CALRE AWARD Stars of Europe

Transcription

1 CALRE AWARD Stars of Europe Participation form Regional legislative assembly: ANDALUSIAN PARLIAMENT Country: SPAIN President: Mr. JUAN PABLO DURÁN SÁNCHEZ Contact person for the project: Name: SOL Surname: CALZADO GARCÍA Position: HEAD OF THE CABINET OF PRESIDENCY Tel: / E- mail: s.calzado@parlamento-and.es Technical and operational contact: Name: MARÍA Surname: ROSO GARCÍA Position: HEAD OF INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS (Reference for CALRE) Tel: / E- mail: m.roso@parlamento-and.es Type of project: a) a) Regional law: Law 1/2004, of 24 June, on Public Transparency in Andalusia 1 1

2 b) Administrative act: c) Procedure: b) Other: Date of issuing of the initiative 19/02/2014 Reference period The passage of the Bill started on 19/02/2014 and was completed with the approval of the Law by the plenary session of the Parliament on 11/06/2014. It was published in the Official Gazette of the Andalusian Parliament on 17/06/2014, and in the Official Gazette of the Andalusian Regional Government on 30/06/2014. Short description of the initiative After the approval of state Law of 19/2013, of 9 December, on transparency, access to public information and good governance, the passage of the future Law on Public Transparency in Andalusia started in the Andalusian Parliament. This initiative was registered in the Regional Parliament as a Bill on 19 February 2014 at the proposal of the Governing Council of the Andalusian Regional Government. As laid down in the preamble of the regulation: transparency is inherent to democracy and is fundamental to the establishment of an advanced democratic society, which is one of the objectives proclaimed in the preamble of the Spanish Constitution. Without the knowledge afforded by public access to public information, it would be difficult to form a critical opinion and achieve the participation of all citizens in political, economic, cultural and social life, as an unwaivable objective that the public authorities are obliged to foster (articles 9.2 of the Constitution and 10.1 of the Andalusian Statute of Autonomy). Likewise, the assessment of public programmes and policies is acknowledged as an operational instrument to achieve transparency objectives. Thus, the Regional Government of Andalusia aims to move forward with the design of an Andalusian system of assessment of public policies, in accordance with article 138 of the Statute of Autonomy and to bring greater transparency to public management. The purpose of the current law is to increase the transparency of the public authorities actions, as a means of achieving a more real and effective democracy. This must not be reduced to a mere regular exercise of the right to vote. Our legal system requires the strengthening of

3 the mechanisms which enable citizens to know better the actions of the public authorities, the reasons for such actions, the results and to evaluate them. In this regard, the regulation aims to facilitate public knowledge of the actions of the administrations and private bodies that manage or are financed by public funds, based on the two core principles of public transparency: active publicity and the right to access public information. The regulation provides, among other notable measures, for the compulsory creation of transparency portals or spaces on the websites of all public administration bodies, the creation of a Council on Transparency and Data Protection in Andalusia, and the establishment of a system of penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of the Law. Role of the regional Assembly: The Andalusian Parliament, under its legislative function, exercises its legislative powers through the drafting and enactment of laws. Appearance of social agents before the Commission of the Presidency

4 Thus, after the registration of the proposed Law 9-14/PL , on Public Transparency in Andalusia, the relevant parliamentary procedure 2 started through the Commission of the Presidency and the Plenary Assembly of the Parliament. Among the most significant formalities of the process, we should highlight the debate on the whole project (27/03/2014), the appearance of the social agents before the Commission to make their contribution to the text (22/04/2014), the Report on the Presentation of the Bill, the approval of the Law at the Plenary Session (11/06/2014) and the publication of the Law in the Official Gazette of the Andalusian Parliament (17/06/2014). Vote in the Plenary Session on the Law on Public Transparency in Andalusia Law 1/2004, of 24 June, on Public Transparency in Andalusia, was unanimously passed with the support of all the parliamentary groups represented in the Chamber during the IX Legislature ( ). Transparency and the Andalusian Parliament In parallel to the legislative process of the Law on Public Transparency in Andalusia, the Andalusian Parliament was undertaking a more in-depth study and development of elements guaranteeing Public Transparency, in its capacity as coordinator of the 2 parlamento/actividadparlamentaria/todaslasiniciativas/portipo.do?numexp=9-14/pl &hastames=6&desdeanyo=2014&accion=Ver%20iniciativas&legislatura=9&estado=11&hastaanyo=2014&situacion =&indice=25&seleccion=publicadosen&tipoespecifico=&desdemes=0&tipogeneral=1

