Moldova witnesses both evolution and involution in the area of access to information. On the one hand, some of the institutions became more open. On the other hand, some of the instruments for ensuring transparency and the provision of information, created with the assistance of the foreign partners, haven’t been updated since last year, the head of Journalistic Investigations Center Cornelia Cozonac said, commenting on the access to information in Moldova in connection with the International Right to Know Day that has been celebrated on September 28 since 2003.
Cornelia Cozonac has told IPN that some of the institutions during the last few years became more transparent and open in terms of access to information. On the other hand, other institutions do not obey the legislation and hide behind such phrases as ‘secret information’ or ‘personal data’ and do not furnish the journalists with the information these ask even if this is actually public.
Cornelia Cozonac said that she often cannot obtain information about judges and considers that the judges protect each other. The legislation in this field is very good, but it is not respected. It seems that there is an internal directive at governmental level not to provide information to journalists. The instruments concerning the provision of information, developed with the financial assistance of the foreign partners, are also not used. For example, the information in some of the sections on the portal date.gov.md hasn’t been updated since last year.
In 2016 it is 250 years of the adoption of the first document on the access to information. This fact was noted in an international conference in Kiev last week. The event was attended by Vasile Spinei, who is one of the authors of the Law on Access to Information and the head of the Administration Board of “Acces-info” Center. He said that two weeks ago Moldova ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents and is thus among the first nine countries and the first country in the ex-Soviet area that ratified this important document.
Vasile Spinei stated that the ratification of this Convention should stimulate the ensuring of interactive access to information and transparency at the authorities and public institutions of all ranks. A decisive role is played by Parliament, the Government, the ombudsperson, civil society, the mass media, the courts of law and all the citizens who should more courageously and consistently protect their right to know. A country plan of action is crucially needed to implement the Convention on Access to Official Documents.
