In the first reading, the Brčko District Assembly has adopted a draft Act on Freedom of Access to Information that eliminates the right to appeal decisions made by public institutions following information access requests.
Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TIBiH) has raised concerns, warning that denying the right to appeal creates opportunities to withhold information of public interest and places an additional financial burden on those seeking access by forcing them to pursue legal action.
“Stripping away the right to appeal is unacceptable, as one of the fundamental principles of administrative procedure is the ‘principle of a two-tier decision-making’. This right is also guaranteed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms,” stated TIBiH.
The draft law was presented to the Brčko District Assembly for a first reading. For it to come into effect, it must also be adopted in a second reading.
Until September 2023, the Brčko District operated under the state-level Freedom of Access to Information Act. However, amendments made at that time restricted its application to state institutions only, creating the need for local legislation.
In response, the Brčko District Government instructed Mayor Siniša Milić to appoint a working group to draft a district-level FOIA.
Aida Nišić, the head of the working group, explained that they opted to allow only the possibility of initiating an administrative dispute, without the right to appeal, because Brčko currently lacks an independent second-instance body.
“The Appeals Commission, which handles appeals in other administrative matters, is based in the Mayor’s Office and therefore isn’t considered independent,” Nišić told the Centre for Investigative Reporting.
Article 29 of the Draft Law states that no appeal is allowed against a decision or conclusion issued by a Brčko District institution in response to a request for access to information. Instead, applicants may initiate an administrative dispute within 30 days of receiving the decision or conclusion.
“This will force citizens, journalists, and civil society organisations to pursue costly legal proceedings. They will face additional expenses for legal representation, court fees for lawsuits and rulings, and it’s expected that many will be discouraged from taking action altogether,” warns TI BiH.
In addition, TI BiH warns that the proposed misdemeanor provisions are problematic, as they impose penalties on responsible officials only if they fail to comply with an order from the oversight body, while no sanctions are foreseen for unlawful actions taken directly against applicants.
