The information law applied to the South Center Brno, confirmed the Constitutional Court

Brno - The Constitutional Court (CC) has definitively confirmed that the company Jižní centrum Brno is subject to the law on free access to information, just like other companies established and controlled by local governments. The company, which recently merged with Brno Communications, filed a complaint last year against the rulings of the Regional Court in Brno and the Supreme Administrative Court in a dispute with the civic association Brnění. The CC deemed the complaint to be evidently unfounded, as found by ČTK from the resolution in the database.
    The company, which was established by the city for the development of the area south of the railway station, previously refused to provide contracts to activists from Brnění with the development company Europark-FP. It claimed that it is not a public institution and also cited business secrets. Last October, the Regional Court in Brno ruled that Jižní centrum is subject to the information law and therefore must respond to requests for information, just like government offices or state-controlled companies. The ruling was then upheld by the Supreme Administrative Court.
    Activists received the contracts last year. According to Matěj Hollan from Brnění, the constitutional complaint was a waste of money. The representatives of the company must have suspected that they could not succeed. The CC has previously repeatedly confirmed that state-controlled companies, such as ČEZ or Prague Airport, are subject to the information law. In a ruling concerning the Public Transport Company of the capital city of Prague, the judges also expressed agreement regarding municipal companies.
    "The CC states that the application of the interpretation advocated by the complainant (Jižní centrum) would contradict the purpose of the statutory regulation and would ultimately prevent the realization of the right to information," reads the resolution of the reporting judge Jan Filip.
    The company Jižní centrum was established in 1994. Its aim was to create conditions for the development of a new district south of the railway station. The area of Jižní centrum encompasses 135 hectares. The land is long-term reserved for development projects, including the planned relocation of the railway station.
    The regional court already clearly concluded that Jižní centrum Brno meets all the legal criteria for mandatory subjects under the law on free access to information. Brno controlled the activities of the company, and partially directly and partially through the general meeting, appointed its management. Moreover, according to the court, the company served a public purpose.