Panel V – Akademieraum 1 – 23 June 2025, 14:45
“Challenges and Achievements in Implementing the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø Convention)”
Moderation
Toby Mendel, Executive Director, Centre for Law and Democracy
Short Biography
Toby Mendel is the founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, a Canadian-based international human rights NGO which provides legal and capacity building expertise regarding foundational rights for democracy, including the right to information, freedom of expression, the right to participate and the rights to freedom of assembly and association.
Prior to that, he was for over 12 years Senior Director for Law at ARTICLE 19, an international human rights NGO focusing on freedom of expression and the right to information. He has collaborated extensively with inter-governmental actors working in these areas – including the World Bank, UNESCO, the UN and other international rapporteurs on freedom of expression, the OSCE and the Council of Europe – as well as numerous governments and NGOs in countries all over the world.
Before joining ARTICLE 19, he worked as a senior human rights consultant with Oxfam Canada and as a human rights policy analyst at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
He is the author of a large number of articles, monographs and books on a range of freedom of expression, right to information and communication rights issues, including several books published by UNESCO.
Panelists
Elona Hoxhaj, Information and Data Protection Commissioner, Albania and Elected Expert Member of the Access Info Group of The Council of Europe
Short Biography
Elona Hoxhaj is graduated in Law from the Law Faculty of University of Tirana in 2007, and also holds a Master of Science degree in Comparative and European Constitutional Law from the same Faculty. In her professional career, she has held various positions in public administration and the private sector, including: Director General of the General Directorate of Regulation and Compliance for Public Order and Security at the Ministry of Interior; Director of the Directorate for Programming, Standardization, and Harmonization of the Regulatory Framework at the Ministry of Interior; Director General at the Public Procurement Agency; Director of the Monitoring Directorate at the Public Procurement Agency and as a lawyer at the law firm “Boga & Associates” among others.
In March 2020, Ms. Hoxhaj was appointed Director of the Directorate for the Right to Information at the Office of the Commissioner and in 2021 she was promoted to the position of Director General of the Directorate for the Right to Information.
Since 2017, Ms. Hoxhaj has also been engaged as a lecturer in Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Copyright Law, and as a trainer on the right to information at ASPA (the Albanian School of Public Administration).
In November 2024, Ms. Hoxhaj became a member of the international expert group of Council of Europe Convention No. 205 “On Access to Official Documents”, as well as a High-Level Expert with the Special Parliamentary Committee “Deepening Reforms for Good Governance, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption for Albania 2030 in the European Union”.
Helena Jäderblom, President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden, President of the Council of Europe Access Info Group
Short Biography
Helena Jäderblom is president of the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court and a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights. She is chairperson of the AIG (Access Info Group) which forms part of the monitoring mechanism of the Tromsø Convention on Access to Official Documents.
Tetyana Oleksiyuk, Vice-Chair Access Info Group Council of Europe
Short Biography
Tetyana Oleksiyuk is a Ukrainian legal expert specialising in access to official information and open data regulation. With over 15 years of experience, she has been actively engaged in advocacy, teaching, and legal advisory work focused on aligning national legislation with international standards in the field of access to information.
In 2022, she was elected Vice-President of the Access Info Group – the Council of Europe’s Group of Specialists under the Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø Convention). In this role, she contributed to assessing and reporting on the adequacy of legal and practical measures taken by State Parties to implement the Convention’s provisions. She also regularly advises key stakeholders in Ukraine, including the Ombudsperson’s Office, the Council of Europe, UNDP Ukraine, the Supreme Court, government agencies, and civil society organisations.
A practicing attorney, Tetyana has successfully represented several cases before the European Court of Human Rights. She has led numerous training sessions for activists, judges, journalists, public officials, and the Ombudsperson’s staff on access to information. From 2022 to 2024, she supported the Ukrainian Ombudsperson’s Office in monitoring the right of access to official information during wartime and in strengthening its institutional capacity in this area.
Dr. Attila Péterfalvi, President of the Hungarian Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Short Biography
Dr. habil Attila András Péterfalvi is the President of the Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (2012- ).
He started his carreer in the field of data protection in 1988. From 1996 to 2001 he was the Consultant of the Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. Between 2001 and 2007 he was the Parliamentary Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. In the period from 2008 to 2011 he acted as the Head of the Office of the parliamentary Commissioner for Civil Rights. Between 2010-2015 Member of the Hungarian Board of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).
From 2022 he is a member of the Council of Europe’s Access Info Group which monitors the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Acces to Official Documents by its parties.
Honorary Professor at 3 Hungarian universities and doctor honoris causa at the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences Kiev Law School. Got his PhD in 2014 at the National University of Public Service and received his habilitation degree at Pázmány Péter Catholic University in 2022. Author of more than 50 publications (data protection and FoI) in Hungarian and English language.