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:
«It is a situation which shows that some have real difficulties in accepting the fact that is fundamental to every orderly society – the fact that laws and the decisions of authorities apply to everyone. Despite the fact that the data on salaries, compensations, and similar amounts paid out from the public budget is, without any doubt, a legitimate sphere of public interest, which should be available to the broadest of general publics on a proactive basis – by regular updating and publishing on the internet presentations of state authorities, the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia not only failed to provide the aforementioned data to the public, but also did not do so after the direct request from the requestor, and even after the final and binding decision of the Commissioner upon the complaint of the requestor.
Upon the request, the Commissioner issued two financial penalties to the Civil Aviation Directorate in the amount of 200,000 Serbian dinars each. The Directorate paid the aforementioned penalties, but still failed to comply with the decision of the Commissioner. In turn, the Directorate filed an official complaint against the Commissioner to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia.
Taken into consideration that the aforementioned complaint by the Directorate is not allowed by law, and that, even if it was allowed, it would not postpone the fulfillment of the decision by the Commissioner, and that by penalizing the Directorate twice with 200,000 Serbian dinars, the Commissioner has no other measures he could undertake, I asked the Government of the Republic of Serbia to ensure that the decision of the Commissioner is fulfilled using a direct order to the Directorate, as stated in Article 28 Paragraph 4 of the Law on the Free Access to Information of Public Importance.
As the actions of the Directorate are an example of what we call 'bad governance' and they infringe upon the rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution and other laws, I decided to inform the Ombudsman about all of the circumstances related to this case, expecting him to take certain measures within his jurisdiction.»
