Access to Public Information for the Past 1 Year

Today, on September 12, at the event held in “Radisson Blu Iveria” Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has named the most accountable and most closed public institutions in terms of access to public information.

The institutions were identified as part of the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF) supported project Public Information Database –  www.opendata.ge

The survey covered the period from July 2012 through June 2013.  The survey allows making analysis of and comparing public information access practices and trends before 1 October 2012 parliamentary elections and in the period following the elections.

In 2012-2013 as part of the project total of  5625 applications for public information were sent to 224 public institutions.

Of  5625 applications IDFI received:

Levan Avalishvili of IDFI: “According to our estimates,  since 1 October 2012 Parliamentary elections access to public information has improved.  The share of exhaustive responses increased from  51% to 81%, while the number of unanswered requests decreased from 30% to  11%.” 

At the conference Public institutions were awarded certificates for securing access to public information and restricting access to public information based on the statistical analysis made as part of the project.

Special awards  For Securing Access to Public Information in 2012-2013 were handed over to the following institutions:

Ministries and State Ministry Offices:

• The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection
• Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development
• The Ministry of Defense (for improving access from 0 point to 84 percent)
• The Office of the State Minister for Reintegration
• The Office of the State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration
• The Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara
• The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara

Other Institutions:

• Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia
• Service Agency of the Finance Ministry
• Penitentiary and Probation Training Centre
• National Agency of Execution of Non-Custodial
  Sentences and Probation (for improving access)
• National Agency of Standards, Technical Regulation and Metrology
• United National Accreditation Agency – Accreditation Center
• Civil Aviation Agency
• Georgian State Hydrographic Service
• State Regulation Agency for Medical Activities
• The Georgian Health Insurance Mediation Service (for meeting deadlines)
• Center for
  Educational Quality Enhancement
• Georgian Public Defender’s Office
• Civil Service Bureau

  Regions:

• Kvareli Municipal Government (gamgeoba)
• Dmanisi Municipal Government
• Tkibuli Municipal Government

• Sokhumi State University
• Tbilisi State Medical University

Certificates were awarded to those public institutions also which proved least transparent based on the project data.

Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC) was named as the Least Transparent Public Institution 2012-2013

Certificates for restricting access to public information in 2012-2013 were awarded to, Bolnisi and Gardabani Municipalities and Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

During the event IDFI disseminated recently published newsletter – „Access to Public Information in Georgia”. The newsletter is based on the practices of requesting information by the institute. Using case studies the work describes the situation in Georgia and gives the reader a comprehensive view about public information access practices in Georgia.

Read the full version of the newsletter.

Freedom of Information in Georgia- 2012-2013