National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia / Activities / Activity details
Thursday, 14 May 2015
41st Sitting of the Committee on the Judiciary, Public Administration and Local Self-Government
On 14 May, the Committee on the Judiciary, Public Administration and Local Self-Government held a joint sitting with the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending to review the Anti-Corruption Agency 2014 Activity Report accompanied by the Report on the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2013-2018 and the Action Plan for its implementation.
The Committee on the Judiciary, Public Administration and Local Self-Government also reviewed the Report on the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and the Law on Personal Data Protection in 2014.
Agency Director Tatjana Babic presented the most important activities the Agency conducted in the last year and the results achieved regarding conflicts of interest, protection of whistleblowers and the control of funding of political activities. The Agency Director outlined the recommendations to the National Assembly for the improvement of the legislative framework, primarily concerning the need to pass a new law on the Anti-Corruption Agency. Tatjana Babic also informed the committee members about the cooperation between the Agency and other authorities and organisations.
Speaking of the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2013-2018 and the Action Plan for its implementation, the Agency Director stressed the fact that when assessing the fulfilment of the Strategy for 2014, 28% of the planned activities have been conducted, 49% have not and for a disturbing quarter of the activities i.e. 22%, the Agency was unable to ascertain whether they have or have not been conducted because the responsible parties have not reported on the activities or reported in a manner which makes it impossible to come to a positive conclusion whether the activity has been fulfilled or not.
In the course of the discussion, the members of the two committees emphasised the importance of passing a new law on the Anti-Corruption Agency. They asked for additional information about the drafting of the integrity plan for state authorities. They also stressed that the fight against corruption has to be conducted systemically and the importance of furthering the cooperation between the Agency and the National Assembly, judiciary and prosecution.
The committees will formulate conclusion proposals on the reviewed Anti-Corruption Agency 2014 Activity Report accompanied by the Report on the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2013-2018 and the Action Plan for its implementation, at one of their upcoming sittings and forward them to the National Assembly for consideration.
The members of the Committee on the Judiciary, Public Administration and Local Self-Government then went on to review the Report on the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and the Law on Personal Data Protection in 2014. Elaborating the Report, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Rodoljub Sabic said that the Commissioner’s scope of activities keeps expanding each year and the number of cases filed in 2014 is almost 18 times higher than in the first year of operation viz. 2005. He outlined how the Commissioner processed complaints of violation of the right to access information and the Commissioner’s activities relating to personal data protection. The Committee will formulate a conclusion proposal on the reviewed Report on the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and the Law on Personal Data Protection in 2014 at one of the upcoming sittings and forward it to the National Assembly for consideration.
The sitting was co-chaired by the Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, Public Administration and Local Self-Government Petar Petrovic and the Chairman of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending Veroljub Arsic.
Agency Director Tatjana Babic presented the most important activities the Agency conducted in the last year and the results achieved regarding conflicts of interest, protection of whistleblowers and the control of funding of political activities. The Agency Director outlined the recommendations to the National Assembly for the improvement of the legislative framework, primarily concerning the need to pass a new law on the Anti-Corruption Agency. Tatjana Babic also informed the committee members about the cooperation between the Agency and other authorities and organisations.
Speaking of the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2013-2018 and the Action Plan for its implementation, the Agency Director stressed the fact that when assessing the fulfilment of the Strategy for 2014, 28% of the planned activities have been conducted, 49% have not and for a disturbing quarter of the activities i.e. 22%, the Agency was unable to ascertain whether they have or have not been conducted because the responsible parties have not reported on the activities or reported in a manner which makes it impossible to come to a positive conclusion whether the activity has been fulfilled or not.
In the course of the discussion, the members of the two committees emphasised the importance of passing a new law on the Anti-Corruption Agency. They asked for additional information about the drafting of the integrity plan for state authorities. They also stressed that the fight against corruption has to be conducted systemically and the importance of furthering the cooperation between the Agency and the National Assembly, judiciary and prosecution.
The committees will formulate conclusion proposals on the reviewed Anti-Corruption Agency 2014 Activity Report accompanied by the Report on the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2013-2018 and the Action Plan for its implementation, at one of their upcoming sittings and forward them to the National Assembly for consideration.
The members of the Committee on the Judiciary, Public Administration and Local Self-Government then went on to review the Report on the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and the Law on Personal Data Protection in 2014. Elaborating the Report, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Rodoljub Sabic said that the Commissioner’s scope of activities keeps expanding each year and the number of cases filed in 2014 is almost 18 times higher than in the first year of operation viz. 2005. He outlined how the Commissioner processed complaints of violation of the right to access information and the Commissioner’s activities relating to personal data protection. The Committee will formulate a conclusion proposal on the reviewed Report on the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance and the Law on Personal Data Protection in 2014 at one of the upcoming sittings and forward it to the National Assembly for consideration.
The sitting was co-chaired by the Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, Public Administration and Local Self-Government Petar Petrovic and the Chairman of the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending Veroljub Arsic.