Topical issues of further refinement of legislation on access to public information were discussed during the round table discussion in the Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information
28 May 2013, 13:27
Opening the meeting, the Committee Chairman Mykola Tomenko stressed that analysis of the practice of implementation of the Law “On Access to Public Information” proves that “there is an urgent need to bring it in line with the respective provisions of the rest of existing laws and subordinate regulatory legal acts as soon as possible”. According to him, the Committee intends to consider suggestions and amendments to the second reading of the bill on amendments to several legislative acts of Ukraine due to adoption of the Law “On Information” (in the new version) and the Law On Access to Public Information” (Reg. No. 0947), adopted by the Verkhovna Rada as a basis on September 6, 2012.
Upholding the intent of the Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information to consider the bill as a matter of priority, the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and International Relations Andriy Shevchenko stressed that “such treatment of the document is imposed both by the existing need to reform legislation in the sphere of public information and by the logics of all previous actions in this direction, taken by the Verkhovna Rada for the last several years”.
Participants of discussion agreed on the suggestions to be included into the bill during its preparation to the second reading.
It was noted that during preparation of the bill Reg. No. 0947 to the second reading, the Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information should make a provision under which information mentioned in the property, income and expense declarations, as well as financial obligations of persons will be published in the official printed publications of the respective state bodies and bodies of local self-government only in case the abovementioned bodies lack official websites, where such information should be primarily published.
Participants of the event stood for the necessity to prepare the draft law on establishment of a single website to publish and preserve information on property, income and expense declarations and financial obligations of civil servants as soon as possible.