On 19.07.2012 the Administrative court of Sofia took a decision on BILI’s case against the denial of the Inspectorate at the Supreme Judicial council to give access to public information on an inspection it had conducted. The request for information was addressed towards a signal on which the elect-inspector Dimana Yosifova gave opinion and the document was asked in the light of her nomination as a candidate to the Inspectorate.
The denial to access was grounded in the allegation that it affected information concerning third parties (the inspector herself and the parties to the signal) and it is mandatory to acquire their consent in advance.
However, the court has decided that the case represented an exception under the provisions of art. 31 (5) of the Access to Public information Act. Due to the fact that in this case there is an overriding public interest and the revealing of any information aims at fighting corruption and enhancing transparency of the election procedure, the Inspectorate should have agreed to provide it to the public.
On the abovementioned grounds the court repealed the decision of the Inspectorate to deny access. The decision is subject to appeal in a period of 14 days.