Parliament Will Complicate the Procedure for the Release of Public Information

Gela Mtivlishvili

The Parliament of Georgia is discussing the draft-law on the amendments to the Law of Georgia on the Payment for a Copy of Public Information. The new law will entitle public agencies to estimate the payment for copy of public information individually. Lawyers think citizens will encounter more problems while getting public information from public agencies on time.

MP Lasha Todia is the initiator of the legislative changes and the Financial-Budget Committee of the Parliament has already thoroughly discussed the draft amendments.

The draft law aims to introduce changes into the Article 8 Part I of the Law of Georgia on the Payment for copy of the Public Information and its new edition. “The payment for a copy of the public information will be paid in cash or by money transfer.”

The annex of the draft law shows that its purpose is “authorizing the public agency to estimate the payment for a copy of the public information individually.”

Representatives of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association think that only this purpose cannot justify the changes in the law. “Any amendment shall serve the better realization of the previous right. We think the formulation of the article offered will hinder timely and effective release of public information. Based on the principle of access to public information it is very important that public agencies not have the authority to estimate the payments autonomously. Also, the  formulation of the norm offered does not demonstrate the real will of the law – paying in cash and by transfer are alternative means of payment or both of them can be done simultaneously,” said Tamar Khidasheli, chairwoman of the GYLA.

Khidasheli added that the Article 8 Part I of the Law shall be amended but not through the offered form. “According to the current edition of the law “payment for the copy of the public information shall be paid at the cash desk of the corresponding public agency.” Since some of the public agencies do not have cash desks, citizens will have to transfer the money. We cannot approve the part of the legislative initiative that authorizes the agency to estimate the price individually. “The payment for the copy of the public information requested shall be made according to the rules of the corresponding agency.” We think conferring such rights on the agency will create many obstacles for citizens requesting public information,” said Tamar Khidasheli.

A Lawyer for the GYLA Tatuli Todua makes the following arguments about the draft amendments.

“The legislative initiative does not contain any indication of the estimated deadline for the release of public information preserved by the public agency. However, even a strict deadline in the draft law would not guarantee that every public agency (schools, museums, etc) would not provide their own rules. That means that either such a rule should not be provided at all or the procedure for providing the rules would be expanded endlessly. Consequently, the citizens will have their right to get public information restricted.”

Also, conferring on a public agency the right to provide their individual rules will result in different attitudes to the issue throughout the country. Because of a large variety of rules people will fail to find out and remember the rules of different public agencies. The applicant will have to know the minutia of each agency. However, similar minutia is not used in every agency and that will disable every person from knowing the rules.”

The Parliament is going to discuss the draft law in near future. So far it is still unclear whether the legislative body will consider the comments of the lawyers from the GYLA.