THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION AS A RIGHT PROTECTED BY THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES

Abstract

The paper presents the manner in which the right of access to information is protected by international treaties for the protection of human rights - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights. It analyses the case law of the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Furthermore, it shows the development of the approach of the European Court of Human Rights to protecting the right of access to information under Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The comparison of the case law of the European Court with the decisions of the Human Rights Committee and the Inter-American Court leads to the conclusion that there is a common ground in the way of providing protection of the right of access to information, but also that the case law of the European Court in certain issues is different from the case law of the Human Rights Committee and the Inter-American Court. Finally, the paper explores the practice of the Croatian Constitutional Court in proceedings under the Croatian Right of Access to Information Act. The analysis of 49 decisions and rulings of the Constitutional Court adopted in the period from July 2008 to July 2014 is carried out. The paper ends with certain conclusions about the difference of conditions in protecting the right of access to information according to the Croatian Constitution and the European Convention and the level of protection of the rights that should be provided.