Scotland, 5th of June, 2009

Access to Public Information in Slovenia

Nataša Pirc Musar,

Information Commissioner

• Constitutional framework– Article 38: protection of personal data is guaranteed

– Article 39: freedom of speech and right of access to public information are guaranteed.

• Constitutional right of PDP is embodied in the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

• Constitutional right of access to public information is embodied in the Access to Public Information Act (APIA).

Access to Public Information in Slovenia

• APIA defines 12 exceptions from publicly available information; personal data (PD) protection is the only exception that is also constitutional right;

• the most common exception is the protection of PD as governed by the PDPA;

• in the previous years 29,4% of the Commissioner’s decisions issued under APIA dealt with the exception of the PD protection.

Access to Public Information in Slovenia

• Inspection rights:

– Possibility to confiscate documents– Possibility to enter IT systems (but communication

privacy protected documents)– Possibility to call police if public sector body does not

want to leave us into its premises• Never used

– The right to call eny witness to testify

Access to Public Information in Slovenia

• Novelties of the amended FOIA:– Public interest test (25 countries have it)– Total transparency of public money spending:

“The access to the requested information is sustained:

- if the considered is information related to the use of public funds or information related to the execution of public functions or employment relationship…”

Access to Public Information in Slovenia

• Novelties of the amended FOIA:– Withdrawall of the classification from documents

and environmental information:

– “if the considered is information related to environmental emissions, waste, dangerous substances in factory or information contained in safety report and also other information if the Environment Protection Act so stipulates.

– If the applicant holds, that information is denoted classified in violation of the Act governing classified data, he can request the withdrawal of the classification according to the procedure from the Article 21 of this Act.”

Access to Public Information in Slovenia

Withdrawall of the classification (unique in the world)

• The same procedure as for using a public interest test

• The appeal body is the Information Commissioner

Access to Public Information in Slovenia

Access to Public Information in SloveniaFIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES TO SUCCEED :

1. Penalties, misdemeanour body2. Change mentality of bureaucrats3. Have an Information Commissioner (or

Ombudsman)4. Do not have many absolute exceptions5. Public should “have the guts” to ask

Need to Know Right to Know

www.ic-rs.si

Thank you for your attention!