenders; information on the way of exercising rights of access to and re-use of information, including contact details of the Information Commissioner and the fee required to access and re-use of information. [6]

For the purpose of ensuring the right of access to information, the Law establishes that public bodies are obliged to appoint an Information Commissioner, a special official in charge of resolving the issues emerging from the exercise of the right of access to information. Specifically, the Information Commissioner shall conduct the tasks connected to disclosure of public information in accordance with the Law, including providing the necessary assistance to applicants, improving the manner of processing, classification and safe-keeping of the information, and maintaining the Information Commissioner Register. [6]

Restrictions to the right of access to information

Public authority bodies may restrict access to information if:

Moreover, restrictions may be operated when there can be reasonable doubts that disclosing the requested information might prevent the efficiency, independence or impartiality of ongoing proceedings or the execution of court orders and sentence. [6]

Proportionality Test and Public Interest Test

The public authority body in charge of acting upon the request of access to information is obliged to conduct the Proportionality Interest Test in order to reach the decision about disclosure. Proportionality Test and Public Interest Test refer to the assessment of proportionality between reasons for granting access to information and reasons for imposing restrictions and granting access to information only when the public interest prevails. If, on the basis of the Test, the public interest prevails over the damage caused to other protected interests, the information shall be disclosed. [6]

Procedures

Public authorities are bound to grant access to information by timely publishing the information on their work in an accessible manner, i.e. on the webpage, or in the Official Gazette and the Central catalogue of officials documents of the Republic of Croatia, etc. Information can be provided directly, or in writing, or by giving insight into documents and making copies of the documents containing the requested information, or by delivering copies of the requested information. [6]

Applicants can submit the request either orally or in written form. The submitter of the request is not obliged to mention any reason for requesting access to information. [6]

Access to public information does not require paying any administrative and court fees. The beneficiaries might only be called to pay for the actual costs of providing the information requested. [6]

Authorities are obliged to issue their decisions within 15 days from the day of submitting a request. This deadline can be prolonged by other 15 days in case of complex requests (e.g. when the information must be sought outside the offices of the public authority concerned, when a single request contains a request for different information, or when the situation requires to conduct the Proportionality Test and Public Interest Test, etc.) [6]

If the public authority does not hold the information, it is obliged to transfer the request to the body that might have it and notify the submitter thereof. [6]

Right to appeal

Against the Decision taken by the public authority, the applicant may file a Complaint to the Commissioner within 15 days since the Decision has been delivered.

No complaint may be filed against the decision issued by the Commission, but an administrative dispute may be initiated before the High Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia. [6]

Re-use of information

The Croatian law on access to public information regulates also the right to re-use information for commercial or non-commercial purposes. [6]

Access to public information in practice

The Croatian law on access to public information is quite advanced and in line with international standards and best practices. However, in the country a culture of secrecy persists. [7] and the law, by itself, has not changed this and so far it has not raised the level of general transparency in Croatian society and institutions. [4] [7]

One of the main problem affecting the realization of the right of access to public information is the lack of adequate resources allocated to the office of the Commissioner. According to the 2015 Report on the implementation of the law presented to the Parliament, an increase in the resources for the functioning of the Commissioner’s Office if compared with previous years, they are still too limited to allow for the full application of the law. Over the course of 2015, the number of cases dealt with by the Commissioner’s Office has increased. However, the report showed that, due to a lack of staff and resources, not all the complaints received during 2015 have been solved by the Commissioner’s Office. [8]

Another problem concerns the limited application of proactive disclosure, which - according to the Commissioner Anamarija Musa - together with re-use of information, a milestone of access to public information in the 21st century. [8] Also, according to Commissioner Musa, the implementation of the law is particularly problematic at regional and local level and when it comes to requesting information to private entities providing a public service or to enterprises where the state holds the majority of capital shares. [8] Moreover, Commissioner Musa deems particularly concerning the fact that access to public information requests are regularly ignored, so that the two thirds of the overall complaints received by the Commissioner are caused by this reason. [8]

Imamo pravo znati (“We have right to know”) platform

In Croatia, the web platform imamopravoznati.org, developed using the Alavetely software, has been launched to facilitate citizens' exercise of the right of access to public information. It allows to submit requests for public information to Croatian public authorities, and track their answers. Historic requests, any correspondence between the applicant and public authorities, are archived and publicly online. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfaction with the secrecy surrounding government policy development and decision making. In recent years Access to Information Act has also been used. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions. Also variously referred to as open records, or sunshine laws, governments are typically bound by a duty to publish and promote openness. In many countries there are constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information, but these are usually unused if specific support legislation does not exist. Additionally, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 has a target to ensure public access to information and the protection of fundamental freedoms as a means to ensure accountable, inclusive and just institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of Information Act 2000</span> Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level. Its application is limited in Scotland to UK Government offices located in Scotland. The Act implements a manifesto commitment of the Labour Party in the 1997 general election, developed by David Clark as a 1997 White Paper. The final version of the Act was criticised by freedom of information campaigners as a diluted form of what had been proposed in the White Paper. The full provisions of the act came into force on 1 January 2005. The Act was the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor's Department. However, freedom of information policy is now the responsibility of the Cabinet Office. The Act led to the renaming of the Data Protection Commissioner, who is now known as the Information Commissioner. The Office of the Information Commissioner oversees the operation of the Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Access to public information in Serbia</span>

