The submission of requests for information and their provision is governed by Act No. 106/1999 Coll., on free access to information, as amended.

Mandatory published information and information on the activities of the Czech Health Research Agency are available on the website AZV.

For the purposes of this Act, information means any content or part thereof in any form, recorded on any medium, in particular the content of a written record on a document, a record stored in electronic form or a sound, visual or audiovisual record.

The obligation to provide information does not apply to requests for opinions, future decisions and the creation of new information.

A request for information shall be made orally or in writing, including via an electronic communications network or service.

If information is not provided to the applicant in response to an oral request or if the applicant does not consider the information provided in response to an oral request to be sufficient, the request must be made in writing.

Procedure for submitting and handling written requests for information

It must be clear from the request to which obliged entity it is addressed and that the applicant is requesting the provision of information within the meaning of this Act. The form of the request is not prescribed.

The natural person shall state in the application:

• Name,
• last name,
• date of birth,
• the address of the place of permanent residence or, if not registered for permanent residence, the address of residence and the address for service if different from the address of permanent residence or domicile.

The legal entity shall indicate:

• Name,
• identification number,
• the registered office address and the address for service, if different from the registered office address. The address for service shall also mean the electronic address.

Requests for information shall be made to:

In writing (by post) to:

Agency for Health Research of the Czech Republic
Ruská 2412/85,
100 05 Praha 10

Electronically to the address of the electronic mailroom:

If the application does not contain the above-mentioned requirements, it is not an application within the meaning of this Act.

Time limits for handling requests for information

The time limit for processing a request for information is 15 days from the date of receipt of the request or from the date of completion of the request.

If the lack of identifying data about the applicant hinders the procedure for processing a request for information pursuant to this Act, the obliged entity shall invite the applicant to complete the request within 7 days from the date of submission of the request; if the applicant fails to comply with this invitation within 30 days from the date of its receipt, the request shall be postponed.

If the request is incomprehensible, if it is not clear what information is requested or if it is formulated too generally, the obliged entity shall invite the applicant to specify the request within 7 days from the date of submission of the request; if the applicant fails to specify the request within 30 days from the date of receipt of the invitation, it shall decide to reject the request.

In the event that the requested information does not relate to the competence of the Agency for Medical Research of the Czech Republic, the request shall be postponed and this justified fact shall be communicated to the applicant within 7 days from the date of receipt of the request.

If the obliged entity does not decide to issue a decision to refuse the request, it shall provide the information in accordance with the request within a period of no more than 15 days from the date of receipt of the request or from the date of its completion.

The deadline for providing information may be extended for serious reasons, but not more than 10 days. Serious reasons are:

• searching for and collecting the requested information in other offices that are separate from the office handling the request,
• searching and collecting the voluminous amount of separate and distinct information required in a single application,
• consultation with another obliged entity having a substantial interest in the decision on the application, or between two or more components of the obliged entity having a substantial interest in the subject matter of the application.

The applicant must always be demonstrably informed of the extension of the time limit and the reasons for it in good time before the expiry of the time limit for providing the information.

If the request for information is directed towards the provision of published information, the obliged entity may, as soon as possible, and at the latest within 7 days, instead of providing the information, communicate to the applicant the data enabling the applicant to locate and obtain the published information. If the applicant insists on direct provision of the published information, the obliged entity shall provide it to the applicant.

If the obliged entity does not comply with the request, even in part, it shall issue a decision rejecting the request, or rejecting part of the request, within the time limit for processing the request, except in cases where the request is postponed.

Further information

Information provided on the basis of a request shall be provided in formats and languages according to the content of the request for information (unless otherwise provided by law). Obliged entities shall not be obliged to change the format or language of the information if such a change would impose an unreasonable burden on the obliged entity; in this case, the obliged entity shall comply with the request by providing the information in the format or language in which it was produced.

Where the requested information is part of a larger body of information and its exclusion would be disproportionately burdensome for the obliged entity, the obliged entity shall provide such body in accordance with this Act.

For the submission of the requested information, the Agency for Medical Research of the Czech Republic is entitled to request payment in an amount that may not exceed the costs associated with the acquisition of copies, the provision of technical data carriers and the sending of the information to the applicant in accordance with the Schedule of Reimbursement of Costs. The obliged body may also request reimbursement for an exceptionally extensive search for information. It shall notify the applicant in writing of this fact, together with the amount of the charge, before the information is provided. The provision of the information shall be subject to payment of the requested fee. If the applicant fails to pay the fee within 60 days of the date of notification of the amount of the fee requested, the application shall be abandoned.