Amending Law 109/2007 on the Re-Use of Public Sector Information (RO0022)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Romania, Second Action Plan, 2014-2016
Action Plan Cycle: 2014
Status: Inactive
Institutions
Lead Institution: Ministry of the Information Society
Support Institution(s): Ministry of Justice CSOs: Association for Technology and Internet, Open Society Foundation
Policy Areas
Access to Information, Legislation & Regulation, Open Data, Public ParticipationIRM Review
IRM Report: Romania End-of-Term Report 2014-2016, Romania Progress Report 2014-2015 – Public Comment Version
Starred: No
Early Results: Marginal
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information , Civic Participation
Implementation i
Description
Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information, was implemented at national level by Law 109/2007 regarding the re-use of public information.
The law stipulates that re-use for non-commercial purposes of documents owned by the public institutions is free for all potential market participants and that public institutions must create conditions to facilitate access to the documents available for re-use, particularly by creating electronic lists and directories with the most relevant documents.
Since the first set of rules on re-use of public sector information was adopted in 2003, the amount of data in the world, including public data, has increased exponentially and new types of data are being generated and collected. This rapid technological evolution makes it possible to create new services and new applications, which are built upon the use, aggregation or combination of data. As such Directive 2013/37/EU amending Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information.
The public sector should facilitate the re-use of public information by making documents available in open, machine-readable formats, ensures interoperability with other information or analysis systems.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
Commitment 4. Amending Law 109/2007 on the Reuse of Public-Sector Information
Commitment Text:
Amending Law no. 109/2007 on the Re-use of Public Sector Information.
• The agency will create a legal framework for the re-use of data and the publication of open datasets by implementing the provisions of Directive 2013/37/EU, amending the Directive 2003/98/CE on the Re-use of Public Sector Information, thus amending Law 109/2007. On the suggestion of civil society, proposals to create a legal framework for open data will also be taken into account.
Responsible institution: Ministry of the Information Society
Supporting institutions: Ministry of Justice, Association for Technology and Internet, Open Society Foundation
Start date: September 2014 End date: June 2015
Commitment Aim:
This commitment proposes to update Law 109/2007 on the reuse of public-sector information, bringing it in line with the EU directive 2013/37/EU. The commitment aims to create a legal framework for the reuse of data and to make it available in open, machine-readable formats. Civil society in Romania has also requested that the government consider creating a legal framework for open data.
Status
Midterm: Substantial
The government had substantially implemented this commitment by the midterm evaluation. The Ministry of the Information Society organized public consultations on the new legislation in March 2015, including a public debate at the ministry’s headquarters. At the end of July 2015, the executive approved an amendment to the legislation on the re-use of public sector information, and the law was sent to Parliament. Two prominent CSOs[Note 13: Open Society Foundation and the Association for Technology and Internet.] were concerned about the consultation process, as well as the omission of some open data provisions in the law. For more information, please see the 2014–2015 IRM midterm report.
End of term: Complete
Parliament adopted the law on 25 November 2015, and the Official Gazette published it on 3 December 2015 (Law 299/2015). According to the self-assessment report, the government considers this commitment only substantially implemented because the newly adopted law did not include civil society’s proposals related to open data.[Note 14: The main complaint is that although civil society proposed a specific legal framework related to open data this issue has not been addressed in the final form of the legislation.] However, as written this commitment is considered complete for two reasons: the amendment was adopted, and public consultation took place. Moreover, Article 7(1) of the new law gives guidance to public institutions on the reuse of data. If a public institution allows the reuse of its documents, the institution must send the documents to the requesting individual in their existing format and, when possible and adequate, in an open and machine-readable format with metadata. The article also states that the open formats and the metadata should follow the open data standards.[Note 15: The text of Law 299/2015 is available for free at http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/173591, through the national legislation portal.]
Did it open government?
