MOSCOW MEDIA LAW AND POLICY INSTITUTE

General Information

The Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute (MMLPI) is an  NGO which was founded in the autumn of 1995. The purpose of the Institute is to assist by means of legal education and research the development of free and independent Russian mass media and to support in all possible ways the formation of a civil society in Russia .

When determining its priorities, the Institute works on the principle that the rule of law plays an important role in the establishment of free and independent mass media. Therefore, in order to lay the foundations of new, committed ideals of democracy and the freedom of expression, a generation of mass media managers, judges, politicians, lawyers, researchers, and university teachers must be continuously trained to respect the rule of law and rights of the press.

Main directions of the Institute's work

- Research programs related to the legislation affecting mass media, including:

·         performing ongoing monitoring and analysis of the state of legislation affecting the regulation of mass media in Russia: collection and analysis of information from committees of the State Duma (parliament), the Ministry of the Culture and the Mass Communications, from the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, general courts, law enforcement bodies, etc.

·         offering expertise on draft law in the sphere of mass media;

·         participating in the drafting of statutes which regulate mass media (for example, the bill on TV and radio broadcasting, the bill on access to information, the bill on the economic relations in the mass media, telecommunications bill, etc.);

·         participating in drafting Explanatory Notes of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to the general courts on issues of defamation;

·         participating as third party in the European Court of Human Rights

·        providing regular legal commentaries on issues related to regulation of the mass media in Russia, distributed to and used by the media outlets (see: http://www.medialaw.ru/e_pages/); and

·         comparative media law projects.

- Training seminars for all kinds of professionals interested in mass media law (by mid-2005, the Institute has led more than 25 training sessions with over 500 participants, 95% of whom were from outside Moscow), including those for students and teachers of Russian university journalism departments for 160 students and 110 teachers, for journalists and directors of mass media outlets, and for lawyers specializing in mass media law.

- Conferences and scientific seminars, including international ones, focusing on the most important issues of legislation in mass media and communications in Russia and abroad (25 total have been held with more than 1000 participants, 30% of whom were from outside Moscow).

- Publication of the series of books Journalism and Law, which is dedicated to the problems of mass media legislation and thematically covers the entire field of legal regulation of mass media and telecommunications (more than 50 titles have been published and distributed, mainly in the regions — see the list below).

- Publication of the monthly journal Zakonodatelstvo i praktika mass-media, or ZiP (Legislation and Practice in Mass Media) (circulation 1,000 copies, distributed by mail in Russia and the NIS, published since 1994). It has included the following sections:

• from the republics of the former USSR (published since 1995, appendices from 11 republics);
• from various regions of Russia (published in 1997-2000, appendices from 12 Russian regions);
• an assortment of various thematic additions: "Telecommunications," "Concentration of Mass Media," “Licensing”, "Monitoring of Violations of Journalists' Rights."

ZiP creates a more informed community of scholars and practitioners in media law by providing a high standard of analysis and immediate access to information about government press regulation. In particular, ZiP publishes drafts of proposed laws related to the media so that scholars, practitioners, and other interested parties may evaluate them and suggest possible revisions.

In addition, ZiP publishes information useful to scholars and professionals. ZiP also reports on the physical safety and regulatory freedom of working journalists.

Editorial Council of the publication consists of: Manana Aslamazyan, President, ANO Internews; Yuri Baturin, J.D., Aleksei Voinov, Attorney; Prof. Boris Grushin, Ph.D., Director, Vox Populi Public Opinion Research Service; Prof. Yassen Zassoursky, Ph.D., Dean, School of Journalism, Moscow State University; Igor Ivanov, Lawyer, RTRS; Prof. Peter Krug, J.D., Law Institute, University of Oklahoma; Viktor Monakhov, J.D., Institute of State & Law, Prof. Monroe Price, J.D., Cardozo Law School; Andrei Richter, Ph.D. (the Editor); Aleksei Simonov, Chair, Glasnost Defense Foundation; Amb. Mikhail Fedotov, Secretary of the Union of Journalists of Russia, J.D.

