BIA Disputes the Right to Free Access to Information

YIHR

02 February 2006

The Security and Information Agency (BIA) filed a lawsuit to cancel the decision by the Commissioner for Free Access to Information, which ordered BIA to provide the Youth Initiative for Human Rights the information on the number of persons whose communications were tapped in 2005, reports YIHR.

The Youth Initiative also reqested from the Serbian Ministry of Interior to present the information on the number of requests for commucation wiretaps submitted to BIA, and the number of criminal procedures started on the bases of wiretapping. When the Ministry refused to present the information, YIHR filed a complaint to the Commission, who decided, on 16 January 2006, to order MUP to present the sought information. The Ministry has yet to provide the information.

The Initiative submitted its request to BIA on 31 October 2005, and it got the response that the information is classified and is not available for public review. YIHR filed a complaint to the Commissioner of Free Access to Information. The Commissioner ordered BIA to present the information and emphasized, in the explanation of the Decision, that the information may be classified, no special interest should get preference over the public interest to access information.

BIA chose to not act on the Commissioner�s orders, and started administrative litigation with the Supreme Court, demanding that the Decision is annulled on grounds of being incompatible with the Law. BIA claims that the Commissioner wrongly interpreted the Law and that declaring a document state secret entails the right to restrict the public access to information listed in the document.

Having in mind that BIA and MUP failed to act upon the Commissioner�s orders, YIHR will file misdemeanor charges against the two institutions. According to the Initiative, such behaviour by the bodies of public governance, charged with the obligation to protect the Laws and the rights of citizens, sends a clear message the Serbia is not a state of the rule of the Law and that the Government violates the constitutional rights, such as the right to free access to information.