A culture of transparency and openness in the public administration is essential for asserting the legitimacy of the authority as a public service and it is developing a relationship of trust between authorities and citizens and monitoring risks of corruption. The Council of Europe’s Tromsø Convention on Access to Official Documents promotes these principles and the ratification of this Convention by Serbia is essential.
This was highlighted by the participants of the conference “Tromsø Convention - State of play in Serbia” held in Belgrade today. The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø Convention) opened for signature in Tromsø, Norway, in June 2009, is the first binding international legal instrument which recognises a general right of access to official documents held by public authorities. Serbia signed the Tromsø Convention in 2009, but the ratification is still pending.
“Transparency of public authorities is a key feature of good governance and an indicator of whether a society is genuinely democratic and pluralist,” said Tobias Flessenkemper, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade in his opening remarks. “The right of access to official documents is also essential to the development of civic consciousness; it strengthens public authorities’ legitimacy in the eyes of the people, and boosts public confidence in them,” he noted.
Marija Obradovic, Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government of Serbia invited the public to participate in the public debate launched today on the draft amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance. “The Law passed in 2004 is considered to be one of the most advanced in the world when it comes to the public's right to know. However, after more than ten years of its application, there is a need for its improvement. I am happy to notice that the provisions of Tromsø Convention are already present in this Law and that the amendments aim to give the institution of the Commissioner for Information and Data Protection additional powers that should lead to a more consistent application of the law by the authorities”, she said.
Milan Marinovic, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection of Serbia emphasised that even though the provisions of the Tromsø Convention on the right of the public to know appear to be already covered by the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, which is currently in force, it is necessary for Serbia to ratify the Convention. “This would be an important additional step because the Convention is the first and most important international document adopted by the Council of Europe that refers to access to information of public importance in the possession of government bodies,” said the Commissioner.
“Should a country decide to ratify the agreement, it would be a milestone in the promotion of democratic governance, openness, participatory democracy and in the exercise of other human rights and fundamental freedoms”, said H.E. Attila Pinter, Ambassador of Hungary to Serbia on behalf of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
H.E. Jørn Eugene Gjelstad, Ambassador of Norway to Serbia stated on this occasion: “A healthy society requires debates and discussions. In a modern democracy, public and elected officials or politicians cannot expect to function without the necessary scrutiny from the citizens, media, interest groups and civil society organisations. This public scrutiny may be burdensome and even sometimes come at the expense of administrative efficiency – but it is vital to sustain a culture of democracy.”
The conference was organised by the Office of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection and the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade within the framework of the Chairmanship of Hungary of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and the joint European Union/Council of Europe action “Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Serbia (JUFREX)”, implemented within the programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.
The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø Convention)
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