05. 08. 2008

DRAFT DATA PROTECTION ACT PROPOSED FOR URGENT ADOPTION

Belgrade, 5th August, 2008 (Source: Tanjug News Agency) - Serbian Government has sent in their Draft Personal Data Protection Act to National Parliament for urgent adoption. According to this draft act, citizens' rights should be brought in line with provisions of Serbian Constitution and with the accepted international standards. This Act is expected to charter the field of personal citizens' data, personal data processing and handling, as well as the citizens' right to information on their own personal data in great detail. This piece of information became available to the general public only after the public protests aired after the publishing of the RATEL's instructions on technical conditions for state monitoring of telecommunications. 

The proposed legal act is very important for the process of Serbian accession to the European Union, and it is a short-term priority in this process, according to the Draft Act accompanying text in the form in which it was published in the Serbian Parliament Web site. With the adoption of this Act, Serbia will find itself a step closer to fulfilling conditions for visa regime liberalization and also closer to the accession to the white Schengen list of countries.

This Draft Act prescribes limitations on personal data protection, contains provisions on procedure before a relevant institution for personal data protection, as well as the provisions on security of personal data. Personal data record keeping, as well as data export out of Serbian borders and monitoring of Personal Data Protection enforcement are reportedly also covered and chartered by this Draft Act.

Everybody in their physical person is entitled to personal data protection, regardless of their citizenship and place of residence, race, gender, mother tongue, religion or political or any other affiliations, the Draft Act reads. Personal data protection will be provided to everybody, regardless of their nationality, social origins, financial assets, birth, education, social standing or any other personal characteristic.

All the tasks related to personal data protection will be performed by Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection as an independent state body, which will be independent from anybody’s influence in doing their job. Serbian Constitution contains basic premises for adoption of Personal Data Protection Act in its Article 42, according to which personal data protection is guaranteed. The law forbids using the personal data for any other purpose than those for which personal data has been collected, except in the case of court procedures and protecting security of the Serbian state, and only in the ways envisaged and described in the law itself.

At present, Personal Data Protection Act from 1998 is in force in Serbia. This Act was adopted in the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and it has been enforced as a legislation act of the Republic of Serbia.