The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Mr. Rodoljub Sabic and the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy in Belgrade Mr. Armando Varricchio spoke today about achieving the freedom of access to information of public importance and about the problems related to the implementation of European standards related to personal data protection in Serbia.
In this regard, the Commissioner Mr. Rodoljub Sabic stated the following:.
The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, after completing a survey of whether the ministries of the Republic of Serbia were complying with their obligations stemming from the Law on Personal Data Protection, issued several appropriate warnings and filed a number of minor offence charges.
The warnings were issued and the minor offence charges filed against the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Trade and Services; the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning; the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management; the Ministry of Energy and Mining; the Ministry for Infrastructure; the Ministry of Science and Technological Development; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Youth and Sports; the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society; the Ministry of Defense; the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy; and, the Ministry of Culture.
The minor offence charges were filed against the ministers themselves, as they are the responsible individuals at the ministries.
In this regard, the Commissioner Mr. Rodoljub Sabic also stated the following:
In accordance with Article 42 Paragraph 4 of the Law on the Free Access to Information of Public Importance, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection submitted a request to the Government of the Republic of Serbia asking it to, by using the measures within its jurisdiction, meaning by direct order, fulfill the request of the Commissioner filed with the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia. The Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia was asked to provide to the general public the copies of the documents that state the amounts paid out to the members of the Council of the Directorate, the legal basis for the amounts paid out, as well as the manner in which the amounts were determined.
The Commissioner believes that the failure of the Civil Aviation Directorate to comply with the final and executive order represents an infringement on the rights of the citizens guaranteed by the Constitution and other laws, and informed the Ombudsman of the situation and asked him to undertake certain measures within his own jurisdiction.
In this regard, the Commissioner Mr. Rodoljub Sabic also stated the following:
The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Mr. Rodoljub Sabic and Mr. Bernd Florat, the Director of Research and Educational Projects at the Trusteeship of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Handling of Dossiers of the Ministry for State Security of the former German Democratic Republic (Stasi) spoke today about the German experiences in handling dossiers of secret services of the former regime.
Stating that the German experiences are invaluable for each country facing similar issues, the Commissioner Mr. Rodoljub Sabic also said the following:
