The Ministry of Public Administration (MJU) reacted after representatives of civil society and the media asked the MJU to postpone the public hearing on amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information until conditions are met that would enable a quality discussion of that legal act.
"The Ministry of Public Administration (MJU) did not organize a public hearing, as stated in yesterday's announcement by several NGOs and media, but, after the public hearing was over, it organized additional consultations on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information, beyond the prescribed obligation The goal of the additional consultations is that NGOs and the media, as the most common beneficiaries of the law on SPI, are involved during the entire process of its preparation, as was the case with this law from the very beginning," the MJU said in its response.
They add that the process of public consultation on amendments to the Law on SPI has been carried out in a transparent manner from the beginning with respect for all necessary stages in accordance with the Government's regulation governing the procedure for conducting public hearings.
They remind that in accordance with the regulations, the public debate on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information was held for 40 days from September 17 to October 31, 2019, "so the ignorance of the regulations in the field of public consultations is surprising , and calling for abuse of the institute".
A Report on the Public Debate was prepared on the conducted public hearing, which was published on the e-government portal of the Ministry's website. http://www.mju.gov.me/biblioteka/izvjestaji.
"In accordance with the conclusion of the Special Group between the European Commission and Montenegro that "Montenegro will take into account the received inputs after public consultations and in cooperation with SIGMA and the European Commission will ensure compliance with European standards and principles of full and transparent access to information held by the public administration , with limited restrictions (such as issues of national security)", after a public debate, we innovated the text of the law and harmonized it first with SIGMA, and then with the European Commission. In this way, all legal procedures were fully complied with, and our obligations to SIGMA and the European Commission, which created the conditions for the law to enter the government procedure," the Ministry of Justice said.
In relation to the draft law that was on public discussion in the period September-October last year, this version of the draft law "has adopted the proposals and opinions of the public to the maximum", the ministry added. "Thus, the two main suggestions were considered and accepted, and the introduction of abuse of rights and changes to the rules on costs in administrative proceedings and administrative disputes, which would require each party to bear their own costs, were abandoned."
"Having in mind the huge interest of the public in the preparation of this law, and especially respecting the recommendations of the Prime Minister that emerged as part of the Open Dialogue with the media and NGOs, in order to familiarize the public with the innovative text of the law before the government procedure, it is planned to hold a round table which was scheduled for March 20. Bearing in mind the current epidemiological situation and the impossibility of holding a round table, in accordance with the current moment and available mechanisms, respecting the Government's recommendations, we published additional consultations on the innovative text of the law and invited all interested members of the public to once again declare about the proposed solutions", added the Ministry of Justice.
This means, they add, that at this stage it is not about a public discussion, because the public discussion in accordance with the regulation was already conducted last year, but about additional consultations and "about our desire to inform the interested public about the accepted proposals for changes to the legal text, and before the official referral to the government procedure."
"We believe that our call is responsible and appropriate to the new situation, because the Ministry of Public Administration, like all other state bodies, continues to perform tasks within its competence. At the same time, our call enables the participation of all interested parties in this phase of the preparation of the law, because as we announced with all interested subjects who will submit remarks, proposals and suggestions by April 3, 2020, in accordance with the current situation, we will organize a video conference", concluded the MJU.
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