Source: "Blic"
Fight against corruption, democratic control of the public, transparency of Government's operations, strengthening of independent control institutions - these are the ideas which appear in almost all strategic and action program documents in our country. The majority of citizens also consider them important and the achievement of these ideas is an important element for Serbia's EU accession.
Source: Danas
In connection with the text "Sabic's Powers larger than President's" ("Danas", 12 August 2009)
Rodoljub Sabic
Reaction
To begin with, in connection with the "delicately" chosen headline, I must remind about two facts. The said powers are not Mr. Sabic's powers, but the powers of the Commissioner for Free Access to Information and Personal Data Protection of the Republic of Serbia. And those powers are "larger" than the President's in the same sense as the powers of a traffic policeman in regulation of traffic are larger than the powers of both the President and the Commissioner.
Source: "Politika"
Top officials of independent control institutions requested yesterday of public authorities to respect their decisions and opinions and to ensure them adequate working conditions
Independent public authorities and heads of independent state-owned institutions responsible for fight against corruption and protection of citizen's rights have voiced their concern because recommendations, decisions, opinions and other enactments of independent control bodies are disregarded and not always complied with and have urged public authorities to change that attitude without delay.Source: "Blic"
Debate on Secrets heating up
M. Males
The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance denied yesterday in a statement given to "Blic" daily the statements given to our paper by Mr. Vladimir Cvijan, President of the task force for preparation of the Bill on Data Confidentiality, who claims that "the Ombudsman and the Commissioner will have access to every confidential information from their inspection powers". Mr. Sabic said it was really unbelievable to say something like that and to be silent on the fact that Article 40 of the Law envisaged those powers could be denied to them exactly by services which should be controlled.Source: "Danas"
Reactions
A conversation with the State Secretary Mr. Slobodan Homen was published in your paper under the title ''Military and official secret to be abolished'' as of 5th August 2009. The topic was Draft Law on Confidential Information. Considering the fact that the conversation was expressively affirmative, and that your journalist missed the oportunity to ask for answers to some open questions, I find it my obligation to ask you to publish my reaction as follows:Source: ‘'Blic''
Bad legal remedy for secrets
If this law is enacted, the Commissioner and the Ombudsman will not have access to any piece of information labeled confidential.
М. Маles
If the new Draft Law on Confidentiality of Information suggested by the government is enacted everything will be confidential in Serbia. Instead of creating some order and finally defining what would be secret, the government decided to suggest legal solutions which hinder work of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Ombudsman even more. The Commissioner for Information, Rodoljub Sabic thinks that the whole Draft opposes EU standards.
