High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania

How to appeal against the decision if the person considers that he or she has been adversely affected by the right of access to the information of public interest requested

• 22 para. (1)-(5) of Law 544/2001 on free access to information of public interest, as amended:

Article 22

If a person considers that his/her rights provided for in this Law have been infringed, he/she may lodge a complaint with the administrative litigations section of the court in whose territorial district he/she resides or in whose territorial district the authority or public institution is located. The complaint shall be lodged within 30 days of the expiry of the time limit laid down in Article 7.

The court may oblige the public authority or institution to provide the requested information of public interest and to pay moral and/or pecuniary damages.

The court's decision is subject to appeal.

The decision of the Court of Appeal is final.

Both the complaint and the appeal are heard by the court in urgent procedure and are exempt from stamp duty.

• 32, art. 33, art. 34 para. (1) and art. 36 para. (1)-(2) of the Methodological Norms for the application of Law no. 544/2001 on free access to information of public interest, approved by Government Decision no. 123/2002, with subsequent amendments and additions:

Article 32

If a person considers that the right of access to information of public interest has been infringed, he/she may submit an administrative complaint to the head of the public authority or institution from which the information has been requested.

Article 33

A person who considers that his/her rights have been infringed may submit the administrative complaint referred to in Article 32 within 30 days of becoming aware of the explicit or tacit refusal of the employees of the public authority or institution to apply the provisions of Law no. 544/2001 and of these methodological rules.

Article 34

(1) The reasoned reply to the administrative complaint shall be sent to the person who formulated it within 15 days from the date of registration, regardless of whether the solution is favourable or unfavourable.

Article 36

 (1) In accordance with Article 22 para. (1) of the Law no. 544/2001, as amended, the person who considers that his/her rights under the Law no. 544/2001, as amended, may be infringed, may file a complaint with the Administrative Litigations Section  of the Court.

 (2) The exemption from stamp duty provided for in Article 22 para. (5) of Law No. 544/2001, as amended and supplemented, for the complaint to the court and the appeal to the court of appeal does not include the exemption from the payment of the services of copying the requested public interest information.

It is recommended to formulate the administrative complaint before initiating the judicial procedure because it is possible to resolve the situation without the intervention of the administrative court and, thus, obtaining information of public interest will take place much faster than the duration of the judicial procedure.