(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 statement: ARTICLE 19 has released a memorandum containing an analysis of the draft Croatian Right to Access Information Act (draft Act). ARTICLE 19 was asked to comment on the draft Act, which was prepared by a group of NGOs in Croatia. These comments are based on […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 statement:
ARTICLE 19 has released a memorandum containing an analysis of the draft Croatian Right to Access Information Act (draft Act). ARTICLE 19 was asked to comment on the draft Act, which was prepared by a group of NGOs in Croatia. These comments are based on an unofficial English translation of the draft Act. This Memorandum follows from our April 2003 Note on the Croatian NGO Joint Statement on The Public’s Right to Know, which set out the principles which would underpin the legislation. We note that many of the recommendations contained in our April Note have been reflected in the draft Act.
ARTICLE 19 welcomes the draft Act, which will go a long way to ensuring respect for the right of freedom of information within Croatia. There are a number of positive elements in the draft, including its broad definition of information and “obligees” (public bodies required to provide information), strong procedural protections, and sanctions for bodies and individuals who undermine the right of access. At the same time, the draft Act could still be improved, for example, regarding the regime of exceptions to the right to access information and a few areas where the rules could be more precise. There are also some omissions, such as the lack of a requirement to maintain records and protection for whistleblowers.
Our analysis of the draft Act is based on two key ARTICLE 19 documents, The Public’s Right to Know: Principles on Freedom of Information Legislation (ARTICLE 19 Principles) and A Model Freedom of Information Law (ARTICLE 19 Model Law). These documents are based on international and best comparative practice concerning freedom of information. Both publications represent broad international consensus on best practice in this area and have been used to analyse freedom of information legislation from countries around the world.
The Memorandum does not contain an overview of the international and constitutional standards relating to freedom of information which underpin the analysis. For this information, we refer readers to our recent Note on the Croatian NGO Joint Statement on The Public’s Right to Know, produced in April 2003.
The Updated Briefing Note can be found on the ARTICLE 19 website, at:
http://www.article19.org/docimages/1673.doc
