The right of access to information and re-use of information is regulated by the Law on the Right of Access to Information (official gazette of the Republic of Croatia Narodne novine No. 25/13 and 85/15 ).
The objective of the Law is to enable and ensure to natural persons and legal entities the exercise of the constitutionally guaranteed right of access to information and re-use of information, through openness to the public and transparency of public authorities.
The right of access to information in accordance with Article 5 paragraph 1 of the Law “shall encompass the right of the beneficiary to search and obtain information, as well as the obligation of public authorities to enable access to the requested information, i.e. to disclose information regardless of the request, when such disclosure is mandatory under law or another regulation.”
Information within the meaning of the said Law (article 5 paragraph 1 item 3) is “any information held by a public authority in the form of document, record, dossier, register, regardless of the manner of representation (written, drawn, printed, recorded, magnetic, optical, electronic or any other record), generated by the authority independently or in cooperation with other authorities, or received from another person, within the scope or in connection with the organisation and work of public authorities”.
As per Article 5 paragraph 1 item 6 of the Law, re-use of information “shall mean the use of the public authority’s information by natural persons or legal entities, for commercial or non-commercial purposes different from the original purpose for which the information was generated, and which is realised within the scope or business that is generally considered a public affair, as stipulated by law or another regulation. The exchange of information among public authorities for the purpose of performing the tasks within their remit is not considered re-use”.
