New Institutes in the Field of Free Access to Information in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Proactive Publication, Limitation of Access and The Principle of Freedom

The authors analyze the new legal institutes in the field of free access to information that were introduced into the legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023, with the adoption of the Law on Freedom of Access to Information at the Institutional Level of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The subject of the analysis are, first of all, the institute of proactive publication of information and the establishment of the Central Portal of Public Information, the institute of legal and institutional restrictions on access to information, as well as the principle of free access to information. The goal of this paper is to achieve as complete and comprehensive an understanding of the relevant legal institutes as possible, which are, in a certain part or even completely, novel in the positive legal framework related to freedom of access to information. The motives and reasons for which parties submit requests for access to information can be of different nature. The parties in the information access procedure are ordinary citizens, business entities, lawyers and other persons who request access to information for personal or other reasons. Regardless of the motive and reason for which the parties request information from public authorities and regardless of who is a party to the proceedings, the duty and obligation of the administrative body or institution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (public body) is to grant and provide access to the requested information, unless the law foresees restrictions on access to information, as this promotes transparency and accountability of public authorities. The new institutes define a more productive role of the administrative body, the cases of restrictions on access to information are more precisely prescribed.