In compliance with Article 1, Paragraph 3 of the Law on Free Access to Public Information (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No. 13/1.2.2006), the Commission for Protecting the Right to Access to Public Information, on ………… 2006 adopted the following

GUIDELINES

On the manner and procedure for implementing the Law on Free Access to Public Information

I. Introductory provisions

I. 1. These Guidelines shall determine the manner and procedure for securing public and open performance of state authorities and other bodies and institutions determined by the law, as well as municipal bodies, the City of Skopje, public institutions and services, public enterprises and legal and natural entities performing public actions and activities of public interest determined by the law, i.e., holders of public information.

I. 2. These Guidelines shall determine the manner and procedure for enabling all legal and natural persons i.e., requesters, exercise their right to free access to public information.

II. Securing free access to public information

II.3. The information-holder shall be obliged to regularly update a list of information available and publish the information in an easy accessible manner for the requesters: information board, Internet website, flyer, leaflet, guide, manual, bulletin, etc.

II.3.1. The information-holder shall publicly announce (in public media, bulletins, information boards, Internet websites, etc.) its name, address, telephone and fax numbers, website address, including the name of the official appointed for providing public information.

II.3.2. Upon the request of the information-requester, the information-holder shall provide information (data or transcript) in any form available: written or printed text, maps, schemes, photographs, pictures, drawings, sketches, finalized working materials, as well as in the form of sound, voice, magnetic or electronic, optical or video footage, including transferable means for automatic data-processing with incorporated or transferable digital data storage memories.

II.3.3. The information-holder shall appoint one or more officials responsible for dealing with free access to information.

II.3.4. The information-holder shall be obliged to provide office premises for insight in public information.

II.3.5. The information-holder shall be obliged to provide assistance to the requesters seeking public information.

II.3.6. Several information-holders can agree to provide joint service on behalf of all bodies by one or more officials in dealing with access to public information.

II.4. The information-holder can deny access to the information stipulated by Articles 6* and 7 of the Law on Free Access to Public Information, Article 8 of the Law on Classified Information, and Articles 5-17 of the Law on Personal Data Protection.

II.4.1. The information-holder shall be entitled to provide the requester with only part of a document, provided the rest of the document contains the information stipulated in Article 6 of the Law on Free Access to Public Information or Article 8 of the Law on Classified Information, including Articles 5-17 of the Law on Personal Data Protection. The information-holder shall visibly mark (with empty spaces) parts of the information missing and inform the requester about the partial access provided.

II.5. The information-holder shall be obliged to secure free of charge insight in the information requested.

II.6. The information-holder shall be entitled to charge the requester for the provided transcript, photocopy or electronic file of the information only. The fee shall be determined on the basis of the proposal of the Ministry of Finance, while the Government of the Republic of Macedonia shall make the decision on the actual amount of the fee that requesters pay to the information-holder under the line “material costs”.

II.6.1. The information-holder shall publish the price list of such fees.

II.6.2. Should the information requested be of larger scope that demands higher costs, the information-holder shall be entitled to request advance payment by the requester.

III. Access to Public Information Methodology

III.7. All legal and natural persons shall have free access to public information regardless whether they are national or international.

III.8. Access to public information shall be performed by oral, written, electronic or other form of request submitted to the information-holder.

III.8.1. The information-holder shall decide for the written requests for information.

III.8.2. The official appointed by the information-holder shall act upon the request for free access to public information.

III.9. The request-form shall be determined by the Commission for Protecting the Right to Free Access to Public Information, and it shall be filled in by the information-requester. (see below):

(PP form .......)

To _____________________________________________

(information-holder)

REQUEST

for access to public information

In compliance with Article 4 and Article 12 of the Law on Free Access to Public Information (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No. 13/1.2.2006), I request the following information from the information-holder:

______________________________________________________________________

(description of information requested)

Form of the information requested:

a) insight

b) transcript

c) photocopy

d) electronic form

e) other ________________________________________________________

(circle the selected form)

Manner of submission of information:

a) by post

b) telephone

c) fax

d) e-mail

e) other ________________________________________________________

(circle the selected form)

Information-requester ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

(title, name and surname, address, tel., fax, e-mail)

Authorized representative of the information-requester

____________________________________________________

(title, name and surname, address, tel., fax, e-mail)

(Legal advice: The requester is not obliged to list and explain the reasons for seeking the information, but he/she should indicate that the request stems from free access to public information)

In ________________

Date _________200_

________________

III.9.1. The requester shall submit the request to the information-holder in Macedonian language, cyrilic letters, while the requester using an official language different than the Macedonian language and alphabet may also submit the request on the official language and alphabet stipulated in the law.

