20. 06. 2014

Commissioner: Government fails to implement decisions

Belgrade, 20.6.2014. (Tanjug, B92) - Rodoljub Šabić has said that the institution he heads has put into procedure 93 percent of requests for information received in 2013.

However, noted Serbia's Commissioner for information of public importance and personal data protection, the government failed to ensure implementation of his decisions in any of the cases, and also failed to prosecute offenders.

It is necessary to amend the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, said Šabić.

"The commissioner was effective in 93 percent of the cases. However, in more than 60 percent of the cases, the authorities only gave information after first denying it and causing the Commissioner to intervene," Šabić said while presenting his report.

However, there are still those who do not provide information requested by the Commissioner and the number of such cases is between 200 and 300, he added.

"Despite the clear, legally prescribed obligations, the Serbian government failed to ensure a forced execution of the Commissioner's decisions and for the third year in a row, the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration did not prosecute any of the numerous law offenders," he said.

"This practice needs to change urgently," stressed Šabić.

He added that the Commissioner's annual report contained recommendations for the Serbian parliament.

The recommendations to the parliament say that parliament should improve mechanisms for overseeing the implementation of its own conclusions based on reports submitted by the Commissioner and other independent bodies and it should support independent institutions.

Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport, Ombudsman Saša Janković, Commissioner for Protection of Equality Nevena Petrušić and Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor Bruno Vekarić attended Šabić's presentation.