Home > Legal Assistance and Litigation > Litigation > News > 2012

The Supreme Administrative Court instructed the Sports Ministry to provide information on all its contracts with the Bulgarian Ski Federation for a four-year period

08 November 2012 г.

The Ministry of Physical Education and Sports was instructed to provide information on all its contracts (their objects, prices, documents on their implementation, etc.) with the Bulgarian Ski Federation for the period between 1^st January 2007 and 5 May 2011 – more than 4 years.

Disputed provisions

- Art. 31, Para.5 of the APIA – balance of interests (public interest overriding the protection of third partie's interests)

- Art. 37, Para. 1, item 2 of the APIA – refusal to grant access on the basis of affecting the third partie's interests without its explicit written consent

- § 1, item 5, letter "f" of the Additional Provision of the APIA – presumption of overriding public interest, when the information "...is related to the parties, subcontractors, the subject, the price, the rights and obligations, conditions, terms, and sanctions specified in contracts where one of the contracting parties is an obliged body under Art. 3."

Request and Litigation

The request for access to information was filed by the Balkani Wildlife Society on the 5 May 2011. The Ministry refused access on the grounds that the Bulgarian Ski Federation was a third party whose protected interests were involved and the Federation had expressly refused provision of the documents (art. 37, Para. 1, item 2 of the APIA). The requester filed a complaint which was rejected on first instance by the Administrative court – Sofia city.

Nevertheless, with the support of AIP and representation by AIP’s attorney-at-law Kiril Terziiski, the Supreme Administrative Court reversed the first instance decision. On the 29 October 2012 the justices, adopting the complainant’s arguments, ruled that information on the Ministry’s contracts fell under the presumption of overriding public interest of disclosure (§ 1, item 5, letter "е" of the Additional Provision of the APIA). In that case the Ministry had to prove the need of protection of the third party’s interests. It had failed to do so. Consequently, the information must be provided even without the third party’s consent.

Moreover, the SAC used its full competence under art. 41, Para. 1 of the APIA and instructed the Ministry of Physical Education and Sports to grant access to public information. This solution is to be applauded because it prevents the administration from any further delaying of the disclosure.

Annex

- Decision no. 4474 of 19 October 2011 on administrative case no. 5489/2011 of the ACSC, 28th panel (in Bulgarian)

- Decision no. 13492 of 29 October 2012 on administrative case no. 15594/2011 of the SAC, Fifth Division, judge-rapporteur Andrei Ikonomov (in Bulgarian)