By The SafeJournalists Network supports the BH Journalists’ Association (BHJA) in requesting from the Assembly and the Government of Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as from the competent Legislative and Legal Commission, to urgently launch a public debate on the Draft Law on Access to Information in Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to enable citizens, professional and media community, as well as civil society organizations to participate in the debate and, by suggesting comments and amendments, to improve the existing legal solutions in line with the European standards.
SafeJournalists network believes that the 15-day deadline for amending the Draft Law is not sufficient to create a proposal that would enable media and journalists to freely practice their right to free, simple and fast access to public information, with clear and accessible appeal procedures in case of denial of information. Lack of public debate, as a comprehensive mechanism for collecting the opinions of professionals and beneficiaries of the right to access public information, is contrary to democratic standards of transparency and inclusiveness in the process of creating new legal solutions.
SafeJournalists welcomes the intentions of the Law proponents to regulate this area in accordance to the EU standards, which include proactive disclosure of information, its free distribution, and the obligation to conduct a proportionality and public interest test. Normative prioritization of the public interest over possible harm that could arise from the disclosure of information is of the utmost importance for the work of the media and investigative journalists, who have often been denied information about public officials and the ways in which they perform their duties, with vague references to the protection of privacy and an unacceptably broad list of the so-called personal data.
At the same time, SafeJournalists network finds it completely unacceptable that this Law does not provide for the possibility of filing an appeal against an authority that has withheld information of public importance. The impossibility of a second-instance appeal procedure before the institutions of Brčko District, in addition to being contrary to international standards, will require journalists and all other citizens to initiate expensive court proceedings in order to obtain the necessary information. The aforementioned provisions could also open up space for Brčko politicians and public officials to hide information about their work, the decisions they make and the ways in which they spend public money, as well as all other information that is of public interest.
Because of all the above, the SafeJournalists Network invites the authorities of Brčko District to launch a public debate on the Draft Law on Access to Public Information and a dialogue with all interested stakeholders in the field of freedom of information and freedom of access to public information as soon as possible. Also, the SafeJournalists Network invites the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to prevent the adoption of this Law, which is contrary to the EU standards and which will be an obstacle for BiH’s integration to the EU, be adopted.
The SafeJournalists Network will inform national and international stakeholders about these troubling developments and continue to monitor the situation closely.
Any attack on journalists is an attack on democracy, public interest, and fundamental human rights.
Pristina – Skopje – Sarajevo – Zagreb – Belgrade – Podgorica, 26 May 2025
Association of Journalists of Kosovo
Association of Journalists of Macedonia
BH Journalists Association
Croatian Journalists’ Association
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Trade Union of Media of Montenegro