III.10. Having submitted the request, the requester shall be entitled to access to the information the information-holder has available in the desired form: insight in information, transcript, photocopy or electronic form, or in any other manner listed on the request form.

III.11. The information-holder shall draft and fill in a special official note confirming that he/she received the information-request from the requester concerned and collected the determined fee. The receipt shall be prepared in two identical copies - one for the information-requester and one for the information-holder (see below).

Request No. ____________________________________________________________

Received on _______________________2006 at ______________________________

From the official ________________________________________________________

(name, surname, position)

The request shall be forwarded to ___________________________________________

(name of the official/service)

A fee of __________________ MKD was determined.

Received by: ______________________________________

(signature of official)

III.12. The information-requester shall not be obliged to explain the reasons for seeking the information, but simply indicate that he/she requests public information.

III.12.1. The information-holder shall not have the authority to demand explanation from the requester, and in case of omission to indicate that the information requested is public, the Law on Free Access to Public Information shall be applied provided the subject of the request is a matter of free access to public information.

III.12.2. The information-holder, by means of a written conclusion, can conclude that the request was withdrawn if the requester cancels the request, or if he/she has submitted an incomplete request from which the type of information requested cannot be determined and if the information-requester did not finalize the request after the official pointed that out.

III.12.3. The information-holder, by means of a decision, shall reject the information request which is incomplete after requiring additional information.

III.13. The information-holder shall be obliged to draft an official note on his/her actions upon the received oral, written or electronic information requests, i.e., upon the oral or written complaint submitted by the information requester, incorporating all requester’s data, including the date of submission and the signature of the official processing the request or the complaint of the information requester. The official note shall be drafted in two identical copies - one for the information-holder and one for the information requester.

III.13.1. The official note shall be included in the annual report on all documented requests, which the information-holder submits to the Commission for Protecting the Right to Free Access to Public Information.

III.14. For all issues related to the procedure on oral, written or electronic information requests, besides the ones stipulated in the Law on Free Access to Public Information, the provisions of the Law on General Administrative Procedures shall apply.

IV. Deadlines for processing requests for access to public information

IV.15. Immediately after the submission of the request or within 30 days of receiving the request in any form, the information holder shall be obliged to respond.

IV. 15.1. When there is a positive answer, the information-holder shall draft a note, while if the answer is negative or partial the information-holder shall draft a written decision and submit it to the requester.

IV.15.2. The information-holder may request additional information on the request if all elements listed in the form are not contained. The information-holder can reject the request if the requester does not complete the request after assistance provided by the information-holder. The information-holder may forward the request within 10 days provided he/she does not hold the information requested. The request shall be forwarded to the actual information-holder and the information requester shall be informed.

IV.16. The deadline for providing the access to the information requested may be prolonged for 10 days the most only when the requested document is large or when the holder provides partial access to information, thus a longer processing period is necessary to remove the parts that are not public information or are protected with a degree of confidentiality in compliance with the Law on Classified Information.

IV.17. The information-holder shall be obliged to inform the requester about the prolonged deadline, but if that is not done three days prior to the expiration of the initial deadline, the information requester has the right to submit an appeal to the Commission for Protecting the Right to Free Access to Public Information within 8 days.

IV.18. The information-requester shall have the right to legal protection in case the holder fails to act within 30 days from the submitted request. Namely, failure to act by the information holder shall mean rejection of the request submitted by the information requester.

IV.19. The requester shall have the right to submit an appeal to the Commission for Protecting the Right to Free Access to Public Information within 15 days after the receipt of the decision specifying that his/her request was rejected by the information-holder.

IV.19.1. The Commission shall decide upon the appeal in the following 15 days by implementing the provisions of the Law on General Administrative Procedure. An administrative dispute can be lodged against the Commission’s decision.

