Activity Details (ID# 7540)

Activity Synopsis

The objective of the seminar was to present mainly to public officials the European standards concerning Access to information and to discuss with the participants the possible difficulties encountered when replying to a request for access to a public document or information.

 

The seminar was well organised and the level of motivation of participants high. All participants received a Georgian translation of Recommendation (2002)2 on access to official documents and its Explanatory Memorandum. They were also informed that an “Access to official documents Guide” prepared by Directorate General II within the framework of the Integrated Project “Making democratic institutions work” will be soon posted on the Council of Europe website.

During the first session, Ms MEINICH presented the European standards regarding access to information. The second session was dedicated to Georgian legislation and practice concerning access to information: Mrs SULAVA, Deputy Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Justice, presented the pertinent provisions of the Administrative Code; Mr MELADZE, Law Attorney at the Liberty Institute, and Mr GHUGHUNISHVILI, from the Georgian Youth Lawyers Association, explained the difficulties of implementation of these provisions. They underlined, inter alia, that in most administrations the “public servants responsible for ensuring the accessibility of public information” provided for in Article 36 of the Administrative Code had not yet been appointed. Ms CHAPIDZE, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the daily newspaper “Resonance” presented the conclusions of an informal inquiry she made in the Administration a few weeks before the Seminar. Lastly, during the third session, Ms MEINICH and Ms JOULEVA set out their own national experience in this field, respectively in Norway and in Bulgaria.

The discussions with the participants were very lively. During these discussions the experts underlined that the proper management of public documents was a prerequisite to an effective communication with the public, that anyone including a non-national or a legal entity can request public information and that requests do not have to be motivated. The difficulty of obtaining information from the Judiciary was raised by some participants. The question of the limitations to access to information, in particular on the ground of “state secrecy”, was taken up but was not treated in great detail due to lack of time.

 

The seminar was successful and highly appreciated by the participants. All participants agreed that civil servants including top grades officials needed to be trained and that training should also be organised in the regions.

 

Public officials from Tbilissi and from the regions, representatives of non-governmental organisations and Journalists 

Ms Tonje Meinich, Counselor for Justice and Home affairs at the mission of Norway to the EU, Norway
Ms Gergana Jouleva, Chairperson of the Access to Information Programme, Bulgaria

 

Ms Charlotte de Broutelles, Media Division, Directorate General of Human Rights