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Sarajevo, (Fena) – In Sarajevo, an online tool called “Access to Information” was officially presented. The platform enables the creation of requests for free access to information from all institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The tool, available at pristupinformacijama.ba, besides an automated and intuitive process of creating requests, allows citizens, media, and civil society organizations to compose and send urgencies and complaints and receive reminders for deadlines for each step of the process of obtaining information of public significance.
– The goal of this tool, whose development was supported by the European Union, is to strengthen access to information, which not only improves the transparency of public authorities but also the level of citizen participation in the work of institutions. This is the basic prerequisite for the democracy, openness, and accountability of institutions – said Aurelie Valtat, head of the Department for EU Integration, Political Affairs, Press, and Information at the EU Delegation in BiH – stated Transparency International BiH.
Access to Information uses an intuitive and simple interface that guides users through each step of creating a request for free access to information and contains the names and addresses of several thousand public institutions, bodies, companies, and establishments at all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina to which citizens can turn.
– Our wish was to offer citizens a simple and intuitive way to compose a request themselves, in order to obtain information of interest from the authorities, as this is one of the basic rights guaranteed by freedom of information laws – said Marko Vujić, a legal aid associate at Transparency International in BiH (TIBiH), which, together with the association Your Rights BiH (VPBiH), implemented this project.
It should be emphasized that Access to Information allows the composition of requests to all public bodies in BiH, automatically choosing the appropriate law depending on the level and jurisdiction of the institution from which the information is sought, which further facilitates the process given that there are currently three laws regulating this area in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (31.01.)