The CEI, as a state administration body, is an entity obliged to provide information according to both information laws:
- It is obliged to provide information about the environment according to Act No. 123/1998 Coll., on the right to information about the environment,
- It is obliged to provide "general" information related to the competence of the Inspectorate according to Act No. 106/1999 Coll., on free access to information.
The request for the provision of information can be submitted orally or in writing, including through telecommunication equipment (by telephone, telegraph, fax or other technically feasible form) at territorial inspectorates or, in the case of aggregate information of a national nature, at the CEI’s Headquarters.
According to Act No. 123/1998 Coll. and Act No. 106/1999 Coll., the CEI’s staff will provide an answer to every telephone or written question. Information cannot be provided only in cases of secrecy in the state interest, in the case of information subject to the protection of personal and individual data, the protection of personality, intellectual property or trade secrets and in other cases defined by Act No. 123/1988 Coll. The CEI processes hundreds of requests for information every year, of which only once in the last two years it decided to deny part of one request.
The request for provision of environmental information pursuant to Act No. 123/1998 Coll. will be dealt with within 30 days of receiving the request (by making the information available, or by issuing a decision to refuse to make the information available for legal reasons), in exceptional cases within 60 days. The request for provision of information pursuant to Act No. 106/1999 Coll. will be dealt with in a similar manner within 15 days of receipt, for serious reasons this period can be extended by a maximum of 10 days.