In the past year, and especially after the most recent protests, the issue of the register of war veterans has been very current. Prime Minister Fadil Novalic noted that this would be illegal if we consider the Law on the Protection of Personal Data.
Petar Kovacevic, the director of the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data of BiH talked about this topic.
He noted that three conditions must be met in order for the state to legally intercept; to be prescribed by the law, that there is a legitimate goal and that it is represents a necessity in a democratic society.
Kovacevic also noted that the Ministry for War Veterans is emphasizing the determination of the exact number of war veterans as a purpose, which is unsustainable.
“We said that it is unacceptable to publish that kind of information in that way and make it available to the wide public. The public interest is something that is very valuable. How will it help the war veterans to publish this information on the website instead of officers doing their job right?”
Kovacevic said that we should also consider the Law on Freedom of Access to Information and the Law on the Protection of Personal Data.
“Citizens have the right to know it in the way prescribed by the law, in a form and extent that is required for the public. The address of the residence is no one’s interest, nor the JMBG, because abuses are possible. But, that is a job for those who are dealing with collecting and processing personal data.”
(Source: N1)
