Activity Details (ID# 11709)

Activity Synopsis

The general objective was to ensure that Council of Europe standards, notably Recommendation (2002) 2 on access to official documents, were taken into account in the draft Law on free access to information. The specific objective was to provide expert advice on proposed amendments to the draft Law on free access to information.

 

This round table held with representatives of the Ministry of Justice and of NGOs was followed by a round table on the same subject held with Members of Parliament the following day. The discussions with the decision makers and the expertise provided during the round table helped to focus the attention on the provisions that needed to be addressed urgently. The representatives of the Ministry of Justice explained that the previous suggestions made by the experts had been taken into consideration and that the experts’ comments during this round table would also be taken into account.

Mr Klime Babunski (Head of Pro Media) presented the results of the monitoring of the situation regarding access to public information in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” for 2003 and 2004. Phase1 of the monitoring concerned the process of filling out a request for information form. The results showed that a majority of the requests either did not receive an answer or, if the request for information was rejected, it was not accompanied by an explanation. This led to the conclusion that information holders have no responsibility for providing information.
Phase 2 concerned the actual processing of requests for information. The result showed a general lack of internal procedures to deal with requests for information. Phase 3 consisted of discussions with the representatives of institutions in order to analyse the problems encountered. There was a noted increase in the feedback obtained in 2004 as compared with 2003. However, there was a general misunderstanding of the meaning of “access to public information” as this term was often used interchangeably with “public relations”. The general conclusion of the monitoring was that even if there is going to be a sound law, politicians and public officials need to be committed to creating a positive attitude towards access to public information in their institutions.

 

A second reading of the text by Parliament should take place before the end of 2005, followed by the adoption of the Law in January 2006.
The representatives of the Ministry of Justice underlined that, once this draft Law is adopted, there will be a need for follow-up activities for its implementation. They are aware that the Council of Europe is ready to continue supporting the Macedonian authorities in the process leading up to the adoption of this Law as well as to provide any assistance they may require in its implementation.
 

Representatives of the Ministry of Justice and of NGOs 

Ms Gergana Jouleva, Executive Director, Access to Information Programme, Bulgaria 

Ms Tanja Gerwien, Media Division, Council of Europe