1. The Federal Television and Radio Broadcasting Commission of the Russian Federation (further on - the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission) is the federal state body for licensing of television and radio broadcasting in the Russian Federation.

2. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission is a permanent body.

3. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission is a collegiate body.

4. The activity of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission is guided by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Law of the Federation “On the mass media”, the present Federal Law and other federal laws.

5. In the context of objectives, determined by the current legislation, the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission enjoys organizational and functional independence.

6. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission is a legal entity, has its own official seal with its name and a visual representation of the State Emblem of the Russian Federation.

The objectives of the Commission include:

1) ensuring of the right for free dissemination of mass media information in the field of TV and radio broadcasting;

2) providing guarantees of freedom of mass media, as provided for by Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation;

3) elaborating and pursing of the State policy in the field of licensing TV and radio broadcasting;

4) monitoring of the compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on TV and radio broadcasting;

5) rendering of assistance in development of TV and radio broadcasting , culture and education in the Russian Federation;

6) rendering of assistance in dissemination of informational, popular-scientific, as well as cultural and educational TV and radio programs as well as TV and radio programs for spiritual, aesthetic growth and legal education of children and youth, upholding of family values, promoting of a healthy lifestyle.

The basic principles of the activity by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission include legality, openness, ideological and political pluralism, collegiality, objectivity, scientific character and competence, compliance with international responsibilities of the Russian Federation in the sphere of information exchange, completeness and all-sided review of affairs and provision of valid reasons for adopted decisions.

1. The State shall take all necessary steps to provide material and social support to the members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission and to the employees of its administrative support department.

2. The funding of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission and its provision with transportation and material and technical means shall be fully provided from the federal budget.

3. Any property necessary for the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission to pursue its activity and thereby being subject to its day-to-day management, shall remain the federal property.

1. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission is made up of nine persons:

1) three members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall be nominated by the State Duma. The State Duma shall nominate the members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission within three months following the first sitting of a newly convoked State Duma.

2) three members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall be nominated by the Council of the Federation.

3) three members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall be nominated by the President of the Russian Federation. The President of the Russian Federation shall nominate the members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission within three months from inauguration.

2. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall be qualified as competent following nomination of the two thirds of its members.

3. The members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall elect the Chair and the Deputy Chair of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission from among their own number, with the scope of their powers to be determined by the Statute of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission.

4. Whenever a contest is held to receive a license for TV and radio broadcasting within the territory of one constitutive entity of the Russian Federation, the quantitative composition of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall be supplemented by three representatives from the respective constitutive entity of the Russian Federation. The representatives from the constitutive entities of the Russian Federation, included in the membership the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission, shall not be subordinate to the requirements provided for by Part 1 of Article 7 of the present Federal Law. The procedure for the appointment of the representatives shall be regulated by the law of the respective constitutive entity of the Russian Federation.

1. Designation as the member of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission may be awarded to any citizen of the Russian Federation who has higher education and admitted level of proficiency in the field of TV and radio broadcasting.

2. The members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall perform their duties on a permanent basis. The authorities of the member of TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission can be terminated only in the manner and on grounds prescribed by the present Federal Law.

1. A member of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission may not be a member of the Federation Council, a deputy of the State Duma or other representative bodies as well as have or retain other State positions.

2. A member of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission is not entitled act as a founder or member of TV and radio broadcasting organizations and other organizations whose activity may depend on the decisions adopted by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission.

1. The term of office for a member of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall constitute four years.

2. One and the same person may not be in office as member of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission for more than two consecutive terms.

1. The powers of a member of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall terminated in view of:

1) breach in the designation procedure as established by the present Federal Law and by the laws of the constitutive entities of the Russian Federation;

2) expiration of the term of office;

3) a personal letter of resignation;

4) loss of citizenship of the Russian Federation;

5) adjudication of him as being guilty and its coming into legal force;

6) continuation, despite the warning from the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission, of business or other activities being incompatible with his position of a member of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission;

7) failure to participate in the meetings of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission for the period of three consecutive months without a valid reason;

8) adjudication of him as incapable and its coming into legal force;

9) adjudication of him as missing and its coming into legal force;

10) his death.

2. Termination of powers for member of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall be validated by the decision of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission.

1. To exercise its authorities, the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall form its own administrative support department with its structure, staff and labour remuneration procedure established by the Commission independently.

2. The administrative support department of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall provide organizational and material support for maintenance of the activity by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission.

To realize the objectives, set forth in Article 2 of the present Federal Law, the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall carry out the following kinds of activity:

1) participation in the discussion and elaboration of the State policy in the field of television and radio broadcasting;

2) licensing of TV and radio broadcasting;

3) protection of consumer’s rights (TV viewers and radio listeners);

4) monitoring of compliance with the mass media legislation;

5) interaction with governmental authorities and with TV and radio broadcasters.

1. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall equitably participate in discussion and elaboration of State policy in the field of TV and radio broadcasting.

2. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall generalize the legislative practice with reference to matters within the scope of its competence and shall develop proposals relating to the improvement of the legislation.

3. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall take part in the development of normative legal acts which regulate relations within the television and radio broadcasting.

4. To exercise its authorities stipulated by the present Article, the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall invite consultants and organize scientific research.

1. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall issue licenses for on-air, satellite, cable and wire television broadcasting and radio broadcasting (further - broadcasting licenses).

2. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall issue broadcasting licenses on the basis of the broadcasting concept and on the basis of the technical and economic specifications submitted by the applicant for the license.

3. The procedure for issue, prolongation and re-issue of broadcasting licenses shall be determined by the Law of the Russian Federation “On mass media” and by the provision on licensing television and radio broadcasting which shall be elaborated and adopted by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission by way of its coordination with the Government of the Russian Federation.

4. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission may hold open contests to obtain broadcasting licenses. The procedure, terms and conditions of the contest to obtain a broadcasting license shall be determined by the provision which shall be elaborated and adopted by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission.

1. The broadcasting license issued by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission is the sole and sufficient document certifying the right of the respective subject of mass media to execute television and radio broadcasting in accordance with license terms and conditions, as established by the provision on licensing of television and radio broadcasting.

2. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall approve the standard forms of broadcasting licenses.

3. The term of the broadcasting license shall make up ten years. The term of the license may be reduced at the request of the applicant for the license.

4. The amount and the procedure of lump sum payment required to receive the right for broadcasting as well as to extend the license term and re-issue the broadcasting license shall be established by the Government of the Russian Federation by way of their coordination with the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission. The amounts thus collected shall be transferred to the Federal budget and allotted to the development of the infrastructure of television and radio broadcasting in the Russian Federation.

1. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall take into account complaints and remarks submitted by TV viewers and radio listeners relating to the content of the programs issued by the TV and radio broadcasters and shall carry on their analysis and generalization.

2. The opinion of consumers shall be taken into account by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission when settling the issue of prolongation for the broadcasting license.

1. Should a TV and radio broadcasting organization manifest breaches of regulations on dissemination of radio- and TV programs, as contained in the Law of the Russian Federation “On the mass media”, the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall forward a written warning to such organization. The warning shall contain the gist of the breach committed and fix the time-limit for its elimination, which may not exceed two months. The text of the warning shall be promulgated by the respective broadcaster upon its receipt. The procedure and the terms of promulgation shall be determined by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission.

2. In case of failure to eliminate the breach indicated in the warning, the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall impose a penalty on the respective TV and radio broadcaster. The amount of the penalty shall be determined by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission and may not exceed 25 percent from the amount of lump sum payment for receiving of the right to broadcast and contributed by the respective broadcaster when receiving the broadcasting license. The penalty may not be imposed with the expiry of one year from the time of the warning issued by the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission. The sum of the penalty shall be transferred to the Federal budget in full volume.

3. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall consider matters on administrative violations as stipulated by Articles 13.17 and 13.22 of the Russian Federation Code of Administrative Violations and shall take appropriate decisions on these matters.

4. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall cancel broadcasting licenses in cases stipulated by Article 32 of the Russian Federation Law “On the mass media”.

1. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall coordinate distribution of the radio frequency spectrum with the federal executive body for communications, with this spectrum allotted for the purposes of TV and radio broadcasting.

2. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission is entitled, at its written request, to receive from governmental authorities and TV and radio broadcasters information, documents and materials necessary to exercise its powers.

1. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall issue legally binding normative legal acts in form of regulations, rules and instructions relating to matters within the scope of its competence as stipulated by the Russian Federation Law “On the mass media” and by the present Federal Law and shall organize and monitor their realization.

2. The normative legal acts of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission may be appealed against by court in the legislatively established order.

The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall develop a Statute relating to matters within its domestic activity which shall be adopted by a majority of votes from the total number of its members.

1. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall regularly submit information on its activity to the mass media.

2. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall publish an official information and analytical bulletin.

3. The TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission shall annually publish a report on its activity including data on its spending funds allotted by the Federal budget.

1. The State Duma, the President of the Russian Federation shall appoint members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission within three months from the effective date of the present Federal Law with the term of their office terminated from the date of their appointment in the manner prescribed in Part 1 of the Article 5 of the present Federal Law.

2. The Federal Council shall nominate the members of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Commission within three months from the effective date of the present Federal Law with the term of their office terminated on expiry of two years after their nomination by the State Duma in the manner prescribed in Part 1 of Article 5 of the present Federal Law.

The present Federal Law comes into force from the date of its official publication.