TIRANA, June  29 /ATA/ The forum entitled “The right to information in Albania: the decisions of the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data” touched on institutional activity from the perspective of academic studies.

As an initiative supported by the Office of the Commissioner, this activity was held as part of the joint project of the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF), the Research Expertise from the Academic Diaspora (READ) program and the Faculty of Law of the University of Tirana.

Participating in this forum were representatives from the academic world, civil society, as well as coordinators for the right to information of central and independent institutions.

In his remarks, Commissioner Besnik Dervishi praised the initiative, underlining the necessity of promoting projects of this nature in view of public authorities’ openness.

“The activity of the Office is guided by the promotion of the culture of respect for citizens’ rights, as a foundation for a democratic, developed society, for responsible and transparent institutions. Any contribution that supports this spirit is welcome from the academic world, civil society organizations or parties of interest,” he said.

The researchers shared with the participants the findings of the project, which dealt with the activity of the institution for the review of complaints during the period 2020-2022 and especially the decision-making of the Commissioner with the aim of developing practice and regulatory standards in this field.

Organized in the form of a round table, this forum discussed strengthening the institutional independence of the Commissioner’s Office, promoting proactive transparency of public authorities or strengthening the role of the coordinator for the right to information.

/sm/