Slovenia was one of the last member of the European Union to regulate the area of access to public information by law. Sweden is considered the homeland of freedom of information, having enshrined the right of access to information in its Freedom of the Press Act as early as 1766. In Slovenia, until the adoption of the Access to Public Information Act – passed by the National Assembly in 2003 – the right remained merely a dead letter, written in Article 39 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. In was only with the implementation of this law that legal protection for applicants seeking access to public information was established. This right, although part of the broader right to be informed, constitutes an essential element of freedom of expression and is one of the fundamental human right. Since 2003, applicants, including journalists as a group with special status, have been able to seek legal protection initially at the secondary-level authority – the Information Commissioner. Both applicants and obligated authorities can, within the prescribed period, initiate an administrative dispute against the decision of the Commissioner for Access to Public Information.
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