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Transparency of media ownership refers to the public availability of accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information about media ownership structures to make possible for media authority and the wider public to ascertain who effectively owns and controls the media. Between 2011 and 2012, following some concerns on opaque activities which accompanied the process of privatisation of the media in Croatia, the government initiated the reform of the law on transparency of media ownership with the aim to avoid the concealment of information on media ownership structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Access to public information in Europe</span> Public access to information maintained by government agencies in Europe

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right to access information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people's participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right to access public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law. Access to public information builds on the principle that in a democratic system people should be in the condition of accessing a wide range of information in order to effectively participate in public life as well as on matters affecting them.

Transparency of media ownership refers to the public availability of accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information about media ownership structures to make possible for media authorities and the wider public to ascertain who effectively owns and controls the media. According to the expert Nelly Ognyanova, lack of transparency in media ownership is one of the major problem in the media system in Bulgaria. In Bulgaria there are specific provisions concerning print, electronic media and broadcast media. The relevant law, in particular the Law on Radio and Television and the Law on Mandatory Deposition of Press and Other Works, requires the submission of data identifying the actual owners of electronic and print media and online registers are available to the public. Also, a law imposing restrictions on offshore companies to acquire shares and assets in different fields including the media sector, entered into force in 2014. In addition, under Bulgarian law, media are obliged to provide information about ownership upon request in conformity with the provisions set forth in the Law on Access to Public Information. Despite the existence of these legal transparency obligations, there are several problems concerning, on one side the application of the rules, on the other, the requirements themselves, which are not enough effective in ensuring the disclosure of the actual owners. Also, legal requirements are constantly circumvented and sanctions usually not applied. Moreover, according to experts, the law should not be limited to obligations concerning the ownership, but expand its scope to examine the origin of funding of media outlets as well. Overall, despite recent legislative changes, some loopholes remain, allowing non-transparency as regards to media ownership and funding and making possible to circumvent the law and conceal who the true owners of the media are. According to expert Ognyanova, there are several ways of circumventing the legal requirements: one example is the case of Krasikir Gergov, a former agent of the Communist-era State Security services and owner of advertising agencies that, while acting in the guise of a “consultant”, actually had a share of the ownership and a contract allowing him to exercise control over the newsroom of a media outlet in Bulgaria. According to Professor Georgi Lozanov, a former member of the Council for Electronic Media, the introduction of the Access to Information Law could help in making more transparent the media sector, in particular media ownership and sources of funds which are largely opaque in Bulgaria. "There is no transparency of media capital whatsoever and one never knows what the real situation is [...]. The introduction of the Access to Information Act [...] represented an attempt at bringing the media to supply information about the sources and funds. Because, if you set up a media outlet and sell a product which is directly related to freedom of speech, it is normal to be able to track the business from the very beginning, thai is, to track the genealogy of the message in the business sense", remarked Professor Lozanov.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right to access information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right to access public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law. Access to public information builds on the principle that in a democratic system people should be in the condition of accessing a wide range of information in order to effectively participate in public life as well as on matters affecting them.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right to access information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right to access public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right to access information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right to access public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right to access information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right to access public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right to access information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right to access public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

References

  1. ↑ Freedom of Information, UNESCO. Retrieved2016-10-16.
  2. 1 2 "Media Freedom in Croatia (2006-2016)". Kas.de. KAS Media Program South East Europe. 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Croatia. Freedom of the Press 2015". Freedomhouse.org. Freedom House. 2015. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 ""I can't say it raised the level of general transparency"". Ecpmf.eu. European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  5. ↑ Nives Miošić; Duje Prkut (July 2012). "Access to information in Croatia: Exercise of a Constitutional Right in an Institutional Culture of Secrecy" (PDF). GONG Policy Research Center. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Law on the Right of Access to Information". Revizija.hr. Republic of Croatia. State Audit Office. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Journalists celebrate Freedom of Information: Croatia". Mysociety.org. mySociety. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Gabrić, Toni (14 February 2017). "Croazia: al di sopra dell'opinione pubblica". Balcanicaucaso.org (in Italian). Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa. Retrieved 14 February 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ "Imamo pravo znati". Imamopravoznati.org. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
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