Improving Proactive Transparency – Information Booklet (RS0038)

COMMITMENT 11: Improving proactive transparency – Information Booklet
Ongoing – upon expiry of fourteen months of the date of when the new Instructions come into force
Lead implementing agency Implementing agency for activities 1,3,4,5,6 : MPALSG
Implementing agency for activity 2: Commissioner for Information
of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection
Description of Commitment
Problem addressed by the
commitment
The Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance,
which came into force in 2004, provides that transparency in the
work of public administration bodies can be achieved in two ways:
proactively and reactively. Proactive transparency implies timely
publishing of documents and availability of understandable
information for citizens. Information booklets on the work of
public authorities and their content are defined by the by the Law
on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and they
include information used or generated by public administration
bodies in their work. The currently applicable arrangement for
publishing the Information Booklets (in Word/PDF formats) and
the updating system lead to insufficient data, make any attempt at
oversight an arduous task and provide limited possibilities for
comparison of information, which reduces citizens’ overall
awareness of the issues.
46
The results of a survey carried out by the Belgrade Open School at
the local self-government unit level showed that information
booklets generally tend to lack the most sensitive information,
especially information about the budget, which was observed in
69% of all cases. Only 16% of all municipalities published
information about public procurement, while 11% published
information about awarded state aid and various forms of financial
support to public and other enterprises. About a half of all
information booklets of LSGUs in Serbia (47%) do not contain
information about e.g. documents and requirements necessary to
exercise a social security entitlement or about the issuance of a
certificate of registration with the register of births.
Main objective The planned amendments to the Law on Free Access to
Information of Public Importance, namely its Article 39 and Article
3 that defines the concept of a public authority body and the
concept of a government body within the meaning of this Law, to
which category of authorities refers obligation to publish the
Information Booklet, as well as amendments to the Instructions on
Preparation of Information Booklets, will see the information
contained in those Information Booklets reformatted with the aim
of opening the data contained therein, improving proactive
transparency and expanding the circle of administration bodies
subject to the legal requirement of publishing Information
Booklets. This will entail:
1) Development of a single IT system to access, process and
present the Information Booklet;
2) Designing a segment of an online platform that would serve as
an Information Booklet, coupled with an obligation for public
authorities to publish information booklets in PDF format;
3) Training of employees in government bodies for the use of a
single IT system;
4) Piloting the use of the application;
5) Promotion of the application (single IT system) for the public,
civil sector, business sector and the media.
Effectiveness of the amendments to Article 39 of the Law on Free
Access to Information of Public Importance would be delayed until
the online platform is designed (until technical requirements are
complied with).
How will this commitment
contribute to problem solving?
The planned amendments to the Law on Free Access to
Information of Public Importance, namely its Article 39 and Article
3 that defines the concept of a public authority body and the
concept of a government body within the meaning of this Law, to
which category of authorities refers obligation to publish the
Information Booklet, as well as amendments to the Instructions on
Preparation of Information Booklets, will see the information
contained in those Information Booklets reformatted with the aim
of opening the data contained therein and improving proactive
transparency. In addition, harmonisation of these two documents
would encourage the administration at all levels to open data in
accordance with the “Open Data Readiness Assessment” published
in December 2015.
In order to increase civic participation, it will first be necessary to
47
raise citizens’ awareness, both in quantitative and in qualitative
terms. In this context, the level of comprehensibility of information
made available to citizens by the public administration should also
be taken into account. Only if citizens fully comprehend
information that is provided to them proactively can it be
considered that citizens have been properly informed. Reformatting
of the information booklets would entail changes in the data entry
and updating arrangements, which in turn would have direct effects
on citizens’ awareness and facilitate the work of civil servants and
oversight of compliance with the Law.
If adopted, this measure would ensure the following:
- Public administration bodies would be able to prepare their
Information Booklets in a more efficient and faster manner
because they would be prepared exclusively electronically;
- Information booklets would contain absolutely all data specified
by the law, i.e. there would be no incomplete information booklets
– the application would not be able to close if all specified data
have not been entered;
- The number of freedom of information requests would be reduced
because all pieces of information would be available in a single
central database and because expanding the circle of persons
subject to the duty to apply the law would have impact on the
availability and quality of published information;
- Public administration would be significantly improved because all
pieces of information would be available in a single central
database, both for other authorities and for citizens;
- Updating of data in information booklets would be improved
because of the duty to register changes within a much shorter time
limit;
- The system used for overseeing compliance with the Law on Free
Access to Information of Public Importance would be more
efficient because oversight procedures would be more expedient
and the oversight activities would be conducted to a higher
standard of quality;
- Interested parties would have easier and faster access to the
required information, which they would be able to download in an
open format, compare, cross-check and use for further analysis,
research and development of various applications;
- Civic participation would improve significantly, as would the
watchdog role of the media and citizens’ oversight of the work of
public authorities.
The way in which this
commitment is relevant to
further advancing OGP values
The proactive transparency principle is fully compliant with the
open government principles, which are also proclaimed by the OGP
initiative. Timely provision of information in an open format would
directly improve data accessibility, which will ensure transparency
and accountability in the work of public administration and foster
civic participation and influence on the work of public
administration.
Provision of information in an open data format would enable
subsequent processing of information and easier development of
services and digital solutions for certain social services or social
changes (e.g. development of a web or mobile application which
48
would provide necessary information on required documentation to
citizens.
Additional information
Activity with a verifiable
deliverable and completion
date
Start Date: End Date:
1. Amendments to the Law on
Free Access to Information of
Public Importance (the “Law”)
Ongoing Q2 2019
2. Passing of new Instructions
on Preparation and Publishing of
Information Booklets (the
“Instructions”)
On the date when the Law comes
into force
Two months of the date
when the Law comes into
force
3. Development of a single IT
system to access, process and
present Information Booklets
On the date when the new
Instructions come into force
Upon expiry of one month of
the date when the new
Instructions come into force
4. Training of employees at
government bodies in the use of
a single IT system
Two months of the date when the
new Instructions come into force
Upon expiry of fourteen
months of the date when the
new Instructions come into
force
5. Piloting the use of the
application
At the beginning of the fourth
month of the date when the new
Instructions come into force
Nine months of the date
when the new Instructions
come into force
6. Promotion of the application
(single IT system) for the public,
civil sector, business sector and
the media.
Two months of the date when the
new Instructions come into
force
Fourteen months of the date
when the new Instructions
come into force
Contact information
Name of a responsible person in
the implementing agency
MPALSG: Ivana Antić
Commissioner:
Slavoljupka Pavlović
Title, Department MPALSG: Assistant Minister, Sector for Human and Minority
Rights and Freedoms
Commissioner:
Assistant Secretary General, Sector for Complaints and
Enforcement – Access to Information
49
Email and phone number ivana.antic@mduls.gov.rs , 011-2641-495
slavoljupka.pavlovic@poverenik.rs, 064 847-9-111
Other
actors
involved Administration
Civil sector
organisations,
private sector,
working groups
CRTA – Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability
Belgrade Open School (BOS)
UNDP

