TI BiH won the case against the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH violated the Law on Free Access to Information because it refused to provide documentation on cases related to criminal offenses against the official duty

Banja Luka, 11th August 2016 – The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina decided in favour of Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) which filed a lawsuit against the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH for not providing information regarding the closed court cases.
In November 2014 TI BiH requested from the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH to provide copies of the cases closed on the basis of the final convictions, which referred to the criminal offenses against the official duty. The Prosecutor’s Office refused to submit the requested data, explaining that the disclosure of such information might cause significant damage to prevention and detection of criminal offenses.
After TI BiH filed a lawsuit, the Court of BiH ruled in favour of TI BiH and indicated that the refusal of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH to provide the requested information was contrary to the Law on Free Access to Information, which clearly prescribes that every information under the control of public bodies is a public good. The verdict orders to the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH to act in accordance with the request of TI BiH, but this time to follow the procedure prescribed by the Law.
The Court holds the opinion that in cases which are legally final there is no basis for denying access to information, and the reasoning of the judgment particularly emphasizes the importance of transparency of work of judicial institutions.
This is the eighth verdict won by TI BiH during 2016 against public institutions for violation of Law on Free Access to Information, and the first one against the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH ever since TI BiH started initiating court proceedings in this area.
The rendered judgment is very important, not only to establish positive court practice, but also in regard to the current non-transparent work of the Prosecutor’s Office, which in most cases refused to submit information on their actions, even in cases of huge public interest.

Press rls – 11 8 2016 eng