Prohibition of access to information if the authority judges that the request is unreasonable, the introduction of the institute of abuse of rights and the classification of information from the security and intelligence sector - these are just some of the provisions of the Draft Law on Free Access to Information (FIA) that have been sharply criticized by part of the non-governmental and media community in Montenegro.
While waiting for the Ministry of Public Administration to summarize the public discussion, international experts in this field are sending similar warnings.
"I am very concerned about how the abuse of the right to free access to information is defined. We recommend you not to continue with the current draft law, I think it is too broadly defined in some parts and it can go over your head", said Helen Darbyshire from the organization for access to information, Access Info Europe.
"It is very important that government officials are accountable for what they do, because they manage our money. Citizens pay taxes every day and should know where their money is being spent," points out Juanho Cordero, SPI expert.
And the Delegation of the European Union joins the views of the experts.
"Certain provisions in the Draft Law, such as the concept of abuse, must be carefully checked in the Montenegrin context and there are other legal solutions to solve this issue," says Akvil Normantje from the EU Delegation in Montenegro.
That is why the Delegation expects that the Ministry of Public Administration will hear and accept the suggestions - They do not rule out that possibility in the Ministry either, which has been analyzing the received comments since the end of October, when the public discussion ended.
"I'm not saying that we have proposed the best solution, we are now reviewing, we will see what provisions the MJU will come out with in the end, but the biggest challenge here is to establish that balance." I now tell you responsibly that we will review the proposed solution in the draft, because we saw certain omissions, that is, we narrowed down certain information that should be proactively published", says Danijela Nedeljković Vukčević from the Ministry of Public Administration.
On the other hand, at the Institute of Alternatives, which organized the conference "Back to Basics: Informed Citizens - Active Society", they are sure that the Ministry is not facing a difficult task, because things are clear.
"If the Draft Law on SPI is adopted in the given form, we will go back 15 years, and we have been moving in that direction for years anyway," points out Stevo Muk from the Institute of Alternatives.
The draft law, which the Government proposes before the election year, stipulates that political parties are no longer obliged to provide the public with full insight into their finances.
Bonus video:
