Organisations from across Europe insist on a transparent appointment of the Commissioner in Serbia

Today, on 4 December, eight digital rights organisations from across Europe sent a letter to the National Assembly of Serbia, asking for a transparent process of the selection of the country’s new Data Protection Commissioner. The mandate of the current Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection of Serbia is to expire soon, and given the fact that the newly adopted Law on Personal Data Protection starts being applied in August 2019 and that Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance is being reformed, it is of high importance that the new Commissioner is appointed as soon as possible, through a transparent process in accordance with the law, and that the best candidate is given the position.

The letter invites the Culture and Information Committee of the National Assembly of Serbia to:

• Start the procedure for the election of a new Commissioner, as soon as possible;
• To make the procedure for selecting the best candidate for the position transparent;
• To determine the legal conditions for selection, where, in addition to general expertise and experience in the protection and promotion of human rights, priority should be given to candidates with specific expertise and experience in freedom of information and personal data protection;
• To conduct interviews with the best candidates at a session that will be open to the public, in order to deliver a reasoned decision on the proposal to the National Assembly;
• To justify the proposal for a decision on the best candidate’s choice according to each of the set conditions.

The organisations called upon the National Assembly, which appoints the Commissioner, to ensure the highest standards in the selection and appointment of the new Commissioner in order to respect the foundations of a free, innovative and open digital society that delivers the best data protection standards in Serbia, in line with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Convention 108 of the Council of Europe.

Signatories:

European Digital Rights (EDRi) – Europe

Access Now – Europe

Association for Technology and Internet (APTI) – Romania

Electronic Frontier Norway – Norway

Epicenter.works – Austria

Homo Digitalis – Greece

Open Rights Group – United Kingdom

Privacy International – United Kingdom