The right to environmental information is at the core of the public's constitutional right to access information held by the government. However, prior to the passage of the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) in 2000, no court had ruled on the legality of refusals to disclose environmental information. The right to access environmental information was further elaborated with the adoption of the new Environmental Protection Act in 2002.
The demand for environmental information is currently increasing as the public's awareness of their rights to access information increases. H the condition of the elements of the environment (air, atmosphere, water, soil, landscape, minerals and biodiversity); H disclosure of the requested information would have a negative effect on elements of the environment (eg breeding grounds of endangered species).
This assessment by the officials working for the mandatory institutions assumes the performance of the. Access to environmental information can often be obtained from the Internet sites of the public institutions, their information centers, printed bulletins, reports and other publications. Environmental information is provided within 14 days of the date on which the applicant was informed of the decision of the competent body for providing access to the requested information.
H We could receive a decision for access to only part of the requested information, which represents so-called partial access.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT DISCUSSIONS OF THE SUPREME ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT COUNCIL
The exceptions to the right to environmental information that can be met in practice are connected with the protection of business secrets, personal data, defense of the state and the independence of institutions in the preparation of their orders and decisions (art. 13, paragraph 2). Depending on whether the request concerns environmental information under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) or concerns the environment more broadly, the applicable regulation is the EPA or the Access to Public Information Act. This case proves that MOEW has started to establish the positive practice of disclosing information if it is not likely to harm a protected interest.
The Ministry has shown understanding that information related to the decision-making process, especially by a collective body with representatives of public organizations, should not and cannot be restricted from access. 2 of APIA must be applied with great care especially in cases where the request is for information about the environment. This is so because when the request for environmental information is under the definitions of the EPA, this exemption cannot be applied, because it is not in Art.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT PLANNED HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION
No decision on forwarding the requested information was issued within the statutory deadline. The Sofia City Court overturned the Road Executive Agency's refusal to disclose the environmental impact assessment, but dismissed the appeal in other parts. From the disclosure of data, we expect an explanation of the limits of trade secrecy and its relation to the overriding public interest.
Often the third party interests in question are interpreted too broadly and overused, e.g. In some cases the measurements and analyzes submitted to RIEW are designated as intellectual property. In other cases, public institutions or commercial companies do not specify the protected interest, but express their general reluctance to provide information, a behavior which is contrary to the law.
The EPA specifically lists the protected interests that may serve as grounds for denying access to information: trade secrets and intellectual property. For information outside the scope of the EPA, the applicable law is the Access to Public Information Act, which requires the public entity to seek the trading company's consent only after it deems it necessary, i.e.
ACCESS TO AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Relevant Aarhus provisions
The main arguments in the appeal were that the requests did not include information regarding, held or related to Lukoil Bulgaria Ltd. The preparation of an environmental impact study is clearly based on the evaluation of certain circumstances with the aim of protecting the public interest - the basic human right to a clean environment. In relation to the documents on the site property, the court dismissed the appeal, but indicated that the requested information could be obtained from the municipal registration service.
As a result of these two court decisions, the NGO and the citizen have obtained all the requested information, including the documentation on the land property, after referring to the municipal registration service. Following the court rulings, the municipal administration secretary was authorized to process access to documents in requests for information. ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS RELATING TO INFRINGEMENTS AND FINES IMPOSED BY MOEW'S BODIES.
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS IN RELATION TO VIOLATIONS AND FINES IMPOSED BY THE BODIES OF THE MOEW
In 2001, citizen Yordan Lazov asked the Minister of Environment and Water for access to copies of documents regarding the measures taken by the Ministry regarding the company Sawing Installations Ltd., solely owned by the municipality of Dupnica. The citizen has specifically requested copies of all criminal ordinances imposed on the company by officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The reasons for refusal were that an eventual disclosure would reveal personal information about those who had issued the warrants and the witnesses (perhaps what was meant was their names and personal identification numbers).
The Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria overturned the refusal as contrary to the law, after determining that no personal data was requested. The court also found that no consent was sought from the third parties and no efforts were made to provide partial access.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT DESTROYING THE OBSOLETE MISSILES OF THE BULGARIAN ARMY
Under the APIA, I would like to gain access to the data you have. VIA: FULL NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION THAT HAS REFUSED TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE REQUESTED INFORMATION. Revenues from providing access to public information Art. The revenues received in the context of providing access to public information are charged to the budget of the relevant authority.
1 should state the reasons for the extension of the period within which access to the public information must be granted.
