Council of Ministers' decision(s) that delegated to the Minister of Finance the signing of contracts related to the payment of Iraqi debts to Bulgaria
Alexenia Dimitrova (24 Hours Newspaper) vs. the Council of Ministers
First Instance–administrative court case No. 4070/2006, Sofia City Court, Administrative Division, Panel III-D
Request:
In May 2006, Alexenia Dimitrova, a journalist from 24 Chasa (24 Hours) daily newspaper, submitted a request for access to information under the provisions of the Access to Public Information Act (APIA). She demanded access to a copy of the Council of Ministers' decision(s) that delegated to the Minister of Finance the signing of contracts related to the payment of Iraqi debts to Bulgaria. Dimitrova also requested documentation related to the decision(s).
Refusal:
With a letter dated May 30, 2006, the Director of the Government Information Services (GIS) refused access to the requested information. The letter confirmed that the requested information existed, since the GIS had found that the issue had been discussed during closed sessions of the Council of Ministers. According to the letter, the documents had been marked with a stamp Confidential according to the Protection of Classified Information Act (PCIA).
Complaint:
The refusal was challenged before the Sofia City Court (SCC). The main argument advanced by the petitioner was that neither factual nor legal grounds were given for the classification of the requested information. The refusal did not even state the number of the Council of Ministers' decision that contained the requested information. The argument continued by pointing out that the APIA and the PCIA required that information be classified under the conditions stipulated by the PCIA, i.e. only if the information fell under a category specified in the appendix to Art. 25 of the PCIA and only if the disclosure could result in harm to national security, defense, foreign policy or constitutionally established order. The refusal did not state any of the above-quoted grounds, neither legal nor factual.
Developments in the Court of First Instance:
The case was heard in an open court session and was scheduled for judgment. In the meantime, the court panel repealed their decision to proceed with the case and required that the defendant, GIS, present evidence about the classification of the requested information.
A new hearing of the case was scheduled for March 2007.
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