Cabinet adopts Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information

The Montenegrin Cabinet adopted the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information with the Action Plan for effective implementation of the Law which will enable more efficient exercise of citizens' right to access information held by government bodies and more transparent work, said Minister of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media Tamara Srzentić.

She said that the work of the government is transparent only if it publishes information about its activities and the policy it pursues.

An important novelty of the Law on Free Access to Information, as she pointed out, is that it will enable access to information of persons exercising public function, data relating to the public function exercise, as well as to incomes and property and conflict of interest of those persons and their relatives.

With this Law, this Government confirms that it has a huge political will to fight corruption, and the best proof of that is that it enables the public to control its work more than any other government has done so far, said Srzentić.

She added that the Law on Free Access to Information is one of the fundamental tools for exercising human rights, because it enables every citizen to receive information from the state administration, and only an informed citizen can adequately enjoy their rights.

This law empowers every citizen because it enables them to control the work of the government, exercise their rights and make decisions based on reliable, timely information. The law also makes it easier for the media to get information and control the work of the government in the public interest. It is also one of the most important laws that enables investigative journalism, she said.

The Minister pointed out that the amendments to the law create an opportunity to take a real step forward in order to build an efficient system. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the capacities of employees, through constant education and training, as well as technical support.

Minister Srzentić reminded that the EU Delegation to Montenegro and SIGMA provided expert support to the Ministry in the preparation of the proposed amendments, in order to harmonise the Montenegrin legislative framework in the field of free access to information with international and European standards.

The European Commission previously gave a positive assessment to the text of the law, emphasising that it will significantly improve access to information in Montenegro.

Minister Srzentić explained that the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information will begin on 1 January 2023, in order to adequately prepare the authorities and the Agency for Personal Data Protection and Free Access to Information for full implementation of the law (capacity building and organisation of trainings), as well as adoption of guidelines for the application of certain provisions of the law.