Confidentiality of data

Confidentiality and protection of data for the purposes of official statistics are defined by the Law on Official Statistics and Official Statistical System (Official Gazette of Montenegro No 18/12, 47/19 and 23/25). Official statistics producers assigned by this Law as well as by the Programme of Official Statistics, are obliged to apply confidentiality and data protection principles for the purposes of production of official statistics.

One of fundamental principles on which the Law on Official Statistics and Official Statistical System is based is the principle of statistical data confidentiality, which ensures the protection of data relating to reporting units (households, enterprises, administrative sources, and other data providers) and their use exclusively for statistical purposes.

The legal provision on data confidentiality applies to data submitted by reporting units as well as to data collected from other sources, from the moment they are delivered to the official statistics producers for the purposes of official statistics. Access to confidential data of official statistics is restricted to persons performing duties and tasks within the official statistics producers, and only to the extent necessary for the production of official statistics. These persons must sign the Statement on Respecting the Principle of Confidentiality. The obligation to respect the confidentiality principle continues even after the termination of duties and tasks with the official statistics producers.

Data collected, processed, and stored for the purposes of official statistics are considered confidential if, on the basis of such data, reporting units can be identified directly or indirectly, thereby revealing individual data.

Individual data on natural or legal persons and households are confidential and represent an official secret.

Official statistics producers are obliged to take all administrative, technical and organizational measures necessary to protect confidential data from unauthorized access, disclosure or misuse.

Data confidentiality is also guaranteed during the implementation of large statistical activities, such as the Population, Households and Dwellings Census and the Agricultural Census. Enumerators, instructors, supervisors and other persons engaged in census-related tasks must keep as an official secret all data collected from enumerated persons relating to their personal, family and property circumstances. After processing is completed, the data are archived in the prescribed manner and kept until the destruction of statistical questionnaires obtained through statistical surveys.

The legal provision concerning data confidentiality applies to all forms of data dissemination.