Gratz Submits Draft Law on the Right to Access Information in FBiH to Parliamentary Procedure

(Patria) - Member of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dennis Gratz has submitted the Draft Law on the Right to Access Information in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to parliamentary procedure, which would replace the existing Law on Freedom of Access to Information in FBiH.

The proposed law aims to establish a truly effective system of transparency in the work of public institutions, considering that the current law in practice often does not ensure timely and complete access to information of public interest.

"In practice, it often happens that institutions do not respond to requests for access to information, or provide incomplete and formal answers. Access to information related to the spending of public money is particularly problematic," Gratz stated.

As an illustration of the problem, Gratz cites that the public has documented restrictions on access to contractual documentation for large infrastructure projects, including the reconstruction of the tram line in Sarajevo Canton, where complete information about multi-million euro contracts was not available.

Also, in relation to other projects, including the procurement of trams and similar infrastructure interventions, public discussions have been held on the level of transparency and availability of key documentation.

"At the federal level, we have similar patterns – difficult access to contracts of public companies, insufficiently transparent distribution of grants and subsidies, and partial or delayed provision of information," Gratz emphasized.

For years, the public space has also pointed to various forms of non-transparent management of public funds, which further confirms the need for systemic improvement of access to information.

The draft law introduces a series of key solutions:

- the right to access information becomes a real right of citizens, not a matter of institutional goodwill
- institutions will have to publish key information about the spending of public money themselves
- the practice of so-called administrative silence is abolished – institutions will no longer be able to simply ignore requests
- penalties and responsibility for hiding information are introduced
- information will be available in digital and open form, so that everyone can use it

"This is a law that should ensure that information about the work of the government is the rule, not the exception," Gratz concluded.