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New extension of the mandatory implementation of e-government
This is what the Complaints Ombudsman of Catalonia recommends in his 2013 report presenting before the Parliament.
The lack of publication of municipal acts is a reason for complaint both by citizens and by municipal groups.
the Ombudsman has recalled that the eventual presence in the proceedings of the plenum of personal data that cannot be published requires the adoption of appropriate measures to preserve the right of the owner of the data not to communicate them, but does not exempt the Municipal Administration from the legal duty to publish- the.
When there is no consent from the interested person or legal authorization to disseminate the data, the necessary measures must be taken to prevent the non-consensual dissemination of personal data, through the instruments provided by Organic Law 15 itself /1999, of December 13, on the protection of personal data, so that both obligations are compatible.
The obligation to publish the plenary minutes and the protection of personal data must be made compatible.
Like this, an option to avoid violating the rules on personal data protection with the publication of the minutes is to dissociate the personal data that appear there, so that they cannot be related to an identified or identifiable person. Additionally, when it comes to personal information that can appear in the published minutes without violating data protection legislation, the Administration can adopt measures to avoid its indexing by Internet search engines.
It is important to note the differentiated treatment that the legislator has given to the acts of the municipal plenum and the acts of the local government board.
The first case, of mandatory publication in accordance with the aforementioned precept, is only subject to the condition of availability of resources under the terms of the third additional provision of the same Law.
This is not the case for local government board minutes, which are not subject to this specific publication obligation. This distinction is also consistent with the fact that the nature of the sessions of one body and the other is also different, since plenary sessions are public and those of the local government board are not.
However, it should also be borne in mind that, despite the fact that there is no obligation to publish the minutes of the local government board and the other collegiate bodies of the local administration, the same article 10.1.c of Law 29/2010 determines the duty to disseminate, by electronic means, "information relating to the agreements taken by public sector entities, in accordance with what is established by their regulatory regulations".
Bearing in mind that the publication of the minutes of the local government board is not legally mandatory, and based on the precept transcribed, the Ombudsman considers that there is indeed a legal duty to publish, on the websites of local administrations, the agreements of the governing board (with the prior adoption of the necessary measures to protect the rights regulated by Law 15/1999 ).
It has also made it clear that the publication of the minutes of the governing boards is feasible, if it is considered appropriate, as long as appropriate measures are taken to avoid the communication of personal data contrary to Organic Law 15/1999, mentioned above up In this sense, Law 15/1999 itself provides for instruments that make the limits on access and communication of personal data compatible with the right of access to public information and the principle of informed participation of citizens in public affairs .