The Ministry of Justice said the amendments proposed to the law on access to information are aimed at bringing the document in compliance with the provisions of the Administrative Code, the adjustments being technical in character. To ensure the media’s access to information and to avoid any mistaken interpretation of the legislation, the institution considers it is opportune to adopt the proposed changes concomitantly with another bill that would define the rules of access to information of public interest, including the derogations from the Administrative Code, IPN reports.

“A series of provisions of the law on access to information run counter to provisions of the Administrative Code and cannot be put into practice as the courts of law in jurisprudential practice give priority to the norms of the Administrative Code to the detriment of those contained in the law on access to information,” says a press release.

At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Justice set up an interinstitutional working group that includes experts of the European Union and of representative media outlets (Association of Independent Press, Freedom House). The group works on a bill to amend the law on access to information in accordance with the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents and with other international standards.