By way of reminder, during the legislative works on the amendment in July, the Sejm took account of certain comments made by NGOs and drafted a compromise modification of the Access to Public Information Act. However, a last-minute alteration of the proposed amendment, submitted by Senator Marek Rocki and accepted by the Senate, resulted in a return to the original version of the act. The amendment was adopted by the Sejm on 16 September 2011 despite objections voiced by numerous non-governmental bodies.
Third sector activists are concerned not only over the mode in which the alteration has been made but also the reasoning behind it. ‘To be lawfully introduced, a limitation of access to public information under Article 61(3) of the Polish Constitution which is based on a material economic interest of the State requires assessment of such a material economic interest and legitimacy of the limitation itself. The adopted amendment to the Access to Public Information Act imposes a general prohibition to disclose information which is not subject to the above safeguards’, reads the statement.