Access to information: Marginal
Civic participation: Did not change
Implementation of this commitment brings Romanian legislation up to date with the most recent EU directive on improving the integration of technology in information services. As such, this commitment marginally opened government with respect to access to information.
For instance, the new legislation affirms the public’s right to request information and documents from public institutions. More importantly, it legally establishes conditions under which public-sector institutions must provide requested information. Prior to this amendment, public institutions could easily deny information requests, and the requesting individual or agency had little recourse. The new legislation establishes a time frame, requiring that public institutions respond to requests within 20 working days (40 if complex information is requested). In addition, the law creates a legally defined appeals process. If a request is denied, there is a clear administrative process through which the decision can be contested.
Although these are important improvements to increase citizens’ rights to information, the legislation still includes a number of broad exceptions that deny access to certain information. While some exceptions are clear, such as those related to intellectual property rights, others are open to interpretation. For example, access can be denied if the person requesting information does not provide a legitimate reason for requesting a document. For this reason, the amendment has only led to a marginal change in actual government practice. It should be noted that there were several options for updating the law, and CSOs are dissatisfied by the government’s preferred solution, considering it a lost opportunity. The EU offered member states a minimum standard that should be implemented, coupled with a series of optional recommendations member states could choose to implement. According to civil society representatives, the Romanian government chose the easiest solution, the implementation of minimal standards, and ignored many CSO recommendations.
Carried forward?
The government completed the commitment before the end of the commitment period and did not include it in the next action plan.
Commitments
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Standardize Public Consultation Practices
RO0048, 2018, E-Government
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Open Local Government
RO0049, 2018, Capacity Building
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Citizen Budgets
RO0050, 2018, Capacity Building
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Youth Participation
RO0051, 2018, Capacity Building
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Register of Civil Society Proposals
RO0052, 2018, E-Government
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Access to Information – Local
RO0053, 2018, Capacity Building
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Online Business Sector Information
RO0054, 2018, Capacity Building
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Digital Consular Services
RO0055, 2018, Capacity Building
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Transparency in the Funding of Political Parties
RO0056, 2018, Access to Information
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National Investment Fund Transparency
RO0057, 2018, Access to Information
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Civil Servant Training
RO0058, 2018, Capacity Building
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Raise Awareness About Corruption
RO0059, 2018, Capacity Building
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Transparency of Seized Assets
RO0060, 2018, Access to Information
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Access to Social Services
RO0061, 2018, E-Government
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Open Access to Research
RO0062, 2018, Access to Information
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Open Education
RO0063, 2018, Access to Information
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Evaluate Open Data
RO0064, 2018, Access to Information
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Open Data
RO0065, 2018, Access to Information
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Improving the Legal Framework and Practices Regarding Access to Public Interest Information
RO0030, 2016, Access to Information
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Centralized Publishing of Public Interest Information on the Single Gateway Transparenta.Gov.Ro
RO0031, 2016, Capacity Building
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Promoting Open Parliament Principles
RO0032, 2016, Capacity Building
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Improved Management of the Applications Submitted for Granting Citizenship
RO0033, 2016, Capacity Building
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Standardization of Transparency Practices in the Decision-Making Procedures
RO0034, 2016, Capacity Building
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Centralised Publication of Legislative Projects on the Single Gateway Consultare.Gov.Ro
RO0035, 2016, Capacity Building
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Citizens Budgets
RO0036, 2016, Capacity Building
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Improve Youth Consultation and Public Participation
RO0037, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Subnational Open Government
RO0038, 2016, Capacity Building
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Promoting Transparency in the Decision-Making Process By Setting Up a Transparency Register (RUTI)
RO0039, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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Access to Performance Indicators Monitored in the Implementation of the National Anticorruption Strategy (SNA)
RO0040, 2016, Access to Information