The MMLPI runs website www.medialaw.ru which contains a data base of legislation (texts of laws, bills, commentaries on the laws), articles on the legislation, and other normative and academic materials dealing with the legislative regulation of the mass media and telecommunications in Russia and abroad. According to Rambler search engine, it is the top media law site and is among top 100 legal sites in Russian Internet.

The MMLPI leads an on-going work directed towards assisting the well-rounded and balanced development of respect for rule of law and the press in society.

Partnerships

The Institute works closely with a number of Russian governmental bodies and public organizations: the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation; committees in the State Duma dealing with mass media issues; ministries, and other state bodies in the area of mass media regulation; Internews-Network; Glasnost Defense Foundation; Press Development Institute; National Association of TV and Radio Broadcasters, etc.

The Institute also collaborates with many journalists, lawyers, and directors of mass media outlets in Moscow and a host of cities around Russia.

Among the foreign partners of the Institute are: the International Association for Mass Media and Communications Research (IAMCR) (MMLPI Director Andrei Richter is a member of IAMCR's International council and President of its Law Section); International Comission of Jurists, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, New York; Program of Comparative Law and Politics in Mass Media, Oxford University, UK; European Audiovisual Observatory, and others. The MMLPI has been funded by the USAID, Open Society Foundation, Eurasia Foundation, Know How Fund, IREX, IFES, TACIS, etc.

Publications of the Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute from the Series “Journalism and Law”:

Issue # 1
Five Years of the Free Press, published proceedings of the first conference on the anniversary of the Media Law. Published in co-operation with the School of Journalism of the MSU. 1996.

Issue # 2
Legislation of the Russian Federation on Mass Media / Scholarly commentary by Dr. Mikhail Fedotov. Published in cooperation with UNESCO and the Open Society Institute. 1996.

Issue # 3
Freedom of Information and the Responsibility of Journalists, proceedings of the June 26 seminar. Published in cooperation with the School of Journalism of the MSU. 1996.

Issue # 4
Defense of Dignity and Honor: Theoretical and Practical Issues. Ed. by Georgy Vinokurov, Andrei Richter, and Vladimir Chernyshov. 1997.

Issue # 5
Five Years of the Mass Media Law. Conference report. Published in cooperation with the School of Journalism of the MSU. 1997.

Issue # 6
Judicial Chamber on Information Disputes Under the President of the Russian Federation, 1996-1997. Decisions, Recommendations, Expert Analysis. Ed. by Prof. Anatoly Vengerov. 1997.

Issue # 7
Pertinent Problems of Media Law. Proceedings of the First Russian-American Conference. Ed. by Georgy Vinokurov, Andrei Richter, and Vladimir Chernyshov. 1997.

Issue # 8
Contemporary U.S. Media Law. Ed. by Andrei Richter. 1997.

Issue # 9
Intellectual Property in Broadcasting. A Manual. Ed. by Prof. Eduard Gavrilov and Prof. Peter Krug. 1998.

Issue # 10
Proceedings of the Third Annual Conference on Media Law. Ed. by Georgy Vinokurov. Published in co-operation with the School of Journalism of the MSU and ANO Internews. 1998.

Issue # 11
Legal and Ethical Norms of Journalism in Documents. A Manual. Published in co-operation with the School of Journalism of the MSU. Compiled by Dr. Georgy Pshenichny. 1998.

Issue # 12
Current Issues in Legal Regulation of the Telecommunications. Ed. by Georgy Vinokurov, Andrei Richter, and Vladimir Chernyshov. 1998.

Issue # 13
Legal Aspects of Licensing of Broadcasting and Telecommunications. Ed. by Georgy Vinokurov, Andrei Richter, and Vladimir Chernyshov. 1999.

Issue # 14
Law-Making in the Mass Media Field in 1998. Minutes of the 4^th Annual Roundtable. Ed. by Georgy Vinokurov, Andrei Richter, and Vladimir Chernyshov. 1999.

Issue # 15
Mass Media Law. A Reader. Ed. by Andrei Richter. 1999.

Issue # 16
Lectures on Law for the Journalists. Ed. by Georgy Vinokurov, Andrei Richter, and Vladimir Chernyshov. 1999.

