The delegates of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly adopted in the first reading the Draft Law on Freedom of Access to Information at the Institutional Level of BiH.
The Minister of Justice in the Council of Ministers, Davor Bunoza, said that eight basic principles are prescribed in this law, which is a key value, as well as the proactive publication of information, which implies that data about institutions will have to be published on the institutions’ websites.
He said that the names and surnames of employees, professional qualifications, salaries, strategies and work plans, and general acts will have to be published.
“Everything that has been requested by third parties under the Access to Information Act will now, under the threat of sanctions, have to be published on the websites of the institutions and will have to be updated every 15 days,” Bunoza said.
During the debate, the chairman of the Bosniak People’s Club in the House of People, Šefik Džaferović, recalled the letter from the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which states that this law, in terms of the appeal mechanism, is not harmonized with European standards.
“I believe that the conditions have not been met for this law to be adopted,” Džaferović said.
He pointed out that he will vote against this law, and the same position was held by delegate Dženan Dzonlagić, who believes that this proposal is not harmonized with the EU acquis.
Delegate of the Serbian People’s Club Želimir Nešković believes that freedom of access to information is an indicator of responsible and transparent work of institutions, noting that he noticed that the proposed law has a number of shortcomings that were warned by a number of civil society organizations, stating that it will be abstained during the vote.
The chairwoman of the Croatian People’s Club, Marina Pendeš, said that she would support this proposal, and that amendments could be made if someone thinks that the law is not good enough.
Ilija Cvitanović, a delegate of the Croatian People’s Club, also expressed his support for this law, while Zlatko Miletić believes that the proposal is an indication that work has started in the right direction, but he will still be restrained due to the various remarks made.
