PUBLIC RELATIONS

Law No 544/2001

on the Free Access to Public Information

The Parliament of Romania enacts this Law.

CHAPTER I
General Provisions

Art. 1. - The individual's free and unconstraint access to public information, thus defined in this Law, represents one of the fundamental principles of the relations between the individuals and the public authorities in compliance with the Constitution of Romania and the international documents ratified by the Parliament of Romania.

Art. 2. - For the purposes of this law:

a) Public authority or institution means any public authority or institution or any public corporation using public financial resources and developing its activity in Romania, according to the Constitution;

b) Public information means any information related to or resulting from the activities of a public authority or institution, regardless of the frame, form or way of expression of the information;

c) Personal information means any information about an identified or identifiable natural person.

CHAPTER II
Organization and Granting Access to Public Information

SECTION 1
Common Provisions regarding Access to Public Information

Art. 3. - Public authorities and institutions shall grant, ex officio or by request, access to the public information, through the department of public relations or the designated person.

Art. 4. - (1) In order that each individual should have access to public information, public authorities and institutions shall establish specialized departments for public relations and information or shall designate a person with tasks in this field.

(2) The attributions, organization and functioning of the public relation departments shall be established according to the organizational and functioning rules of relevant public authority or institution, based on this law.

Art. 5. - (1) Each public authority or institution shall communicate ex officio the following public information:

a) the norms that settle the organization and functioning of the public authority or organization;

b) the organization's structure, the departments' attributions, the working time table and the audience time table of the public authority or institution;

c) the name and surname of the management staff of the public authority or institution and of the employee assigned to release public information;

d) contact coordinates of the public authority or institution: name, headquarters, phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail and website address;

e) financial sources, budget and balance sheet;

f) own programs and strategies;

g) list of public documents;

h) list of categories of documents produced and/or managed, according to the law;

i) ways of contesting the decision of the public authority or institution if a person considers himself/herself deprived of his/her right of access to the requested public information.

(2) The public authorities and institutions shall annually publish and update an information bulletin, which will include the information provided in paragraph (1).

(3) The public authorities shall release to the public, ex officio, at least annually, a periodical activity report, which will be published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part II.

(4) Access to the information provided in paragraph (1) shall be granted by:

a) display of information at the public authority's or institution's headquarters or by publishing in the Official Journal of Romania or in the mass-media, in its own publications and website;

b) consultation of the information at the headquarters of the public authority or institution, in specially designated places.

Art. 6. - (1) Any individual has the right to request and obtain public information from the public authorities and institutions, under the terms of this law.

(2) Public authorities and institutions shall provide public information to the individuals, at their request, in writing or orally.

(3) The request, in writing, for public information shall include the following:

a) the public authority or institution to which the request is addressed;

b) the requested information, so that the public authority or institution may identify the public information;

c) name, surname and signature of the petitioner and the address where the answer shall be sent.

Art. 7. - (1) Public authorities and institutions shall answer, in writing, to the request for public information within 10 (ten) or, as the case may be, maximum 30 (thirty) days from the date of the registration of the request, depending on the difficulty, complexity, volume of documentary works and urgency of request. If the duration necessary for the identification and disclosure of the requested information exceeds 10 days, the answer shall be communicated to the petitioner in no more than 30 days, with a 10 days' prior notification of the person.

(2) Refusal to disclose requested information shall be accounted for and communicated within 5 days from the reception of the petitions.

(3) The request and disclosure of public information may also be made in electronic format, if the necessary technical requirements are fulfilled.

Art. 8. - (1) For information requested orally, the employees of the information and public relations department shall state the circumstances and ways in which the access to public information is granted and may immediately provide the requested information.

(2) If the requested information is not available on the spot, the petitioner is advised to request, in writing, the relevant public information, the petition will be solved under the terms of Art. 7.

(3) The public information requested orally shall be communicated within a minimum compulsory timetable established by the management of the public authority or institution, which will be displayed at its headquarters and will apply during the working hours of the institution and one day per week after the working program.

(4) The registering activities regarding the petitions cannot be included in this timetable and shall be dealt with separately.

(5) The public information requested orally by the mass media shall be communicated, as a rule, immediately or in no more than 24 hours.

Art. 9. - (1) If the request for information implies reproduction of the documents held by the public authority or institution, the petitioner shall bear the cost of the reproduction, according to the law.

(2) If, following the information received, the petitioner requires new information regarding the documents held by the public authority or institution; this request shall be dealt with as a new petition and the answer shall be sent under the terms of Articles 7 and 8.

Art. 10. - Activities of public authorities and institutions such as answering petitions and granting audience, carried out according to their competences, shall not be subject to the provisions of Articles 7 to 9, if they refer to other approvals, authorizations, service-rendering or any other requests other than those for public information.

Art. 11. - (1) Individuals carrying out surveys and research for their own interest or for their jobs have access to the documents record of the public authority or institution based on a personal demand, under the terms of the law.

(2) Reproductions of the documents held by the public authority or institution shall be made under the terms of Article 9.

