{"id":7739,"date":"2019-09-30T11:52:54","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T09:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mans.co.me\/en\/?p=7739"},"modified":"2019-11-12T10:58:09","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T08:58:09","slug":"montenegros-assault-on-freedom-of-information-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mans.co.me\/en\/?p=7739","title":{"rendered":"Montenegro\u2019s assault on freedom of information continues"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In Montenegro, proposed amendments to the Montenegrin Law on Free Access to Information have raised serious concern from experts, who say that the majority of the proposed changes would have a negative effect, and would take Montenegro further away from international transparency standards.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Already this year, the Montenegrin government has\u00a0t<\/a>wice tried to amend the country\u2019s law on classified information\u00a0in a manner which violates\u00a0several articles of the country\u2019s constitution. Thanks to push-back from media and civil society, the worst provisions in that law were dropped.<\/p>\n

These latest efforts fly in the face of Montenegro\u2019s commitments as a member of the Council of Europe and the Open Government Partnership.<\/p>\n

For example, some of the proposed revisions make it easier for authorities to abuse of the system for classifying information, thanks to overly broad exceptions and blanket limitations.<\/p>\n

In a letter to the working group responsible for this area of Montengrin law, the specialist NGO Access Info Europe has described some provisions as \u201cunreasonable and far too vague.\u201d These include a clause which prohibits requests for \u201ctoo much information.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cAny public authority with a half-decent information management system should be able to handle requests for somewhat large quantities of information. This is particularly true in the digital age.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

–<\/em>\u00a0Helen Darbishire, Vice President and Executive Director, Access Info Europe<\/p>\n

The proposed amendments also create the possibility of public officials deciding what information is or isn\u2019t of public importance. This should not be the case. Exceptions to the right to information should be based on sound grounds and risks of harm, not the whims of individuals. Only then can an active and engaged citizenry use their right to information to hold authorities to account and help stop corruption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Montenegro, proposed amendments to the Montenegrin Law on Free Access to Information have raised serious concern from experts, who say that the majority of the proposed changes would have a negative effect, and would take Montenegro further away from international transparency standards. Already this year, the Montenegrin government has\u00a0twice tried to amend the country\u2019s<\/p>\n

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