Law no. 544/2001

Law no. 544/2001 regarding free access to information of public interest

The person’s free and unrestricted access to any information of public interest, defined as such by Law no. 544/2001, constitutes one of the fundamental principles of relations between individuals and public authorities, in accordance with the Romanian Constitution and international documents ratified by the Romanian Parliament.

Application of Law no. 544/2001 is done in compliance with the following principles:

the principle of transparency – public authorities and institutions have the obligation to carry out their activities in an open manner towards the public, in which free and unfettered access to information of public interest is the rule, and limiting access to information is the exception, under the conditions laws;
the principle of unitary application – public authorities and institutions ensure compliance with the law in a unitary manner, in accordance with its provisions and the present methodological norms;
the principle of autonomy – each authority or public institution will develop its own regulation for the organization and operation of the information and public relations departments, in accordance with the provisions of the law and the present methodological norms.

By information of public interest is understood any information that concerns the activities or results from the activities of a public authority or public institution, regardless of the support or the form or the way of expressing the information.

Applicable legislation:

LAW no. 544 of October 12, 2001 regarding free access to information of public interest, with subsequent amendments and additions.
DECISION no. 478 of July 6, 2016 for the modification and completion of the methodological norms for the application of Law no. 544/2001 regarding free access to information of public interest, approved by Government Decision no. 123/2002

For a better collaboration, in accordance with the Methodological Norms for the application of Law no. 544/2001 regarding free access to information of public interest” in the list of attached files we provide you with the following forms:

Request for public interest information – TYPE request form (1)
Request for information of public interest – request form TYPE (2)
Administrative complaint (1) according to Law 544/2001 – negative answer
Administrative complaint (2) according to Law 544/2001 – non-receipt of information within the legal term.

The request or administrative complaint form is sent by any method provided by law, by fax to no. 021/410.05.75; 021/412.00.42, by electronic correspondence to email: ecoind@incdecoind.ro or it can be submitted at the institute’s registry, at the registered office in the City of Bucharest, Drumul Podu Dambovitei street no. 57-73, District 6, postal code no. 060652.

The request or administrative complaint form will be forwarded to the person designated with attributions in the field of Law 544/2001 for resolution based on the relevant legal provisions.

Appeal methods according to Law no. 544/2001, regarding free access to information of public interest

If a person considers that his right regarding access to information of public interest has been violated, he can address an administrative complaint (form 1 or form 2) to the head of the authority from which the information was requested, in accordance with the provisions of art. 21 para. (2) from Law no. 544/2001 regarding free access to information of public interest, with subsequent amendments and additions, as well as art. 32-34 of H.G. no. 123/2002 for the approval of the Methodological Norms for the application of Law no. 544/2001 regarding free access to information of public interest. Models of administrative complaints can be found in annexes 2a) and 2b) of the Methodological Norms.

The methods of contesting the decision of the authority in the situation where the person considers himself injured regarding the right of access to the requested public interest information

Legal grounds: According to art. 21 of Law no. 544 of 12.10.2001

(1) The explicit or tacit refusal of the designated employee of a public authority or institution to apply the provisions of this law constitutes a violation and attracts the disciplinary responsibility of the guilty party.

(2) Against the refusal stipulated in para. (1) a complaint can be submitted to the head of the respective authority or public institution within 30 days of being informed by the injured person.

(3) If, after the administrative investigation, the complaint proves to be well-founded, the answer is sent to the injured person within 15 days from the filing of the complaint and will contain both the information of public interest initially requested, as well as the mention of the disciplinary sanctions taken against the guilty party.

Also, if the applicant considers himself injured in his rights provided by the law, he can submit a complaint to the administrative litigation section of the court in whose territorial area he resides or in whose territorial area the seat of the public institution or authority is located, as provides art. 22 para. (1) from Law no. 544/2001, with subsequent amendments and additions, and art. 36 of H.G. no. 123/2002.

Legal grounds: Art. 22 of Law no. 544 of 12.10.2001

(1) If a person considers himself/herself injured in his/her rights, provided in this law, he/she can file a complaint with the administrative litigation section of the court in whose territorial area he/she resides or in whose territorial area the seat of the authority or public institution. The complaint is made within 30 days from the date of expiration of the term provided for in art. 7.

(2) The court can oblige the public authority or institution to provide the requested information of public interest and to pay moral and/or patrimonial damages.

(3) The decision of the court is subject to appeal.

(4) The decision of the Court of Appeal is final and irrevocable.

(5) Both the complaint and the appeal are judged in court in the emergency procedure and are exempt from the stamp duty.

Information bulletin 2019 published in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 544/2001 regarding liberal access to information of public interest

According to art. 5 paragraph 2 of Law no. 544/2001 regarding free access to information of public interest, INCD ECOIND has the obligation to publish and update annually an information bulletin that will include the information provided in paragraph. (1) from the same normative act.

This 2019 newsletter will include the following public information as provided in art. 5 para. 1 of Law Law no. 544/2001 regarding free access to information of public interest:

the normative acts that regulate the organization and operation of INCD ECOIND
the organizational structure, the attributions of the departments, the operating schedule, the audience schedule of INCD ECOIND;
the name and surname of the persons in the management of INCD ECOIND and of the person designated with attributions in the field of Law 544/2001
contact details of INCD ECOIND and INCD ECOIND Branches (Timisoara and Ramnicu Valcea)
financial sources, the budget and the accounting balance;
own programs and strategies;
the list including documents of public interest;
the list including the categories of documents produced and/or managed, according to the law;
the methods of contesting the decision of the authority or the public institution in the situation where the person considers himself injured regarding the right of access to the requested information of public interest.

According to art. 5 paragraph 3 of Law no. 544/2001 regarding free access to information of public interest, INCD ECOIND has the obligation to publish a periodic activity report, at least annually, which will be published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part III.

According to art. 5 paragraph 3 of Law no. 544/2001 regarding free access to information of public interest, access to information provided for in art. 5 para. (1) is carried out by:

display at the headquarters of INCD ECOIND or by publication in the Official Gazette of Romania or in the mass media, in its own publications, as well as on its own website, as the case may be, depending on the specifics of the information.
their consultation at the headquarters of INCD ECOIND, in spaces specially designed for this purpose.

INCD ECOIND does not own the privatization contracts concluded after the entry into force of Law 544/2001.

LIST of documents of public interest issued by INCD ECOIND according to Law no. 544/2001:

Normative acts regulating the organization and operation of INCD ECOIND;
The organizational structure of the departments of the department, the organizational chart, the attributions of the departments according to the Regulation on the organization and operation of the department; Code of Ethics;
Audience schedule;
Contact details of INCD ECOIND – registered office;
Contact details of INCD ECOIND – Branches;
The announcements regarding the organization, according to the law, of the contests for filling the vacant positions within the institute as well as the participation conditions and specific requirements; the results of the contests regarding the selection of registration files; the results of the written test; the results of the interview; final results; the appeals submitted; the results of the appeals related to each competition sample;
New information is published on the INCD ECOIND website in the boxes on the first page: News, Press Releases, European News, Events, Scientific News, as appropriate;
Financial sources, budget and balance sheet;
Normative acts in the field of activity of INCD ECOIND;
Press Releases;
The methods of contesting the decision of the authority or the public institution in the situation where the person considers himself injured regarding the right of access to the requested information of public interest;
The list including the categories of documents produced and/or managed;
The annual public procurement plan;
List of public procurement contracts
Annual evaluation reports on the application of Law no. 544/2001 and Law no. 52/2003;
Annual audit plan;
Annual audit reports.

Annual reports on the application of Law no. 544/2001:

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