5 Working Group on e-democracy of the Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies (CALRE), in which good practice in Public Transparency held a relevant role in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 editions, all coordinated by the Andalusian Parliament. Meeting of the CALRE WG on e-democracy At the last meeting, as leader of the Working Group, the President of the Andalusian Parliament, Mr. Juan Pablo Durán, presented the conclusions of the study on e- Democracy and Public Transparency, according to which the CALRE Parliaments have incorporated transparency as part of their daily activity. Following the conclusions of the study and debate generated during the meeting of the Working Group, held in October 2015 with the attendance of 18 European Regional Parliaments, President Durán proposed to the Presidency of CALRE the elaboration and approval of an Institutional Declaration on CALRE Parliamentary Transparency. The Transparency Portal of the Andalusian Parliament The approval of Law 1/2004, of 24 June, on Public Transparency in Andalusia had an immediate effect on the Andalusian Parliament and entailed the implementation of the Transparency Portal of the Andalusian Parliament 3 on 30 December

6 The Transparency Portal is the result of a consensus by the Regional Parliament, expressed by the three Parliamentary Groups of the IX Legislature ( ), and complies with the terms established in the state and regional laws on Transparency. It is structured around the two main principles laid down in the Law on Public Transparency in Andalusia: active publicity and access to public information. Transparency Portal of the Andalusian Parliament Through the Transparency Portal, the public has direct, precise access to information on the activity of their parliamentary representatives, to all the public information related to the administrative services of the Parliament and to detailed information on the budget of the Parliament and its implementation, among other relevant aspects. If the information is not found, it can be requested through the portal s mechanism for access to public information, and the reply will be sent within a maximum period of 20 days. As a prior step before the implementation of the Transparency Portal, it was necessary to modify the regulations of the Andalusian Parliament, which was approved by the parliamentary groups and entered into force on 23 December Both the modification of the Regulations of the Parliament and the creation of the Transparency Portal put the Andalusian Parliament at the forefront of institutional transparency. However, it is worth mentioning that, prior to the launch of the Transparency Portal, the web site of the Andalusian Parliament was already one of the most complete in terms of information about parliamentary activity and active publicity.

7 Main features of the initiative Law 1/2004, of 24 June, on Public Transparency in Andalusia, is intended to regulate transparency, within the Autonomous Region of Andalusia, as regards both aspects of active publicity and the right of access to public information as an instrument to facilitate public knowledge of the activity of public authorities and bodies financed by public funds, by encouraging the responsible exercise of such activity and the development of public awareness and full democracy. The provisions contained in the Law apply to the Administration of the Andalusian Government and to all other entities, including private bodies, awarded public contracts and/or receiving public aid or grants during a period of one year for an amount in excess or 100,000 or when at least 40 percent of their annual income is paid from public funds, whenever the total amount is 5,000 or more. The general provisions of the Law recognise the following rights: a) Right to active publicity. This consists of the right of all persons to receive from the public authorities, in compliance with the current law and on a regular and updated basis, accurate information, knowledge of which is relevant in order to ensure the transparency of activities related to the functioning and control of public action. b) Right of access to public information. This is the right of any person, under the terms provided by this law, to access the contents or documents held by any of the persons or entities covered by this law, and that have been drawn up or acquired in the exercise of their functions. c) Right to obtain a motivated resolution, consisting of the right of the applicant to an explanation of the motives for refusing to accept requests for access, rejecting access, granting partial access or access in a manner other than that requested, as well as for resolutions granting access despite the opposition of a third party. d) Right to use the information obtained, which consists of the right to use the information obtained without prior authorisation and with no restrictions other than those laid down in this or other laws. Active Publicity The entities covered by the Law must exercise the principle of active publicity by reporting through their transparency portals or sections on their websites about the