V. Appeal’s procedure on rejected request for access to public information

V.20. If the information-holder has not acted in compliance with Article 20, Paragraph 4, Article 24 Paragraph 4 and Article 26, Paragraph 1 of the Law on Free Access to Public Information, the information requester shall have the right to appeal. The appeal shall be submitted to the Commission for Protecting the Right to Free Access to Public Information.

V.20.1. The appeal of the requester shall contain the following data: to whom it is addressed; title, name, address, telephone, fax, e-mail of the requester submitting the appeal; title, name, address, telephone, fax, e-mail of the information-holder; decision’s reference number, date and place where the information-holder submitted the decision to the unsatisfied party – the requester; date and place where the appeal was submitted; requester’s signature (see below).

(PP form ……)

TO: Commission for Protecting the Right to Free Access to Public Information

In compliance with Article 28, Paragraph 2 of the Law on Free Access to Public Information, I submit the following

Subject: APPEAL

submitter: ______________________________________________________________

(title, name and surname, address, telephone, fax, e-mail of the information requester)

grounds for the appeal: ___________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(data on the information-holder, reasons why the requester did not obtain the information, the decision reference number for rejecting the request or evidence for the deadline not met by the information-holder)

(Legal advice: An administrative dispute in a competent court can be lodged against the decision of the Commission)

In__________

Date_____________2006

_________________________________

(handwritten signature of the requester)

VI. Final provisions

VI.21. The information-holder shall appoint officials for dealing with public information by 1^st September 2006.

VI.22. The information-holder shall develop a record-keeping system in compliance with the Law on Archives.

VI.23. The information-holder shall draft annual reports and submit them to the Commission for Protecting the Right to Free Access to Public Information by 31^st January 2007 containing the data on all submitted requests for access to public information regardless of whether the response was positive or negative, or the request was rejected, or whether appeals were submitted and administrative dispute were lodged, and how the appeal was resolved.

VI.24. The information-holder shall be fined for inconsistent implementation of the Law on Free Access to Public Information in line with the provisions of this Law (Articles 39-45).

VI.24.1. Employees in central administration shall not be held responsible for providing information-requesters with protected information significant for detecting abuse of official positions, i.e., for detecting corruption, as well as for providing information that prevents serious threats to human health and to the environment.

VI.25. These Guidelines shall go into force on the day of their adoption by the Commission for Protecting the Right to Free Access to Public Information, and complied with from 1^st September 2006.

(PP form .......)

To _____________________________________________

(information-holder)

REQUEST

for access to public information

______________________________________________________________________

(description of information requested)

Form of the information requested:

f) insight

g) transcript

h) photocopy

i) electronic form

j) other ____________________________________________________

(circle the selected form)

Manner of submission of information:

f) by post

g) telephone

h) fax

i) e-mail

j) other ____________________________________________________

(circle the selected form)

Information-requester __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

(title, name and surname, address, tel., fax, e-mail)

Authorized representative of the information-requester

__________________________________________________

(title, name and surname, address, tel., fax, e-mail)

(Legal advice: The requester is not obliged to list and explain the reasons for seeking the information, but he/she should indicate that the request stems from free access to public information)

In ________________

Date _________200_ ___________________

(handwritten signature)

(PP form ……)

TO: Commission for Protecting the Right

to Free Access to Public Information

In compliance with Article 28, Paragraph 2 of the Law on Free Access to Public Information, I submit the following

Subject: APPEAL

submitter: ______________________________________________________________

(title, name and surname, address, telephone, fax, e-mail of the information requester)

grounds for the appeal: ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

(Legal advice: An administrative dispute in a competent court can be lodged against the decision of the Commission)

In__________

Date_____________2006 _____________________________

(handwritten signature of the requester)

* Classified information with a certain degree of confidentiality; protected personal data; confidential data on the operation of the archive; as well as information violating the confidentiality of tax procedures; important for investigations of criminal, misdemeanor, administrative, and civil law nature; including information with harmful effects for commercial and other economic interests, and monetary and fiscal policy information; along with information from documents in the preparation; information that would endanger human health and environment; information violating industrial property rights (patent, model, sample, seal, mark). The information-holder, by exception, shall approve access to information the consequences of which the interest protected is smaller than the public interest achieved.