Access to information
This Directive is aimed at extending the accessibility and re-use of documents held and produced by public authorities in the member states by setting minimum rules in the area. The term “re-use” covers a subsequent use by a person who obtained the document from the authority and explicitly covers both non-commercial and commercial use. Even if the intended re-use is commercial, the authority may not charge fees higher than the actual costs for provision of the document. The authorities are also encouraged to produce and make electronic versions available without need to use specific software, thereby reducing costs and time necessary.
Existing rules of Member States on freedom of information and determination of accessible documents are not affected. The member states are obliged to announce if they are withdrawing a document from public access or are no-longer updating it.
Documents may be released without a licence or a standard licence agreement may be concluded, covering proper use, non-alteration, liability or acknowledgement of source. A licence offer shall be produced within 20 days of the application, in case of complex requests an extension of further 20 days is possible. Public authorities may only enter in exclusive agreements regarding the dissemination of documents covered by the directive where this is “necessary for the provision of a service in the public interest”, e.g. when it would not be otherwise feasible for a publisher to publish the document. Any such exclusive agreements should be reviewed at regular intervals. Even existing exclusive agreements shall be reviewed and, if non-compliant, terminated before 2008.
This directive entered into force on 31 December 2003 and Member States shall comply with it by 1 July 2005.
Other articles
KŠB Assisted Sandberg Capital with a Majority Investment in HotelTime Solutions
The KŠB team provided legal advice to the investment group Sandberg Capital on the completion of a majority investment in HotelTime Solutions, one of the leading providers of cloud-based software for hotel operations management.
KŠB assisted Seyfor with the extension of its financing provided by Raiffeisenbank, Tatra banka and, newly, Slovenská sporiteľňa.
The KŠB team provided legal advice to its long-standing client Seyfor in connection with the continuation and expansion of its syndicated financing. The existing lending banks, Raiffeisenbank Czech Republic and Tatra banka, decided to continue supporting Seyfor’s growth, with Slovenská sporiteľňa joining the financing as a new lender.
Evidence skutečných majitelů: Co přinese znepřístupnění od 17. prosince 2025?
Letošní rozhodnutí Nejvyššího soudu a Nejvyššího správního soudu navázala na rozsudky Soudního dvora Evropské unie, a, s platností i pro Českou republiku, konstatovala, že zveřejňování údajů v rámci evidence skutečných majitelů představuje nepřiměřený zásah do základních práv majitelů na soukromí a ochranu osobních údajů. Důležitým aspektem těchto rozhodnutí byl závěr, že sankce, které postihují povinné subjekty jako reakce na nesplnění jejich povinnosti zápisu do evidence skutečných majitelů, není možné vymáhat, dokud je evidence veřejná. Tato situace se změní 17. prosince 2025, kdy ministerstvo znepřístupní evidenci skutečných majitelů; povinným subjektům tak budou opět hrozit závažné sankce.