8 following aspects: institutional and organisational information, information on senior officials, planning and assessment, procedures, service charters and public participation, contracts, agreements and subsidies, economic, financial and budgetary information and other areas of active publicity. Right of access to public information In accordance with the regulation, all persons have the right of access to accurate public information under the terms laid down in article 105.b) of the Spanish Constitution and its implementing legislation, and article 31 of the Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia, with no restrictions other than those laid down in the Law, which does, though, set restrictions on access to public information, in accordance with the terms of the basic legislation. The Law establishes that requests for access to public information should be resolved and notified in the shortest possible time. The maximum time limit for issuing and notifying the resolution by the Administration of the Andalusian Government and its instrumental bodies is 20 working days from receipt of the request by the competent body, which may be extended for the same period if necessary, in view of the volume or complexity of the information requested. Control and penalty system Law 1/2004, of 24 June, on Public Transparency in Andalusia, in its section on organisation, provides for the creation of a Council on Transparency and Data Protection in Andalusia. The Council will act in the territory of Andalusia as an independent public authority in the field of data protection under the terms set forth in article 41 of Basic Law 15/1999, of 13 December, and as an independent, impartial body responsible for guaranteeing the right to transparency, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the relevant basic legislation. The regulation also provides for a penalty system in the case of non-compliance with the provisions laid down in the Law. In this regard, offences of a disciplinary nature have been defined, which are attributable to the authorities, managers and employees of the administrative bodies of the Regional Government of Andalusia under the regulation. In the case of private bodies, the sanctions include a caution and/or a fine, of between 200 and 400,000, depending on the nature of the offence.

9 Law 1/2004, of 24 June, on Public Transparency in Andalusia entered into force on 1 January Description of the consequences on the regions pointing out the positive European implications Due to its recent entry into force, it is still too early to evaluate the consequences and impact of the implementation of Law 1/2004, of 24 June, on Public Transparency in Andalusia, apart from statistical data on the interest raised among the public. In this respect, for example, until May 2016, the Transparency Portal of the Regional Government of Andalusia had registered 2.7 million page views and resolved 971 requests for access to public information out of made. Beyond the statistical results, Law 1/2004, of 24 June, on Public Transparency in Andalusia, was passed in a context of public disenchantment with public institutions and a demand for the accountability of public representatives. In this regard, the Law aims at improving the transparency of the action of public authorities, which is seen as one of the instruments that will enable democracy to become more real and effective, and which should not be reduced to the mere regular exercise of the right to vote. The European Union and the principle of Transparency The enactment and entry into force of Law 1/2004, of 24 June, on Public Transparency in Andalusia has, among its main motivations, the principle of Public Transparency contained in the different treaties, regulations and recommendations of the European Union. The preamble of the regulation declares: As set out in the preamble of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents, in a democratic, plural society, transparency is an extremely important requisite. For this reason, the exercise of the right to access to official documents provides a source of information for the public, it helps the public to form an opinion on the state of the society and on public authorities, and foster the integrity, efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of public authorities, so helping affirm their legitimacy. The principle of Public Transparency has been present since the beginning of European construction. In the founding treaties there were already several references to the transparency of the EU institutions, and over the past decades, other regulations and treaties on general or specific issues, such as the Environment, have

10 enhanced the principle of Transparency, encouraging the institutions of the member states to adopt it in their day-to-day work and in their relations with the citizens. Among the most recent actions, we should highlight the Lisbon Treaty (2007), which incorporates the principle of openness and transparency into the actions of the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, the right of access to documents and the protection, treatment and circulation of personal data. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000) also lays down the right to receive information and the protection of and access to personal data and records, good management, the obligation of the administration to explain the reasons for its decisions and access to the documents of the European institutions. In 2007, in a reform of the Charter, the right of access to the bodies, offices and agencies of the Union was extended. Finally, we should highlight the recommendation adopted by the Council of Europe in 2002, considering, among other aspects, the importance in a democratic society of transparent public administration and the availability of information on issues of public interest.

11 Forms with the description of the initiative must be sent by 30 June 2016 to the Regional Council of Lombardy, at the following For any further questions please contact Mrs. Isabella Molina (CALRE Secretary General) at the following contact details: Tel. +39-(0)