Accessibility of websites and mobile applications
In process is the adoption of the Act on the Accessibility of Websites and Programming Solutions for Mobile Devices of Public Sector Bodies, which is transposed into Croatian legislation by Directive 2016/210 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies, available on the following link: https://eurlex.europa.eu/legalcontent/HR/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016L2102. In the context of the Directive, accessibility implies the principles and techniques that must be respected by public sector bodies when designing, creating, maintaining and updating websites and mobile applications, in order to enable the same availability and the same opportunities to all users, especially people with disabilities. In this sense, public authorities must provide the possibility of perception – information and component of the user interface must be presented to the user so that they can be perceived; operability – interface and navigation components must be usable; intelligibility – information and operation of user interface but be intelligible; stability – content must be stable enough to reliably interpret a wide range of user agents, including auxiliary technology.
The Act will ensure the implementation of the Republic of Croatia’s obligations under the Directive in such a way as to prescribe the requirements regarding the accessibility of public sector bodies’ websites and software solutions for mobile devices, in order to make them more accessible to all users, especially to people with disabilities, as well as to elderly people whose abilities alter due to their age; an obligation will be imposed on public sector bodies to publish and regularly update the Statement on Accessibility in accordance with the Statement Template issued by the European Commission; the implementation of training and awareness-raising activities of public sector bodies and other relevant stakeholders in terms of accessibility is foreseen.
The adoption of this Act will ensure easier access to public services and information to all users, with an emphasis on people with disabilities and the elderly, which will help them in their daily lives and in enjoying their rights throughout the Union. It will also provide a wide range of information and services on the Internet which are key to the public and ensure a better quality of life, i.e. in the greater involvement of vulnerable social groups and their members.
Obliged persons of the enforcement of the Act include state administration bodies and other state bodies, LRGs, public law bodies as defined by the law regulating public procurement, and associations established by these bodies if they are established for the specific purpose of meeting needs of general interest and have no industrial or commercial significance.
The Act prescribes the Information Commissioner’s competence to implement inspectional monitorings over the implementation of the law, to file indictments and issue misdemeanour warrants for the found misdemeanours as well as for fines to perpetrators of misdemeanours, to monitor the compliance of websites and mobile application software in line with the European Commission monitoring methodology and to report to the European Commission.