THE SILENCE OF THE ADMINISTRATION – A SYSTEMIC OBSTACLE TO TRANSPARENCY
The Agency for the Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information prepared an analysis on the silence of the administration in the Western Balkan countries. The silence of the administration – specifically, the failure to respond to information requests within the legally prescribed time limit – has been identified as a key systemic obstacle to transparency and accountability within institutions in the region.
The analysis, which compares data for 2023 and 2024 from North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, reveals that the average rate of administrative silence reaches an alarming 56.3%. This indicates a deeply ingrained institutional pattern of avoiding accountability and transparency regarding public information.
The key reasons for this silence include:
- Institutions deliberately avoid responding to sensitive topics.
- Lack of an institutional culture of accountability.
- Although the laws prescribe penalties, they are rarely applied, creating a sense of impunity.
- Officials refrain from providing information due to the possible disclosure of institutional shortcomings, irregularities, or illegalities, as well as fear of triggering adverse reactions from the public or the media.
Despite the courts’ gradual activity in defending the right to free access, their impact remains limited. Administrative proceedings are lengthy, which undermines the relevance of the requested information. Moreover, court practice is inconsistent, and the enforcement of court decisions is often weak, discouraging citizens and journalists.
The analysis offers recommendations for overcoming this systemic issue:
- Introduce stricter legal sanctions for administrative silence and require mandatory written explanations for refusal of access requests.
- Impose accountability and sanctions on officials and responsible persons who fail to act on requests.
- Develop digital platforms for the electronic submission and tracking of requests, with automatic notification to supervisory bodies regarding the progress of the procedure.
- Provide training and education for administrative staff on the importance of transparency and the right to free access to public information.
- Enhance regional cooperation for monitoring and the introduction of joint indicators to measure the efficiency of the LFAPI.
- Enhance the utilization of open data as a vital resource for the business sector, civil society organizations, and the media.
If administrative silence persists, public trust will erode, the media and researchers will be discouraged, and the democratic capacity of societies will remain weak. There is a risk that in Western Balkan countries, formal transparency will serve as a façade for institutional opacity.
The analysis concludes that free access to public information is more than an administrative procedure – it is a matter of the rule of law, building trust, and strengthening the integrity of institutions. For genuine progress, it is essential to transition from declarative to substantive transparency, involving all relevant stakeholders.
You can find the analysis at the following link:
