Free access to information

In order to ensure a uniform procedure for the disclosure of information pursuant to Act No. 211/2000 Coll. on Free Access to Information and on Amendments and Supplements to Certain Acts (Act on Freedom of Information), the following Regulation is issued in the Hronovce Detention Institute (hereinafter referred to as the „Institute“):

This Regulation shall regulate the procedures, rights, duties and responsibilities of the employees of the Institute in disclosing information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Requests for information (hereinafter referred to as „request“) may be made to the Institute orally, in writing, by electronic mail, or in any other technically feasible form. The form of disclosure of information shall be identical to the form of the request, unless the applicant chooses a different form.

It must be clear from the request that it is addressed to the Institute, who is making it, what it relates to, and what method of disclosure the applicant proposes. If the request does not have these elements, the recipient of the request shall immediately invite the applicant to complete it within ten days and shall also instruct him or her on how to complete it. If the applicant does not comply with this invitation and the information cannot be made available because of this deficiency, the application shall be deferred.

A record shall be made of the request received by telephone or orally by the receiving officer. The request shall be deemed to have been made on the date on which it is notified to the person responsible for the matter.

Any request received by the Institute shall be forwarded without delay to the Director, even in the case of an oral request for which a record of the receipt of the oral request has been made by the receiving officer. A special central register of requests shall be kept by a member of the Secretariat’s staff, indicating: the date on which the request was made, the content of the request, the form of the request (e.g. written, oral, e-mail) and the proposed method of disclosure, the department responsible, the outcome, form and date of the handling of the request (e.g. disclosure of the information, in what form, invitation to complete the request, decision not to disclose, no disclosure without a decision, adjournment of the case, referral to another authority, etc.), the remedy (date of submission and outcome of the handling). The Director shall forward the application, once registered, to the department responsible for direct processing.

A copy of the file relating to the disclosure of information shall be deposited with the Institute’s Secretariat after processing. The Secretariat shall draw up annual summaries of the manner in which requests have been dealt with for the calendar year in question.

The unit responsible for the substantive handling of the request shall be the unit within whose remit the information requested falls. That department shall keep the original file with all the documents relating to the handling of the file. It shall forward a copy of the reply to the Institute’s Secretariat.

The department responsible shall be obliged to make available to the applicant all the information in its possession, unless its disclosure is restricted by other legal provisions (State secrets, professional secrecy, banking secrecy, tax secrecy, business secrecy, protection of personal data or other restrictions on access to information). If there is any doubt as to whether the information requested can be disclosed (protection of classified information, personality, personal data, business secrets or other restrictions on access to information), the Director shall be consulted.

If the Institute does not have the requested information and knows where the requested information can be obtained, it shall forward the request within five days to the obliged person in possession of the requested information. The responsible department shall immediately inform the applicant thereof. If the institute does not know where the information can be obtained, it shall issue a decision refusing to disclose the information within eight days of the request.

Information shall be made available in particular in writing, orally, by consulting the file, including the possibility of making a copy or extract, by copying the information onto a technical data carrier, by making available copies of the master files containing the requested information, by telephone, by post, by electronic mail. If the information cannot be made available in the manner specified by the applicant, the responsible department shall agree with the applicant another way of making it available.

The responsible department shall allow anyone, without showing any legal or other reason or interest, to inspect, extract or take extracts or copies from files and documentation, taking appropriate precautions to ensure that inspection of the documentation or the taking of extracts, extracts or copies does not infringe the obligations to restrict access to information.

If part of the requested information falls within the exemptions under Sections 8 to 12 of the Freedom of Information Act, i.e. the information is restricted for reasons of protection of classified information, protection of personality and personal data, protection of business secrets and other restrictions, the part of the information which is publicly accessible must be made available. Information which is partially or totally inaccessible must always be accompanied by information (Article 4(4) of the Freedom of Information Act) on the reason for the refusal, the period of time for which the refusal lasts and when it will be reconsidered.

Information shall also be made available from pending administrative proceedings. When making it available, the responsible department shall take care to protect information classified as a State secret, a professional secret, a banking secret, a tax secret or a business secret, information subject to cryptographic protection and the protection of personality and personal data. The disclosure of personal data contained in registers and lists kept by the hospital, which are not excluded by law from public accessibility (Article 6(3) of the Freedom of Information Act), is not a breach of the protection of personal data.

Knowingly issuing or disclosing false or incomplete information, violating an obligation under the Freedom of Information Act or issuing a decision, order or other measure which causes a violation of the right of access to information is an offence under a special regulation.1).

The responsible department shall deal with the request without delay, at the latest within eight days of receipt of the request, or within eight days of the date on which the deficiencies have been remedied. If the processing of the request is connected with demonstrable technical problems in retrieving the information (multiple or different information requested in a single request or the retrieval and concentration of the information is outside the seat of the Institute), the time limit referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may be extended by a maximum of eight days. The department responsible shall notify the applicant thereof without delay, but at the latest before the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Where the information requested is disclosed orally, by inspection of the file, by copying or by telephone, the responsible department shall make a decision to that effect on the record, which shall not be subject to appeal.

If the request is not granted, even in part, the responsible department shall issue a decision refusing to disclose the information. If the request has been deferred (Article 2(2)), no decision shall be issued. Where the responsible department fails to disclose the information within the specified time limit, fails to issue a decision or otherwise fails to disclose the information, it shall be presumed to have issued a decision refusing to disclose the information. The date of receipt of the decision shall be deemed to be the third day following the expiry of the time limit for the processing of the request.

The applicant may appeal against a decision refusing to disclose the information requested within 15 days of receipt of the decision. The appeal against the decision of the Hronovce Detention Institute shall be decided by the Ministry of Health.

The information shall be made available free of charge, with the exception of the reimbursement of the costs for the technical production of the information according to the valid price list of the Institute.

The Institute may waive the obligation to reimburse costs pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article.