* Translation of some legal DOCUMENTS, presented in Documentation Annex was made by, or
in consultation with OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro - legal translation unit.
This book is a part of the project Promoting Democracy and Preventing Corruption
implemented with the support from Westminster Foundation for Democracy. The
stated views belong to the authors and do not necessarily present the opinions of
Westminster Foundation for Democracy.
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Conflict of Public and Private Interest and Free Access to Information
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publication (in PDF format, 304 kB)
Publisher: Transparency Serbia
Project Manager: Vladimir Goati Ph.D.
Author: Nemanja Nenadic
Translators: Nebojsa Naumovic, Olivera Ristanovic
Content:
Preface
Conflict of Public and Private Interest
Free Access to Information
Results of Field Research
Conflict of Interest
Free Access to Information
What are Citizens Prepared to Do?
Summary
Preface
In much the same fashion as other transition countries in
the region, Serbia is facing tremendous challenges during its transition
period. Even when the government is seen to be
doing the "right thing", the success of the reforms to a large
extent depends on whether the citizens believe that the adopted measures
are justified. Naturally, if the significant part of the public sees the
democratic institutions as corrupt, that trust is going to be eroded.
Therefore, the Transparency International believes that
the government should win
the public support by:
1) Ensuring that the citizens and the MEDIA have easy access
to the information related
to the government ACTIVITIES
2) Ensuring that state officials are not advancing their
own private interests at the
expense of a greater public good
In this manner, the government is compelled to be more
responsible and serve the
public interest, while reaffirming the value of the democratic institutions,
thereby increasing
the public confidence in them.
The first step in this process is the adoption and enactment
of relevant laws. For quite
some time now, the draft bills on the free access to information and the
prevention of the
conflict of public and private interest have been waiting their turn for
adoption in Serbia.
With the expectation that new and better legislation will soon be enacted,
our organization
has decided to conduct a thorough analysis of the existing regulations
in these two
areas. Through public mood surveys we have tried to ascertain to what
degree are the
citizens familiar with these topics and to gauge the public interest in
them, as well as to
see what kinds of problems they regard as the top priority along with
the types of solutions
they would deem to be adequate. The survey results will serve as a basis
for our
future ACTIVITIES. Likewise, we believe that they could also prove beneficial
to the public at
large, the state institutions and the international organizations that
would like to see our
country prosper.
The reports in this publication represent only one portion
of the Transparency Serbia
ACTIVITIES in the first year of the Accountability in the Western Balkans
Program.
Moreover, the project has regional context as Transparency International
national chapters
in four former Yugoslav republics take part in implementing it. The goal
of the project
is to enable the civil society, in cooperation with others who are striving
towards a society
founded on openness and accountability, to win the adoption of quality
legislation and
subsequently monitor their implementation.
This project was made possible by the Finnish government
acting under auspices of
the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Anti-Corruption Initiative
(SPAI).
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National Integrity System - Serbia and FR Yugoslavia
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publication (in PDF format, 603.60 kB)
Publishers: Transparency International Serbia, European
Movement Serbia
The book Anatomy of Corruption deals with the phenomenon of
corruption using contemporary data, both theoretical and empirical.
In his book, author Dr Predrag Jovanović analyses new phenomena
which have appeared over the past few years in countries in transition
such as that of capturing the state. The issue here is a situation
in which powerful financial groups "buy" MPs, politicians and even entire
parties which then tailor the system and legislation in line with the
interests of their backers. This phenomenon was particularly apparent
in post-Soviet Russia when a powerful group of financial oligarchs virtually
ruled Russia through politicians. This "capture" of the state happens
in those countries whose institutions are weak. It is for this reason
that Dr Jovanović points out steps which must be taken in order to
avoid the grave fate of some transition countries which have failed to
escape the clutches of the mighty financial oligarchies.
Dr Jovanović has devoted a special section of the book to the current
process of privatisation in this country. In addition to an analysis
of the latest Serbian Privatisation Act from the perspective of the opportunities
for abuse which it hides, the book also presents the parallel experiences
of Montenegro, which clearly indicate where danger lurks and how privatisation
should not be carried out.
A considerable part of the book is devoted to a field which has been
very little studied in this country but which will become all the more
important in the future - public procurement. In his book, Dr
Jovanović acquaints us with the basic principles on which public
procurement must operate in order to conform to European standards. He
also presents a detailed description of the ways in which abuse occurs
in large investment projects throughout the world, including the experiences
of developed countries. At the end of the chapter are listed measures
which have proved effective in international practice in combating abuse
in tenders and auctions.
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A GRECO Paper: Corruption and Anti-corruption Policy in Serbia
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the complete publication (in PDF format, 327,07 kB)
Publisher: Transparency International Serbia,
Beolgrade 2001.