Proven experts with clean resumes, whose relationships with colleagues cannot affect the quality of work, should be elected to high public positions in independent bodies, such as the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information (AZLP).
Anamarija Musa, associate professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, told "Vijesti" that.
On Thursday, the administrative board will elect candidates for the president and two members of the AZLP Council.
"Vijesti" previously announced that six candidates had applied for those positions, that most of them had experience working in that body, but also that their biographies, while working together, were marked by mutual conflicts.
Musa believes that mutual conflicts are not good and can lead to negative consequences.
Last year, as information commissioner in the Government of Croatia, she led the project "Strengthening the capacity of the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information" in Montenegro.
For "Vijesti", she spoke about the qualifications and characteristics of members of bodies such as the AZLP Council, as well as the results of the Agency during its ten years of work.
According to her, performing a high function in an independent body that specializes in specific tasks - protection of personal data, access to information, suppression of corruption... requires that professionals who have proven themselves through previous work and who have the necessary professional qualifications be appointed to that job.
When it comes to access to information and protection of personal data, Musa explains, some countries have agencies, some commissions, and some individual commissioners or heads of agencies. That, she added, clearly positions the responsibility for the work of the body and enables the division of tasks through deputies. In many countries, especially in Western Europe, high-ranking officials who previously held a public office - ombudsmen, judges... are appointed to these positions.
In France and Spain, they often perform these functions in parallel, and sometimes candidates are not required to meet any special requirements, except for university education and years of experience.
"Because it is understood that the best person for the job will be appointed to the position," says Musa.
In Montenegro and similar young democracies, she added, a system of public competition has been adopted, which should contribute to the transparency of the procedure, prevent attempts at political "smearing"... and enable the public to react when it justifiably suspects that some candidates could perform their duty, because their biographies were previously marked by affairs, criminal acts, because they are not professional...
"If there are reasons against a candidate, they should be taken into account," says Musa.
Muhamed Gjokaj, who is still in that position, Sreten Radonjić, former director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, and Radenko Lacmanović applied for the presidency of the AZLP Council. Candidates for Council members are - again Gjokaj, current and former director of AZLP Čedomir Mitrović and Bojan Obrenović and Biljana Božić who heads the Department for Access to Information.
Radonjić from KAS, as "Vijesti" was told, is leaving due to repeated criticism of the work of that body in the latest document of the European Commission in connection with chapters 23 and 24 (non paper).
A lawsuit was filed against Obrenović, as the former head of the Agency, for mobbing and, after the Basic Court, the verdict was confirmed by the High Court a few months ago. His mandate in AZLP was also marked by his efforts to protect information about the assets of officials from the public. He previously complained about the illegal dismissal, since his re-election to the position of director was contested by Gjokaj and Mitrović...
Musa says that relations between members of the body are important for work.
"Any conflicts between the members of the body, apart from different positions on the items that are on the table because they are legal issues, can in fact lead to negative consequences and are not good for the body, both for efficiency in daily work and for public perception" , she said, adding that it is up to the person who appoints the members to "try to ensure that the appointed body functions by selecting personnel".
He points out that, regardless of that, it is important that there are adequate procedural rules established by the rules of procedure.
"In the end, each of the members of the council must be aware that they work for the benefit of the body and society, as well as to preserve public trust in the body and its dignity through their work, behavior and statements," she said.
Dina Bajramspahić from the Institute of Alternatives said that the Agency should not even exist, "if the Government, institutions, authorities were doing everything properly". That's why he says that that body, primarily the Council, "must be a corrective factor that puts pressure on them to change their bad practices."
"That's why the members of the Council must be the types of personalities who are ready to persistently 'fight' with the public administration, which is lulled into its own 'we don't have to do anything'", believes Bajramspahić, with the assessment that the Agency could "crucially contribute to the improvement of transparency and responsibility, the modernization of the Montenegrin administration, when it would really do its job", and that "this has not been the case so far".
"The Council acted selectively, chose subjects of minor importance, kept important ones in a drawer for years, gave ideas to the executive power on how to hide information, turned a blind eye to the concealment of data on budget spending, protected public functionaries by abusing the Personal Data Protection Act, refused to decide meritoriously, even though it is the only job he has, he watched calmly as the institutions ignored their cancellations of solutions...".
After the Administrative Board determines the proposal of candidates on Thursday, the President and members of the AZLP Council will be elected by the Assembly.
Bajramspahić: I don't expect much from the applicants
Bajramspahić reminded that none of the six registered candidates for the Council participated in the public debate on the Law on SPI.
"When expertise and integrity were most needed, when everyone interested in the topic felt called to contribute. If the registered experts did not find it necessary to get involved in the burning issue of preparing a new law, I do not expect much from them in their further work either. Even worse, if that silence means that they agree with the Government Draft as a whole, then we can't hope for better times to come".
She assessed that in the five-year mandate, the current composition of the Council cannot boast of progress in the field of free access to information.
"On the contrary, today we are fighting frantically to stay at this bad level we are at, just so it doesn't get worse".
Thousands of items are hard to deal with
Evaluating the work of AZLP over the past ten years, Anamarija Musa said that certain standards have been set, but that there is always room for improvement. He reminds that the Agency supervises about 1.300 authorities, that reactions and suppression of irregularities require an efficient and strong supervisory body, and that the number of jobs and cases is constantly growing, because citizens are also more aware of their rights.
"The specificities of the Law on SPI, or rather its shortcomings, as well as the effects of other regulations and the general disinterest of authorities in transparency, led to a huge influx of cases in the Agency, which is simply endemic and specific to Montenegro and with which every agency would could hardly carry in the world".
By focusing on the resolution of complaints, in order to at least get closer to resolution within the deadlines, which Musa considers short and irrationally determined, the monitoring function in AZLP has been slowed down. He considers the promotion of the right of access to be bad, and says that the Agency should do more to encourage other bodies to work transparently and openly towards citizens.
"If you have five people dealing with 3.000 complaints, they simply can't simultaneously conduct oversight, and monitor websites and provide training and write guidelines and manuals. In other countries, there is a special team for each of these special tasks, as is the case with commissioners in Serbia, Croatia, Ireland or Scotland".
That is why, she says, work should be continued in order to achieve adequate capacities of the Agency, expertise, technology, and she also considers the help of other institutions necessary...
"Thorough knowledge of the field of personal data and free access to information is not something that is acquired overnight, but is built over years."
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