First Instance Instance– administrative case No. 967/2006, Regional Court of Burgas
Second Instance Instance– administrative case No.1098/2007, Supreme Administrative Court, Fifth Division

Request:
In August 2006, Genka Shikerova, a reporter from bTV, submitted a request for access to information to the mayor of the Municipality of Nessebar. She demanded access to the following information:
- Review of available information that described the subject matter of the orders issued by the mayor of the Municipality of Nessebar for the period January 2000–June 2006;
- Copies of selected orders from the list/register of mayor's orders requested under point 1.

The request was submitted as part of the reporter's investigation of cases of illegal construction in the Municipality of Nessebar.

Refusal:
No answer was received within the legally prescribed period of 14 days.

Complaint:
A complaint against the silent refusal of the mayor of the Municipality of Nessebar was submitted to the Regional Court of Burgas.

Several days after the submission of the complaint, an answer regarding the request for access to information was received. The mayor had issued a decision of refusal to provide the requested information. The stated grounds were that the request was unclear about what type of information had been requested and that the documents requested contained personal data of third parties. Questions about the purpose of the request and the further usage of the information were also set forth.

Developments in the Court of First Instance:
The case was heard in an open session and scheduled for judgment. The complainant presented written arguments about the unlawfulness of the silent refusal, as well as of the explicit refusal that had followed. It was stated that the information contained in the orders of the mayor of the Municipality of Nessebar was above all public information. Secondly, a considerable part of that information concerned the transference of property rights and the granting of construction rights, which was also public information. Pursuant to Art. 34, Para. 2 of the Municipal Property Act, the relevant contracts were registered by the Registry Agencies. Consequently, the data related to third parties, who were parties to the contract, were accessible in the public register of the Registry Agencies. There was no reason to believe that the orders included personal data different from these specified in the contracts. Consequently, that type of information was public pursuant to a special legal provision–Section VІІ, Art. 42 and 43 of the Regulations for Registration.

Court Decision:
With a decision on November 22, 2006, a panel of the Regional Court of Burgas repealed the refusal of the mayor of the Municipality of Nessebar and obligated him to provide access to the requested information, excluding the personal data, as specified by § 1, Item 2 from the Additional Provisions of the APIA, that was contained in the documents.

Court Appeal:
The decision of the Regional Court of Burgas was appealed by the mayor of the Municipality of Nessebar in front of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC).

Developments in the Court of Second Instance:
In March 2007, the case was heard in a single court session and scheduled for judgment.

Court Decision:
In a final decision, as of June 28, 2007, a Three-member panel of the SAC upheld the right of the journalist from bTV, Genka Shikerova, to obtain access to the requested documents. The judges upheld the decision of the first instance, rejecting the argument of the appellant – the Municipality of Nesebar – that the journalist had requested the same information twice. The judges stated that if the institution had not provided information at a request the first time it was submitted, the institution did not have the right to claim that it had responded to the same request within the last six months.

At the 2006 Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony, Genka Shikerova was given the “Golden Key” Award in the category of a journalist who had most actively used the Access to Public Information Act.