Withdrawing preposition of amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information and abandon dismissing of Commissioner for Information

Legal acrobatics directed to election of Commissioner for Information by any price, although there are no legal bases for that, yesterday reached peak with submitting the prepositions for amending the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance.

Members of Parliament that submitted this preposition concluded, on the basis of facts known only to them, that Constitutional Law obligates them to change precisely Law on Free Access to Information. That authority, they deduced from provision of Constitutional Law which ordains to harmonizing with Constitution laws by which “right to be informed” is regulated. This constitutional right doesn't exist by that name in domestic legislation. By content it includes at least two different types of right, out of which right to free access to information is only one.

However, in lack of any provision of this Law which should really be harmonized with Constitution, people's deputies – proposers of amendments to the law – reached for unneeded repeating of certain constitutional provisions.

For example, Law now reads that Commissioner is appointed and resolved by National Assembly. No mention on which majority is necessary because that is regulated by other regulations. Since the new Constitution that majority for election of Commissioner and for any other official elected by Parliament is 126 people's deputies. That means that both with changes and without changes of the Law, election and resolving of Commissioner would be performed in same way.

Second suggested addition refers to giving the Commissioner right to start challenge constitutionality of some act. All state organs by new Constitution have such powers. Since Commissioner is established as state organ, he possesses this power since establishing of Constitution, weather it was mentioned in law or not.

Therefore, today National Assembly, on a special seeting, discusses one preposition of law which is completely needless, only to gain allegedly legal bases for executing of one more unnecessary activity – election of Commissioner.

In that way uncertainty is brought into further work of current Commissioner for Information of Public Importance which was characterized with committed and politically impartial performing of that function. Also, by this act National Assembly creates itself considerably needless work although what really should be done has plenty. Namely, if from stated reasons this law changes, from the same reasons all laws by which other state organs were established should also be supplemented.

Because of that only reasonable solution is that people's deputies of ruling coalition should withdraw as soon as possible their preposition of amendments to the Law and to abandon intended dismissing or reelection of Commissioner. In that way they would maybe admit that they made a mistake, but at the same time they would give strong contribution to rule of law.

Belgrade Jun 7 th 2007 .

Coalition for free access to information:

Beogradski centar za ljudska prava, Beograd

Centar za mir i razvoj demokratije (CAA), Beograd

Centar za civilnu edukaciju, Vršac

Centar za unapređivanje pravnih studija, Beograd

Civilno udruženje Mađara u Srbiji – "Argus"

Fond za otvoreno društvo, Beograd

Forum Iuris, Novi Sad

Građanske inicijative, Beograd

Građanski savet opštine Kraljevo

Komitet pravnika za ljudska prava (Yucom), Beograd

Narodni parlament, Leskovac

Resurs centar, Negotin

Toplički centar za demokratiju i ljudska prava, Prokuplje

Transparentnost Srbija, Beograd

Udruženje građana "Sretenje", Požega