Art. 12. - (1) Citizens' free access to public information, as stipulated in Art. 1, shall be denied for the following:

a) information in the field of national defence, public order and security, if, in compliance with the law, it belongs to the category of classified information;

b) information about consultations of the authorities and regarding Romania's political and economic interests, if, in compliance with the law, it belongs to the category of classified information;

c) information about financial or commercial activities if, according to the law, its release is detrimental to the principle of fair competition;

d) personal information under the terms of law;

e) information on the procedures during criminal or disciplinary investigations, if the result of the investigation is jeopardized, confidential sources are disclosed or the person's life, bodily integrity and health are endangered after or during the investigation;

f) information on legal proceedings, if its release is detrimental to a fair trial or to the legitimate interest of the parties to the trial;

g) information which if release prejudices the protective measures for the young people.

(2) Accountability for applying the protective measures for information belonging to the categories under paragraph (1) rests with the public persons and authorities holding such information, as well as with the public institutions legally authorized to ensure the protection of information.

Art. 13. - Information encouraging or concealing the breaking of law by a public authority or institution shall not be regarded as classified information and shall be considered public information.

Art. 14. - (1) Personal information about a citizen may become public information as long as it refers to exercise a public position.

(2) Public personal information shall be transferred between public authorities only under the terms of a legal obligation or with the prior written consent of the person having access to that information in compliance with Art. 2.

SECTION 2
Special Provisions for the Access of Mass Media to Public Information

Art. 15. - (1) Access of mass media to public information is guaranteed by law.

(2) Collection and dissemination of public information developed by the mass media represent the citizen's right to have access to any public information.

Art. 16. - In order to ensure access of the mass media to public information, the public authorities and institutions shall designate a spokesperson, generally from the information and public relations departments.

Art. 17. - (1) Periodically, the public authorities shall organize, generally once a month, press conferences for the release of public information.

(2) During the press conferences, the public authorities shall answer any question referring to public information.

Art. 18. - (1) Public authorities shall accredit the members of the press and the mass-media representatives without discrimination.

(2) The accreditation shall be granted upon request, two days after it has been registered.

(3) Public authorities may deny or withdraw accreditation to a member of the press only for actions which obstruct the normal activity of the public authority and which do not concern the opinions expressed in the press by the respective journalist, under the terms and restrictions of the law.

(4) Denial and withdrawal of accreditation to a member of the press shall be notified in writing, and shall not deprive the press authority of the right to obtain accreditation for another member of the press.

Art. 19. - (1) Public authorities and institutions shall inform in due time the mass-media representatives on the press conferences or any other public actions organized by them.

(2) Public authorities and institutions shall not deny the access of mass media to any public actions organized by them.

(3) Public authorities that are obliged by their own institution and functioning law to develop specific activities in front of the audience shall allow the press to have access to those activities, following that the release of the materials obtained by the journalist take into account the professional deontology.

Art. 20. - The mass media are not obliged to publish the information provided by the public authorities or institutions.

CHAPTER III
Sanctions

Art. 21. - (1) The explicit or silent refusal of the designated employee within a public authority or institution to enforce the provisions of this law shall be considered an infringement and the employee shall be deemed disciplinary responsible.

(2) Within 30 days from acknowledgement, the injured person may lodge a complain against the refusal stipulated in paragraph (1) to the head of the public authority or institution.

(3) If, after administrative investigation, the complaint proves to be well grounded, the individual shall receive an answer within 15 days since he/she has lodge the complaint; the answer shall contain the public information previously requested and the disciplinary sanctions taken against the guilty person.

Art. 22. - (1) If a person considers himself/herself deprived of his/her right, as stipulated under this law, he/she may lodge a complaint to the section for contentious matters of the courts within his/her residential area or in the area where the public authority or institution has its headquarters. The complaint shall be lodge within 30 days from the expiration of the period set forth in Art. 7.

(2) The law court may force the public authority or institution to provide the requested public information and to pay moral and/or patrimonial prejudice.

(3) The decision of the law court may be subjected to an appeal.

(4) The decision of the Appeal Court is final and irrevocable.

(5) Both the complaint and the appeal shall be ruled in emergency proceedings, and shall be exempted from stamp duty.

CHAPTER IV
Transitory and Final Provisions

Art. 23. - (1) This law shall come into force 60 days from its publication in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I.

(2) No later than 60 days from its publication in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, the Government shall set up methodological norms for the enforcement of this law, at the initiative of the Ministry of Public Information.

Art. 24. - (1) No later than 60 days from coming into force of this law, the Ministry of Public Information, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Public Finance shall submit to the Government propositions concerning the necessary measures that should be taken so that the public information became available progressively, by means of a computer database accessible to the public at a national level.

(2) The measures stipulated in paragraph (1) shall also concern the supply of public authorities and institutions with appropriate computing equipment.

Art. 25. - All contrary provisions shall be repealed on the date when this law comes into force.

This law was enacted by the Senate in the meeting of 13 September 2001, with the observance of the provisions of Art. 74(2) of the Constitution of Romania.

for the PRESIDENT OF SENATE,
PAUL PACURARU

This law was enacted by the Chamber of Deputies in the meeting of 18 September 2001, with the observance of the provisions of Art. 74(2) of the Constitution of Romania.

PRESIDENT OF THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES
VALER DORNEANU

Bucharest, 12 October 2001.
No 544.

Public Relations