Annulment of the amendments to the Freedom of Information Act – last chance for the ruling elite to do something right

Zagreb, 22.03.2013 - Predstavljanje knjige "Konvencija za zaštitu ljudskih prava i temeljnih sloboda u praksi Europskog suda za ljudska prava" autorice Jasne Omejec. foto FaH/ Lana SLIVAR DOMINIÆ /ds

After yesterday‘s decision by the Constitutional Court to annul the recently adopted amendments to the Freedom of Information Act, GONG believes that the Government and the Parliament got a new chance to improve the Act by which they can guarantee the achievement of one of the fundamental human rights. The decision by the Constitutional Court confirms access to the information as one of human rights and it should be treated as such. Recently adopted amendments to the Freedom of Information Act were annulled because they have not been adopted by an absolute majority of MPs, which is needed for organic laws amendments.

After yesterday’s decision by the Constitutional Court to annul the recently adopted amendments to the Freedom of Information Act, GONG believes that the Government and the Parliament got a new chance to improve the Act by which they can guarantee the achievement of one of the fundamental human rights. The decision by the Constitutional Court confirms access to the information as one of human rights and it should be treated as such. Recently adopted amendments to the Freedom of Information Act were annulled because they have not been adopted by an absolute majority of MPs, which is needed for organic laws amendments.

Amendments to the Act adopted in December 2010 were a significant, but insufficient step forward in enhancing transparency and accountability of public bodies. Furthermore, from the proponents of the changes there were expected three key changes: introduction of public interest and proportionality test, but also the establishment of an independent body for monitoring and Act implementation.

Instead of an independent body such as the Information Commissioner or the Ombudsman, Personal Data Protection Agency was envisioned as the body responsible for the implementation of the Act. The amendment to the Final proposal of changes and addendums to the Freedom of Information Act, proposed by the parliamentary Committee for Internal Policy and National Security, inflicted irreparable damage to the spirit of the law and fully played out the meaning of change in a way that nobody, not even the court has, the right to check for possible misuse made by the heads of state bodies when they declare certain information confidential. Public interest test and the test of proportionality, in accordance with the Data Secrecy Act, would be carried by the same body that previously classified an information as confidential.

GONG has warned of this problem during the adoption of these amendments and has emphasized, which is now repeatedly doing, that improvements toare not only necessaryto satisfy formal requirements for closing negotiations with the EU, but primarily because of the rule of law and exercise of fundamental human rights and freedoms in Croatia.

set, but The legislature now has the opportunity to correct these errors and by changes of this Act, to show progress in raising awareness that the right of access to information really is a fundamental human right. At the same time, it would also represent progress in approaching the closure of negotiations on EU accession, since it is an act of the utmost importance for the closure of Chapter 23, because this law and its implementation are a key tool in combating corruption. In some way, the ruling political elite have a last chance to finally do something right.

GONG, therefore, requests that the proposed new amendments to the Act include the establishment of an independent body responsible for monitoring and enforcement of the Act (Information Commissioner or Ombudsman) and the harmonization of the Data Secrecy Act in line with the Freedom of Information Act, not reverse.