FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

“Lawful Way to Truth” – Advocacy and Lobbying for the Implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance

Free access to information of public importance is a basic characteristic of a lawful state. It is evident that a society in transition heading towards free and democratic system cannot exist without transparency in the public sphere. By adopting the law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance in November 2004, new and important commitments are posed before the authorities. The Law defines that information of public importance is information which the public has a justified interest to know and which is held by the public authority body. The rights provided by this law on free access to information of public importance give citizens a very powerful role in controlling the work of public authorities. Freedom to access the information of public importance creates a possibility for civil society to perform a supervising function, and widens the range of possibilities for the involvement of civil sector through giving different, concrete initiatives related to solving questions of public importance.

Efficient and qualitative implementation of the law on free access to information of public importance at all levels is a necessary step towards democratization of our society. Although the law was adopted in 2004, objective obstacles still exist to its implementation (first of all, ignorance about the possibilities that the law offers).

The objective of the CeSID's project “Lawful Way to Truth” is to make the informative system in Serbia more transparent through education and animation of citizens, civil sector and the media, on the one hand, and through training of local authorities and administration body for the implementation of the law on free access to information of public importance on the other hand.

The education of citizens, the media and representatives of the civil sector will have an effect on their more active involvement in the process of supporting their own interests when it comes to the right of the accessibility to information. On the other hand, introducing the local authorities to the obligation to give information and influencing them to honour the obligations envisaged by the Law will ensure a free flow of information. In this way the mechanisms for exercising this right will be presented to those who demand information and the necessity of giving information will be pointed out to those who have to provide it.

Through raising the issue about free access to information of public importance and through influence on the implementation of the law at all levels, the work of public authority bodies will be made more transparent, the work of the media will be more efficient, an the right of citizens to obtain information of public importance will be attainable.

The CeSID's team commenced the realization of the project in five towns and municipalities in Serbia : Belgrade , Zrenjanin, Nis , Zajecar and Loznica in Serbia , on August 1 2005 . All the activities envisaged within the project were carried out until March 1 2006 in cooperation with the commissioner for information of public importance.

Proceeding from the fact that a citizen is the one who gives the sense to the state and public institutions and that they exist and function for his sake, this project gives an opportunity to everyone to be accurately informed about issues of public importance, and also to be introduced to the mechanisms of exercising and protecting guaranteed rights to free access to information. In order to satisfy needs of their objectives and activities, representatives of the civil sector will be enabled to demand information of public importance, in order to represent interests of their citizens in the best possible way.

Through the activities envisaged by the project, which includes cooperation of all target groups (public panels), some future cooperation of all relevant protagonists in local community (authority bodies, the media, non-governmental organizations, citizens) will be initiated in order to ensure efficient and appropriate implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, but also to exert an influence on making the informative process more transparent.

How to get information?

The realization of the project “ Lawful Way to Truth” was enabled by Freedom House.