The right of an individual to free access to information: the case of Serbia

Rabrenović, Aleksandra and Knežević Bojović, Ana (2019) The right of an individual to free access to information: the case of Serbia. In: The position of the individual in modern legal systems. Institute of comparative law, Belgrade, pp. 145-160. ISBN 978-86-80186-53-5

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Abstract

The objective of the paper is to discuss the right of an individual to open public administration as a global phenomenon and in the specific context of the Republic of Serbia. The paper first provides an overview the key supranational regulations and standards in the area of free access to information and assesses the Serbian legal framework against these standards. The central part of the paper analyses the trends on the free access to information in Serbia in the period of 2008-2018, based on statistical data, which include, inter alia, the number of requests submitted (by citizens), the number of appeals to the Commissioner for Free Access to Information and Data Protection, the share of executed requests, the reasons for withholding information etc. The authors argue that during the observed period, the right to free access to information in Serbia has effectively been applied in practice, due to a sound legal framework and personal integrity and work perseverance of the Commissioner for Free Access to Information and Data Protection, who managed to successfully overcome the obstacles of deeply rooted traditional culture of secrecy.

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