Serbia and Montenegro

The following Justice Initiative projects are underway in, or relevant to, Serbia and Montenegro:

Freedom of Information and Expression

Serbia: Comments on Draft Freedom of Information Law
It is clear from this draft, that the Serbian government is committed to these principles. The draft has some good provisions, including many of the provisions relating to procedures for accessing information, and in particular the role of the Ombudsperson. It is therefore extremely disappointing that parts of the law—including some of the most important provisions on the right of access and on exemptions—show fundamental misunderstandings of how the right of access to information should be framed in law and how it should function in practice.

Regional: Freedom of Information Adoption Strategy session
On 10 November 2002, a one-day meeting of FOI groups was organized by the Open Society Justice Initiative and Article 19 in Skopje, Macedonia, in order to develop strategies for furthering freedom of information goals in the southeast European region. Participants presented the current situation regarding the adoption of freedom of information laws in each country/territory. It was noted that although many countries have constitutional provisions on the right to information (Croatia, Serbia, and Macedonia), governments give a low priority to adopting the legislation needed to make the provision operational. Furthermore, there tends to be widespread confusion between “Public Information” (mass media) laws and access to information (FOI) laws. NGO representatives from countries with FOI laws (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia) were invited to (and attended) a regional meeting in Zagreb in March 2003, to share their experiences of campaigning for the adoption of these laws.