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Рy23 мая 2016
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The People’s Assembly of Gagauzia (PAG) was sued by the Youth Centre "Piligrim-Demo" from Comrat for their refuse to offer information of public interest. The NGO benefited from free legal assistance in the court, offered by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and it won in the first court.
The Youth Center "Piligrim-Demo" from Gagauzia, led by the legal provisions regarding the access to information, requested information of public interest from the PAG, in particular draft decisions, the discussed and adopted decisions during the plenary of PAG as well as the release of the referral copies of the People’s Assembly at the Constitutional Court - a referral from 1998, one from 1999 and other four from 2001. At the same time, "Piligrim-Demo" also asked to be informed about the date, hour and place of holding meetings of PAG.
The People’s Assembly refused to present the requested information, giving the argument that the draft decisions represent "working papers" and they don't have the status of official information, but regarding the referrals to the Constitutional Court, these were forwarded to the archives of Gagauzia. It also pointed that the Youth Center "Piligrim-Demo" has no right to ask for the nominee information because it doesn't have a status of interested person.
The Court of Comrat upheld the whole action of "Piligrim-Demo" and on the date of 22 January 2016 found the violation of the law of access to information of the complained. Disagreeing with the decision of the lower court, the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia appealed, and the Court of Appeal of Comrat left without changes the decision of the first court, except for the obligation to offer the referral copies of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia at the Constitutional Court.
The executive director of "Piligrim-Demo", Mihail Sirkeli, told for Media Azi: "We salute the decision of the Court of Appeal of Comrat to support the decision of the District Court of Comrat, recognizing the violation of the right to access information by the PAG, but we don't understand why the Court didn't reconfirm the decision of the District Court of Comrat where the PAG is obliged to offer the addressing of the PAG sent to the Constitutional Court."
At her turn, the lawyer Tatiana Puiu, who represents the case in court on behalf of the IJC told us: "I am satisfied with the solution offered by the courts of Comrat. The applicant association achieved its constitutional right to have free access to information of increased public interest held by the People’s Assembly and the Court found the violation of this right. The transparency in the decisional process cannot be restricted in such a way. However, we will appeal again the decision of the Court of Appeal of Comrat because the PAG is obliged to also release the referral copies at the Constitutional Court in that period."
The Department for Media Law and Policy of the Independent Journalism Center offers free legal consultations for journalists and mass-media organizations as well as free representation in courts in the cases in which the rights of mass-media are disputed. Thus, the IJC contributes to the identification and solution of legal problems of mass-media organizations.
The applicants can benefit from qualified legal assistance, copies of legislation in force, information about other sources of necessary assistance etc. The consultations are available in the field of mass-media legislation, the rights and obligations of journalists, in particular the defense of honour, dignity and professional reputation, right of free expression, access to information, right to a private life, the legal status of the mass-media organizations, advertisement, author's right. The consultations are offered personally, by phone or e-mail.
If you need a consultation in the field of mass-media legislation from the Republic of Moldova, we ask you to contact Zinaida Gheata on the phone (+373 2)213 652, mobile (+373) 68406998, e-mail: mlu@ijc.md
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The Youth Center "Piligrim-Demo" from Gagauzia, led by the legal provisions regarding the access to information, requested information of public interest from the PAG, in particular draft decisions, the discussed and adopted decisions during the plenary of PAG as well as the release of the referral copies of the People’s Assembly at the Constitutional Court - a referral from 1998, one from 1999 and other four from 2001. At the same time, "Piligrim-Demo" also asked to be informed about the date, hour and place of holding meetings of PAG.
The People’s Assembly refused to present the requested information, giving the argument that the draft decisions represent "working papers" and they don't have the status of official information, but regarding the referrals to the Constitutional Court, these were forwarded to the archives of Gagauzia. It also pointed that the Youth Center "Piligrim-Demo" has no right to ask for the nominee information because it doesn't have a status of interested person.
The Court of Comrat upheld the whole action of "Piligrim-Demo" and on the date of 22 January 2016 found the violation of the law of access to information of the complained. Disagreeing with the decision of the lower court, the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia appealed, and the Court of Appeal of Comrat left without changes the decision of the first court, except for the obligation to offer the referral copies of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia at the Constitutional Court.
The executive director of "Piligrim-Demo", Mihail Sirkeli, told for Media Azi: "We salute the decision of the Court of Appeal of Comrat to support the decision of the District Court of Comrat, recognizing the violation of the right to access information by the PAG, but we don't understand why the Court didn't reconfirm the decision of the District Court of Comrat where the PAG is obliged to offer the addressing of the PAG sent to the Constitutional Court."
At her turn, the lawyer Tatiana Puiu, who represents the case in court on behalf of the IJC told us: "I am satisfied with the solution offered by the courts of Comrat. The applicant association achieved its constitutional right to have free access to information of increased public interest held by the People’s Assembly and the Court found the violation of this right. The transparency in the decisional process cannot be restricted in such a way. However, we will appeal again the decision of the Court of Appeal of Comrat because the PAG is obliged to also release the referral copies at the Constitutional Court in that period."
The Department for Media Law and Policy of the Independent Journalism Center offers free legal consultations for journalists and mass-media organizations as well as free representation in courts in the cases in which the rights of mass-media are disputed. Thus, the IJC contributes to the identification and solution of legal problems of mass-media organizations.
The applicants can benefit from qualified legal assistance, copies of legislation in force, information about other sources of necessary assistance etc. The consultations are available in the field of mass-media legislation, the rights and obligations of journalists, in particular the defense of honour, dignity and professional reputation, right of free expression, access to information, right to a private life, the legal status of the mass-media organizations, advertisement, author's right. The consultations are offered personally, by phone or e-mail.
If you need a consultation in the field of mass-media legislation from the Republic of Moldova, we ask you to contact Zinaida Gheata on the phone (+373 2)213 652, mobile (+373) 68406998, e-mail: mlu@ijc.md
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The free legal consultations are offered with the support of the Organization Civil Rights Defenders, Sweden, partner of IJC.
