Podgorica, (MINA) – The Law on Free Access to Information must be above other laws, since it regulates the constitutional right that cannot be collapsed by other acts, it was heard during a round table discussion organized by MANS.
The round table discussion has been organized with the support of the EU Delegation in Montenegro and in the partnership with the Access Info Europe, on the eve of the discussion on the forthcoming amendments to this law.
Head of the EU Delegation Aivo Orav said that the right to free access to information is an important indictor in the EU accession process.
He remarked that importance of freedom of information cannot be emphasized enough, in particular for NGOs and the press, that cannot professionally work without access to relevant documents.
Orav recalled the recent European Commission’s report which called upon the institutions to provide higher transparency and accountability, in particular in the areas prone to corruption.
He noted that commitment to transparency is not something it can be negotiated about, since candidate countries must carry out necessary reforms in the field of rule of law.
Minister of Public Administration Suzana Pribilovic claims that it is necessary to change the awareness among the public administration employees, who must understand that their responsibility is not just to give information of public importance when someone asks for them, but to release them proactively.
Pribilovic reiterated that the Ministry prepared the Analysis of the Normative Framework in that field, which gave the guidelines for regulative and implementation improvement of the Law, which is envisaged to be amended in the fourth quarter of this year.
She added that the Ministry formed a working body tasked with preparing the amendments to the Law, comprised of the representatives of the relevant bodies along with the representatives of the University and the NGO sector.
MANS executive director Vanja Calovic Markovic said that Montenegro had a very good Law on free access to information, which enabled them discovering numerous cases of corruption.
However, she claims that the law was amended by secret amendments of the MPs, without any discussion in the Parliament, once the government realized that it was used for revealing abuses of national funds and illegal enrichment of public officials.
Calovic Markovic said that the Ministry finally formed a Working group which, as she said, has been working for months, on what could be done in a half an hour, if there was political will.
“But no, they are buying time. The government is not sincere in this process, since if it was it would not have initiate the Law on Confidential Information which annuls all our efforts to make any reform”, said she, adding that this law is currently in the process of public discussion.
She claims that this new law fully abolishes the Law on free access to information.
Executive director of the Access Info Europe Helen Darbishire said that every country aspiring to be recognized as a democratic must fully implement the right to free access to information, adding that it is also necessary for joining the EU.
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