Issue # 17
Analysis of the Law Making in the Russian Federation in the Context of the Freedom of Information. 1999.

Issue # 18
Russian Mass Media: Power and Capital: Media Concentration and Transparency. 1999.

Issue # 19
Legislation of the Russian Federation on Mass Media / Scholarly commentary by Dr. Mikhail Fedotov. Published in co-operation with UNESCO and the Open Society Institute. (Second edition) 1999.

Issue # 20
Commentaries of The Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute. Ed. by Pavel Surkov. 1999.

Issue # 21
Lawmaking in the Mass Media in the Context of the Freedom of Information. Ed. by Georgy Vinokurov, Andrei Richter, and Vladimir Chernyshov. 1999.

Issue # 22
Reader on Mass Media Law. Ed. by Andrei Richter. 1999.

Issue # 23
Content Regulation of the Mass Media and Telecommunications. 1999.

Issue # 24.
Law-Making Concerning Mass Media in the Russian Federation in the Context of Electoral Law. 2000.

Issue # 25.
Legal Regulations of the Concentration and Transparency in Mass Media. 2000.

Issue # 26.
Telecommunications and Law: Questions of Strategy. 2000.

Issue # 27.
Legal Issues of Television and Radio Broadcasting Licensing. 2000.

Issue # 28.
Russian Law-Making in the Context of Information Rights. 2001.

Issue # 29.
Right on Information: Russian Law-Making in the Mass Media Sphere in 1999-2000, in the Context of West European Standards of Free Speech. 2001.

 Conferences organized by Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute:

Conference Co-/Self-Regulation Bodies in the Mass Media (April 25, 2005)

Round table (December 25, 2000): Law-Making in Media Field—2000.

International Conference (June 16-17, 2000): Media Concentration Regulation

Round table (December 28, 1999): Law-Making in Media Field`99.

International Conference (June 19, 1999): Content Regulation in the Mass Media and Telecommunication

International Conference (June 18, 1999): Law-Making in Russia in the Context of the Right to Information (round table)

Round table (December 24, 1998): Law-Making in Media Field`98.

International Conference (December 19, 1998): Legal Aspects of Licensing of TV, Radio, and Telecommunications in Russia and the West.

International Conference (July 4-5, 1998): New communications technologies, convergence, and the law.

Conference (December 26, 1997): MMLPC together with the School of Journalism of the Moscow State University held a conference devoted to the 6th anniversary of the Russian Mass Media Law that discussed developments in mass media legislation in 1997.

Conference (December 8-9, 1997) “Honor and Good Name: Conflict of Journalism and Law” (together with the Glasnost Defense Foundation and Internews at the National Press Institute).

Seminar (October 27-28, 1997): The MLPC together with the Glasnost Defense Foundation sponsored a seminar on teaching media law in Russia. The seminar held in Moscow discussed curricula and synopsis of media law classes in different universities, methodology of teaching the subject in Russia.

Roundtable (October 25, 1997) sponsored by the MMLPC on media law as part of the "Journalism in Transition" scientific conference devoted to the 50th anniversary of the School of Journalism.

Conference (June 28-29, 1997): “First Russian-American Conference on Media Law.” Organized and sponsored by MMLPC. Attendees included over 100 lawyers, journalists, academic from Russia, the U.S., Ukraine, Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic.

Conference (June 21-22, 1997): “Free Access to Information: Legal, Organizational and Professional Problems.” MMLPC took part in the organizing of the conference, sponsored by the Commission on the Freedom of Access to Information.

Round Table Discussion (February 5, 1997): Organized by the MMLPC as part of the “Journalism ‘96” Symposium of journalism educators from Russia and other countries from the former Soviet Union, held at Moscow State University.

Conference (June 26, 1996): “Freedom of Information and the Responsibility of Journalists.” On revisions to the 1992 Press Law.

Conference (April 2, 1996): “Moscow City Bill on Cable TV.”

Internet: http://www.medialaw.ru

The MMLPC supports two listserves: telecom@medialaw.ru, iamcr@medialaw.ru

The Media Law and Policy Institute