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Improve Transparency in the Management of Seized Assets
RO0041, 2016, Access to Information
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Annual Mandatory Training of Civil Servants on Integrity Matters
RO0042, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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Improving Access to Cultural Heritage
RO0043, 2016, Capacity Building
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Open Data and Transparency in Education
RO0044, 2016, Access to Information
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Virtual School Library and Open Educational Resources
RO0045, 2016, Capacity Building
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Open Contracting
RO0046, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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Increasing the Quality and Quantity of Published Open Data
RO0047, 2016, Access to Information
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Publishing the Public Interest Information on a Single Government Portal: Transparenta.Gov.Ro
RO0019, 2014, Access to Information
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Making an Inventory of the Datasets Produced by the Ministries and Subordinate Agencies
RO0020, 2014, Access to Information
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Ensuring the Free Online Access to National Legislation
RO0021, 2014, E-Government
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Amending Law 109/2007 on the Re-Use of Public Sector Information
RO0022, 2014, Access to Information
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Opening Data Collected from the National Health System
RO0023, 2014, Access to Information
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Opening Data Collected from the Monitoring of Preventive Measures as Part of the National Anticorruption Strategy 2012-2015
RO0024, 2014, Access to Information
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Open Contracting
RO0025, 2014, Anti-Corruption
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Opening up Data Resulted from Publicly-Funded Research Projects
RO0026, 2014, E-Government
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Increasing the Quality and Quantity of Published Open Data
RO0027, 2014, Access to Information
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Human Resource Training in the Field of Open Data
RO0028, 2014, Access to Information
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Disseminating Information on the OGP Principles and Promoting the Open Data Concept in an Accessible Manner
RO0029, 2014, Public Participation
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Designating a Person Responsible for Publishing Open Data in Each Public Institution
RO0001, 2012, Access to Information
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Identifying Regulatory Needs, Logistical and Technical Solutions
RO0002, 2012, Access to Information
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Making an Inventory of Available (High-Value) Data-Sets
RO0003, 2012, Access to Information
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Priority Publishing on the Web Pages of Public Institutions of Specific Data-Sets
RO0004, 2012, Access to Information
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Initiating Pilot-Projects, in Partnerships
RO0005, 2012, Access to Information
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Organizing Public Debates on the Utility of Open Data, in Partnerships
RO0006, 2012, Access to Information
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Uniform, Machine-Readable Publishing Format for Open Data
RO0007, 2012, Access to Information
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Procedures for Publication of Data-Sets Based on Civil Society Recommendations
RO0008, 2012, Access to Information
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Procedures for Citizen Complaints Pertaining to Open Data
RO0009, 2012, Access to Information
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Consultation Mechanism Between Suppliers and Beneficiaries of Open Data
RO0010, 2012, Access to Information
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Creating a Rating System for the Assessment of High-Value Data-Sets
RO0011, 2012, Access to Information
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Routinely Publishing Specific Data-Sets on Web Pages of Public Institutions
RO0012, 2012, Access to Information
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Integrating Open Data from Public Institutions in a Single National Platform
RO0013, 2012, Access to Information
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Inventories of Data, in Order to Facilitate Public Access
RO0014, 2012, Access to Information
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Institute a Monitoring Mechanism of Compliance for Open Data
RO0015, 2012, Access to Information
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Stimulating the Market for Innovative Use of Open Data
RO0016, 2012, Access to Information
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Routinely Publishing Data-Sets on the National Platform, 25% High-Value
RO0017, 2012, Access to Information
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The Public Procurement Electronic System (SEAP). the Electronic Allocation System for Transports (SAET)/B.1 C) Expanding the On-Line Submission of Fiscal Forms. Ensuring the Free On-Line Access to National Legislation. Developing Electronic Tools to Manage Subpoenas and Facilitate Access Toinformation Regarding Legal Proceedings. Developing Electronic Tools to Manage the Procedures Related to Obtaining the Romanian Citizenship. Developing Electronic Tools to Manage the Procedures Related to the Creation of Non-Profit Legal Persons. the Integrated System for Electronic Access to Justice (SIIAEJ)
RO0018, 2012, Access to Justice