Press Releases - Archive

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection estimates the reaction of the Ministry of Interior to the Warning that the commissioner have directed to the Ministry concerning the irregularities observed on the occasion of the implementation of the Law on Personal Data Protection, as good and useful. The irregularities in question are related to the retention of the identification card or other personal document with a photograph of the face for the purposes of issuing a daily pass for entering a building where the security tasks are performed by officers of the Ministry of Interior.

Acting upon the Warning, the Minister of Interior sent an act to all the organizational units of the Ministry and all the police directorates and headquarters, ordering "the immediate cessation of retention of the identification card or other public document with a photograph of the face, used for issuing a daily pass for entering buildings of the Ministry of Interior and other buildings on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, where police officers are assigned with the security tasks".

The reaction of the Ministry of Interior to the Commissioner's Warning and the interruption of perennial bad practices is good as it is a confirmation of the fair attitude towards the Law on Personal Data Protection. Besides, it is a very useful example for all other subjects to stop a possible similar practice.

The authorization and need for authentication of someone's identity by the insight into the identification document never implies the retention of the document (with exception when it is strictly prescribed by the law).

With regard to that, the Commissioner reminds numerous subjects dealing with the security tasks of the fact that the Law on Private Security does not give grounds to retention of personal documents either, and therefore the possible retention represents unpurposeful, unlawful processing of personal data, simultaneously increasing the risk of possible malpractices.

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection stated that the scandal in which PUC delivered bills which included amount not due for insurance to the citizens of Belgrade constitutes another proof of the irresponsible attitude of the public utility companies towards the citizens' personal data.

He reminded that public utility companies are not marketing agencies trying to benefit owing to the fact that they have a large database of citizens' personal data. In contrast, they are obliged to handle these data in a lawful manner and use them only for the purposes set out by law, and possibly for other purposes exclusively upon obtaining prior consent. The Commissioner Rodoljub Sabic also added:

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Mr. Rodoljub Sabic, received the official visit of the director of the Directorate for Personal Data Protection, Mr Dimitar Gjeorgievski.

During the talk, they agreed on the need for strengthening of the existing cooperation between the two government bodies and they signed a Memorandum of cooperation with regard to the project "Continued support to strengthening of capacities for the protection of personal data" which had been awarded to the Republic of Macedonia by the Kingdom of Norway.

During the implementation of the project activities the Commissioner and the Directorate will continue exchanging experiences and examples of good practice from the scope of their competence, paying special attention to the issues of protection of privacy on the social networks and on the Internet in general. An annual forum organized by the Directorate is planned as part of the project and the Commissioner intends to take part in it.

The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection considers the yesterday's statement issued by Jadranka Joksimovic, the Minister for European integration, in which she comments on the Commissioner's statement, inadequate in public communication of two responsible state officials.

Without any wish to continue the polemic in that way and on that level, the Commissioner still considers his duty to point out to certain facts on the occasion of her statement, for the purposes of the public.

With regard to that, the commissioner Rodoljub Sabic has stated the following: