Contestation Methods

Forms for administrative complaints:

The contestation methods for the decisions of the management personnel are stipulated in Law no. 544-2001 regarding the free access to public information:

Art. 21 
(1) The explicit or tacit refusal of an employee appointed by an authority or by a public institution to apply the provisions of this Act represents a violation and it entails the disciplinary responsibility of the guilty

(2) Against the refusal referred to in paragraph (1), one can file a complaint to the leading authority or to the management of the respective public institution within 30 days from the moment the injured party had been informed.

(3) If after the administrative inquiry the complaint proves to have been unfounded, the response is sent to the injured party within 15 days from the moment the complaint had been filed and it will contain both the public information initially requested and the disciplinary sanctions applied to the guilty.

Art. 22

(1) If a person considers that their rights had been violated, as stipulated in this act, they can file a complaint to the administrative legal department of the court of law within the area of jurisdiction they reside, or within the area of jurisdiction in which the authority or the public institution is located. The complaint must be filed within 30 days from the expiration date stated in art. 7.

(2) The court of law can obligate the authority or the public institution to release the public information requested and to pay non-material and/or patrimony damages.

(3) The Judgement of the General Court is subject to appeal.

(4) The decision of the Court of Appeals is definitive and irrevocable.

(5) Both the complaint and the appeal are judged by the court under the urgency procedure and they are exempt from stamp duty.

Art. 7

(1) The authorities and the public institutions have the obligation of offering a written answer to the request for public information within 10 days or, when appropriate, within a maximum of 30 days from the moment the request had been filed, depending on the difficulty, the complexity and the volume of the documentation work and on the urgency of the request. If the period necessary for the identification and dissemination of the information surpasses 10 days, the answer will be transmitted to the applicant within a maximum of 30 days, under the condition of their notification in writing within 10 days.

(2) The refusal for transmitting the requested information must be transmitted within 5 days from receiving the petitions.

(3) The request and obtainment of public information can also be realized in electronic format, if the necessary conditions are met.