News

Within the project "Protection of Freedom of Expression and of the Media in Serbia ((PRO-FREX-S)"), as part of the joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Horizontal Support for the Western Balkans and Turkey", an expert workshop in the field of free access to information of public importance was held in Vrdnik from June 27 to 28, 2023.

At the workshop, Council of Europe experts and employees of the Commissioner's Office discussed the European standards for the application of Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the context of free access to information of public importance. They particularly discussed all the key judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the context of freedom of expression.

Also, the standards of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromso Convention) were analyzed and the practice of the Republic of Serbia in applying the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance was presented.

Novi Pazar, June 22, 2023

A panel discussion was held in the Youth Center Hall of the Novi Pazar Cultural Center, on Thursday, June 22, 2023, starting at 10:30, on the topic of monitoring the implementation of the new Law on Personal Data Protection, attended by Data Controllers and all interested representatives of Civil Society Organizations and the media.

Commissioner Milan Marinović, Deputy Commissioner Sanja Unković, and representatives of the Commissioner's Office participated in today's panel discussion.

The panel discussion goal was to consider the new Law on Personal Data Protection and explore the possibilities for its better application.

During the panel discussion, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Milan Marinović presented the current state in the field of personal data protection in the Republic of Serbia.

Deputy Commissioner Sanja Unković presented the current position of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, the competence of the Commissioner with particular emphasis on personal data protection. Representatives of the Commissioner's Office from the Sector for Supervision of Personal Data Protection and the Sector for Harmonization of Regulations and Normative Affairs also participated in the panel discussion.

In the upcoming period, panel discussions, which will be implemented in 15 selected Local Self-Government Units within the scope of project support, are of utmost importance for raising the general public's awareness and informing citizens.

The organization of the panel discussion is supported by the project "Support for Strengthening Rule of Law in the Republic of Serbia"(EU for the Fight Against Corruption and for Fundamental Rights) financed by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), whereas the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) is in charge for its implementation.

Novi Pazar, June 21, 2023

In the Youth Center Hall of the Novi Pazar Cultural Center, on Wednesday, June 21, starting at 10 a.m. a training session was held on Personal Data Protection regarding the implementation of the Personal Data Protection Law. Representatives of the Commissioner's Office held the training for Data Protection Officers from more than 40 public institutions in the vicinity of the city of Novi Pazar.

The representatives of the Office of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection conducted this training within the scope of the multi-donor project "Support for Strengthening Rule of Law in the Republic of Serbia"(EU for the Fight Against Corruption and for Fundamental Rights) financed by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), whereas the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) is in charge for its implementation.

The importance of personal data protection, consent for their processing, the purpose of lawful and fairly processing and transfer, along with determining the public and legitimate interest in data processing, are just some of the topics in the main focus of public interest. The training aims to familiarize Data Protection Officers or persons designated by Data Controllers and Data Processors (if they do not have designated Data Protection Officers) with the current legal solutions (in the EU and the Republic of Serbia) and train them for proper application of the Personal Data Protection Law.

Field trainings, which are being implemented as part of project support in 15 selected local self-government units, are particularly important for raising the capacity of personal data protection. Also, at the same time and in addition to trainings in those selected units of local self-government, panel discussions on personal data protection are being organized, primarily aiming to raise awareness among the general public and inform its citizens.