11. Improving proactive transparency – Information Booklet

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

The planned amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, namely its Article 39 and Article 3 that defines the concept of a public authority body and the concept of a government body within the meaning of this Law, to which category of authorities refers obligation to publish the Information Booklet, as well as amendments to the Instructions on Preparation of Information Booklets, will see the information contained in those Information Booklets reformatted with the aim of opening the data contained therein, improving proactive transparency and expanding the circle of administration bodies subject to the legal requirement of publishing Information Booklets.

This will entail: 1) Development of a single IT system to access, process and present the Information Booklet; 2) Designing a segment of an online platform that would serve as an Information Booklet, coupled with an obligation for public authorities to publish information booklets in PDF format; 3) Training of employees in government bodies for the use of a single IT system; 4) Piloting the use of the application; 5) Promotion of the application (single IT system) for the public, civil sector, business sector and the media. Effectiveness of the amendments to Article 39 of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance would be delayed until the online platform is designed (until technical requirements are complied with).

Start Date: Ongoing

End Date: upon expiry of fourteen months of the date of when the new Instructions come into force

12. Amend Access to Information Law

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

Title: Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance

The Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance must be amended to ensure respect of the right to access information and compliance with time limits set by the law. The duty to proactively publish information shold also be established. The future Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance must include the following provisions:

1. To ensure efficient oversight of lawfulness of operations of public administration bodies and other entities subject to administrative oversight and inspection for violations of the right of access to information of public importance, in compliance with the principle of independence of oversight authorities and the principles of good governance;
2. To expand the circle of authorities/persons subject to the law, both newly founded and existing which have not been subject to the law so far although their sphere of competences requires so;
3. To reduce reasons for rejecting requests because of abuse of rights specified in the Law, such as frequent submission of requests and volume of information;
4. To improve the selection procedure and termination of office of the Commissioner, the position of the Deputy Commisisoner and the Commissioner’s Office;
5. To introduce the obligation to obtain an opinion of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection in the process of passing laws, to the extent that those regulations fall within the remit of this authority;
6. To improve the situation regarding enforcement of decisions passed by the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection;
7. To bring the amount of fines in compliance with the Law on Misdemeanours and to establish a protective mechanism to ensure the achieved level of freedom of information cannot be reduced by other regulations;
8. To impose a duty on the authorities subject to this Law to proactively publish information of public importance.

