Civil society organizations Ministry of Justice of BiH: Withdraw the Pre-Draft Law on Freedom of Access to Information for processing

Civil society organizations call on the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ministry) to withdraw the Draft Law on Freedom of Access to Information for revision because it is not in line with international standards and best practices.

Banja Luka, 17. March 2021 – Civil society organizations call on the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ministry) to withdraw the Draft Law on Freedom of Access to Information for revision because it is not in line with international standards and best practices. The preliminary draft in some parts endangers the acquired rights and achievements from the existing Law. Of particular concern is the very long list of exceptions or possible restrictions on access to information held by public authorities, as well as the possibility of extending the deadline (15 days) for dealing with requests for access to information to another 15 days.

The preliminary draft envisages that the second-instance body in the procedures for exercising the right to access information is the Appeals Council at the Council of Ministers, which cannot be considered an independent institution with a human rights mandate. The undersigned organizations are also concerned that the Institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman has been almost completely left out of the Pre-Draft, although it is the only independent institution to have monitored the implementation of the Freedom of Access to Information Act so far. Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents in Article 9. stipulates that states should educate public institutions about their obligations regarding access to information, teaching them how to properly apply the law. The Preliminary Draft does not envisage the education of officials and institutions in any place.

Civil society organizations welcome the fact that the Ministry sent the Preliminary Draft for consultations, inviting all participants to give their contribution at an early stage of drafting regulations, as well as the fact that the Preliminary Draft envisages the so-called proactive transparency or the obligation of public authorities to publish a large amount of information on their official websites and central portal.

Civil society organizations demand that the Ministry take into account their proposals when finalizing the Preliminary Draft, and that it pay special attention to the following issues:

• proactive transparency must not be an obstacle to the exercise of the right of access to information on request;
• provide by law a framework for the education of information officers and all institutions that act in procedures for exercising the right to access information;
• exceptions to access to information must be precisely standardized and reduced to the protection of a narrow circle of legitimate values (national security, protection of privacy, crime prevention, etc.);
• a public interest test to determine whether the application of an exception is justified must be elaborated and clearly specified in the Law in order to protect the public interest;
• deadlines for dealing with requests for access to information must be short and no further extension of the deadline may be allowed;
• law enforcement institutions must be independent and specialized in the field of access to information.

The Law on Freedom of Access to Information is one of the key laws to ensure media and civil liberties. This law allows journalists, citizens, activists and organizations to monitor the work of public bodies, and any changes to this regulation must be carefully considered and harmonized with international standards.

Signatory organizations:

Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN)

Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH)

Balkan Research Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH)

BH Journalists Association

BiH Open Society Fund

Center for Civic Advocacy / CPI Foundation

Sarajevo Open Center (SOC)

UG “Why Not”

BH Foreign Policy Initiative (VPI)

Center for the Promotion of Civil Society (CPCD)

Civil Rights Defenders (CRD)

Press rls-17.03.21