Press Releases - Archive

The Commissioner for Information of Public Interest and Personal Data Protection has received today the representatives of the Belgrade group of missing babies' parents. Talking with them, the Commissioner greeted the option of the ministries in charge, to set by a special law an adequate mechanism with strong investigative authorizations and independence, in order to reach specific results, on which the missing babies' parents insist for a long time already.

Parents thanked the Commissioner for the assistance rendered so far, and asked for support also in the future, and the Commissioner promised to give it also in the future within the remit of his own authorizations.

Parents' efforts to reach the information about the missing children last for years, inadmissibly long. Already in 2006 the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Investigation Board has been formed, which submitted a Report on Determined Status and determined the proposal of measures, which, among else, envisaged the task of the Ministry of Interior to investigate all cases of missing babies and to submit a Report within three months, as well as that in the future all cases of such kind shall be processed by the Special Court and Special Prosecution Office.

The parents have already by the end of 2007 asked for the quoted Report from the Ministry of Interior, which was denied to them, and which they have received just after the Commissioner's order. Still, they remained dissatisfied due to failure to implement the quoted measures.

The Commissioner for Information of Public Interest and Personal Data Protection evaluates that just in the last couple of days a significant number of citizens, journalists, NGOs etc. have turned to him regarding different issues pertaining to the Project "Belgrade on Water", which points out to the need for much greater transparency in acting of the authorities in charge in relation to the quoted project.

The Commissioner warns all the interested parties that, according to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, information should be as first asked from the authorities in charge, in this specific case primarily from the city ones, and just then, if those authorities deny the information, one acquires the right to complain to the Commissioner. The authorities in question of course, should, and have the obligation to undertake all that they can to prevent turning to the Commissioner, and unnecessary problems.

In evaluating that the problems have obviously already appeared, the Commissioner Rodoljub Šabić also stated:

The Commissioner for Information of Public Interest and Personal Data Protection has initiated the oversight procedure regarding the implementation of the Personal Data Protection Act in the Belgrade Land Development Directorate.

The inducement for initiating the oversight procedure was the complaint of the Tenants' Assembly in the building in Karadjordjeva no. 36 in Belgrade, stating that the Directorate has announced and that it intends to implement the "list of tenants" and "surveying of apartments", in order to "determine the factual and actual status" without giving any explanation whatsoever, and without quoting the legal base, except for the abstract formulation "in order to implement the Belgrade on Water Project".

The Commissioner requested from the Directorate, to declare without delay the legal grounds and the purpose of such personal data processing, and after receiving the statement he shall decide upon further measures.

In relation to that, the Commissioner, Rodoljub Šabić also stated:

The Commissioner for Information of Public Interest and Personal Data Protection expressed his surprise and worry regarding the attitude of the National Assembly Committee for Constitutional Issues and Legislation, opting not to initiate the procedure for authentic interpreting of Article 3 of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, i.e. not to answer the open question – whether the Notaries Public have the status of the public authority in the meaning of this Article of the Law?

The Commissioner regrets that the National Assembly Committee has opted for extremely formalistic approach to the problem, neglecting the delicate issue of law implementation and that it has left it open.

In relation to that, the Commissioner, Rodoljub Šabić also stated: