The Unsatisfactory Implementation of the Law on Freedom of Information Threatens Transparency in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

27 September 2024

Sarajevo, September 27, 2024 – Delays in responding, providing incomplete answers, or delivering information in a format not stipulated by law are just some indicators of the careless and arbitrary implementation of freedom of information laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a result, citizens face significant obstacles in accessing data that is inherently public.

Nearly half of public authorities fail to respond to requests for free access to information within the legal timeframe, and only slightly more than a third of institutions—140 out of 394 surveyed—provided all the requested data within the legal deadline. These findings were presented today in Sarajevo as part of the International Day for Universal Access to Information.

Access to information is a key indicator of a country’s level of democracy and a mechanism that allows citizens to participate in public processes,” stated Aurélie Valtat, Head of the European Integration, Political, and Economic Affairs Section at the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, during her address at the opening of the conference “Challenges of Access to Public Information in BiH: From Adoption to Implementation of the Law.

Freedom of access to information is one of the foundations of transparent and accountable public administration, as well as a cornerstone of the EU’s principles. Progress in this area is one of the most important aspects for the development of democracy,” Valtat added.

The research, conducted by Transparency International in BiH in collaboration with the organization “Vaša prava” Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the project “Access for All – Strengthening Access to Information for Citizen Participation,” with support from the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, covered 394 public authorities at all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The requested information included data on salary allocations, employment in 2022 and 2023, and service contracts concluded over the past three years.

The data indicate that public authorities most frequently justify their refusal to provide information by citing the protection of personal data. This is particularly evident in cases involving the details of service contracts, where most institutions claimed that such information was not of public interest. This stance persists despite legal provisions and interpretations by the Personal Data Protection Agency of BiH, which state that the earnings of employees in public institutions do not enjoy the same level of privacy protection.

The research revealed a noticeable difference in the responsiveness of various levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ministries at the state level responded within the legal timeframe in 88.9% of cases, while only 68% of cantonal ministries provided timely responses. The data also show that disputes over violations of freedom of information laws are resolved within one to two years on average, though significant variations exist. For instance, the Cantonal Court in Novi Travnik issued a decision in just one month, whereas the Cantonal Court in Sarajevo took four years to rule on a case filed in January 2019.

“The goal of the law on freedom of access to information in BiH is to ensure that information under the control of a public authority represents a public good and to promote greater transparency and responsibility of those public authorities, while the analysis of the application of this law shows that this is not the case,” said Marko Vujić, legal aid associate in TI BiH ALAC.

In the past five years, TI BiH initiated 93 administrative disputes against public authorities due to violations of the law on freedom of access to information, and the fact that 86% of resolved cases were in favor of Transparency International in BiH indicates that public authorities improperly apply the law, undermining the importance of the public interest when deciding not to publish the information requested of them.

This research confirms the previous findings and analyzes of TI BiH where public bodies show an unsatisfactory level of transparency and protection of public interest, creating legal uncertainty in the process of obtaining public information. TI BiH previously indicated that after the adoption of four reform laws important for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European path, among which is the new Law on Freedom of Access to Information at the level of BiH, the publication of data of public interest was not accelerated and no positive developments were recorded.

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