Start Date: Ongoing

End Date: Q2 2019

For full commitment text, please refer to the National Action Plan at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Serbia_Action-Plan_2018-2020_EN.pdf

Context and Objectives

Although Serbia has long been among the global frontrunners in free access to information legislation, [142] issues such as low responsiveness of public authorities [143] to freedom of information (FoI) requests or improper legal definition along with enforcement of sanctions for noncompliance with the standards have persisted in practice. To illustrate, since 2005, the commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection has received close to 35,000 complaints, out of which around 70% were cases of “administrative silence.” [144] Additional shortcomings relate to the legal obligation of public bodies to publish “information booklets” as a proactive transparency tool about the work of public authorities in a simple and citizen-friendly form. For example, booklets should contain data on organizational structure, responsible heads, budget of the body, public procurement, and similar, but a significant number of bodies fail to comply with this rule, despite prescribed misdemeanour measures. In 2017, only 23% of legally obliged authorities published their information booklets, [145] and almost a third of agencies and organizations formed by the government failed to regularly update them. [146]

This deficient implementation of the law has prompted civil society and the commissioner to advocate for amendments since 2012, and the government intends to push for these amendments through commitment 12, also an obligation under the Action Plan on Chapter 23 in the country’s accession negotiations with the EU. [147] Among other things, the amendments are supposed to include a provision on publishing open data e-booklets on a central web location, with strict content and deadlines, which is commitment 11. This commitment also requires the commissioner to pass new Instructions on Preparation and Publishing of Information Booklets and develop online software for inserting and publishing data.

Both of these commitments were incomplete and carried over from the previous action plan due to a long drawn-out debate on the amendments, which involved serious criticism by the civil society and that put all other activities on hold. [148] Though both commitments are relevant to the OGP value of access to information, commitment 12 is additionally related to strengthening accountability, as the law provides appeal mechanisms and legal remedies to the seekers of information. Both commitments are specific and allow verification of their completion.

In terms of potential impact, commitment 11 would oblige all authorities to publish and update the booklet, such that information on income and expenditures, public procurement, state aid, and other highly relevant data would become more accessible, consistent, complete, and updated across the entire public sector. The possibility of exporting data in open formats would make the booklets much easier to process, compare, and reuse. This would empower civil society, citizens, and other stakeholders to produce evidence-based findings by which to hold public authorities accountable.

The IRM researchers assessed the potential impact of commitment 12 as moderate considering that proposed amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information would expand the scope of bodies adhering to the law, [149] obliging a total of 385 public notaries and public enforcement officers [150] to provide access to information. Moreover, if implemented as written, the commitment would reduce the number of potential reasons for rejecting FoI requests, oblige law makers to obtain opinions of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection on draft laws within the remit of its authority, harmonize the monetary penalties with the Law on Misdemeanours, and strengthen the obligation of public bodies to proactively publish information of public importance. Application of all amendments combined would bring improvements in the scope of the law and help advance freedom of information.

However, at the time of writing of this report, interviewed stakeholders indicated that the last public version of proposed amendments brought controversial, potentially backsliding measures for open government. For example, some companies partially owned by the state would be exempted from the scope of public bodies, even though they possess considerable assets ^[151] and are financed by taxpayers. The Commissioner’s Office representatives stated that this is the most problematic type of public body in terms of compliance with the law, ^[152] and that they receive around 15% of all FoI requests in the country. ^[153] Additionally, the latest amendment proposals reduce the transparency of the National Bank of Serbia because information seekers would not be able to file a complaint to the commissioner in case this institution does not respond to information requests but would only be able to start administrative court proceedings. ^[154] Overall, stakeholders are in accord that the planned legal solutions would seriously limit the existing level of the right of the public to know. [155] Therefore, final impact would depend on how the law ends up being passed.

Next steps

The IRM researchers recommend proceeding with commitment 11 as planned. Civil society could raise awareness of other CSOs and journalists about the novelties related to e-booklets and how to use them. The aim should be to instigate greater demand for data and show opportunities for their (re)use, visualization, and so forth.

However, the amendments in commitment 12 should not continue until the MPALSG can open a new round of public debate on them. This debate should include a clear elaboration on the treatment of comments and reasons for their rejection. Once consensus with stakeholders is reached on the amendments, the OGP Working Group should add implementation milestones in the commitment design, which will target crucial challenges in implementation, such as training of the public notaries and enforcement officials on the new obligations the law has set.

11. Improving proactive transparency – information booklet

Completion: Limited:

This commitment was carried forward from the previous action plan and represents the most ambitious commitment in both cycles 2016-2018 and 2018-2020. It was considered as potentially transformative because it would oblige public bodies to publish information about their public procurement, income and expenditures, state aid and other sensitive information.

However, while the pilot version of the portal (which would contain open data e-booklets on the work of public authorities) exists, it is not operational and contains a limited number of outdated e-booklets. [63] The main obstacle for making the portal operational and making the bodies publish e-booklets is the delayed amendment of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance (explained in more detail in the commitment 12). Although proposed changes related to e-booklets brought no controversy, other proposed changes created deep discontent with civil society and other stakeholders. [64] Therefore, subsequent activities that depend on the law amendment and enforcement (e.g. enacting instructions for using the portal, training of civil servants to use the portal, promotion of the portal to the public) were put on hold.