PRESIDENT
OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION
DECREE
ON ADDITIONAL GUARANTEES OF THE CITIZEN'S RIGHT TO INFORMATION
(see Presidential Decree # 13 dated January 17, 1997 for exact wording)
Considering that the right to information constitutes one of the fundamental human rights
Aspiring to broaden the scope of exercisable opportunities for citizens and their associations to actively partake in governing state and social affairs and promote local self-government
Aiming to safeguard free access to information about the activities of legislative, executive, and judicial authorities by all citizens
Proceeding from paragraph 4 of Article 29 and paragraph 2 of Article 80 of the Constitution of Russian Federation
I decree the following:
1. The Presidential
Commission on Legislative Suggestions shall compile a draft of the Law "On the
right to information" and submit it to the President of Russian Federation for
subsequent review by the Federation Council as a first priority legislative
initiative.
2. The norms stipulated in the present decree shall remain in force until a
relevant federal law is passed.
3. State institutions, organizations, and enterprises as well as civil
associations and officials shall act on the principle of information openness,
i.e.:
4. State television and
radio companies shall include in their informational programs updates regarding
the principal guidelines of legal acts and governmental decisions on domestic
and foreign policies on the day of their publication.
5. State television and radio companies shall create and air program cycles
meant to explain and interpret the activities of legislative, executive, and
judicial authorities and the essence of the decisions being made. To this end
services of the leading specialists and experts shall be secured.
Volume and periodicity of the above-mentioned programs shall be determined at
the discretion of editorial boards of the state mass media in question.
6. Legislative, executive, and judicial authorities shall have an equal share of
coverage in the state mass media.
The Judiciary Chamber on Informational Disputes with the Presidential
Administration shall exercise control over such coverage.
7. In accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 15 of the Constitution of Russian
Federation media coverage of the Federation Council's activities shall rely on
Resolution # 820 (1984) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council on
the relations of parliaments with mass media (see Collection of Presidential and
Governmental Acts, 1993, # 15, page 1340) considering the limitations imposed by
television channels:
- statements by deputies during debates on proposed bills shall receive
additional coverage in printed media;
- more articles of educational nature about parliamentary practices shall be
published
Provisions of Resolution # 820 (1984) shall apply to the relations of other
governmental institutions with mass media, including a universal set of
principles followed while organizing live television and radio coverage or
pre-recorded broadcasts:
- television and radio companies are required to obtain a permission to organize
coverage at meetings of the governmental body in question;
- television and radio companies shall receive notification of the upcoming
debates or consideration of socially important issues;
- type (pre-recorded or live), contents and timing of the broadcast shall be
left at the discretion of the television or radio company.
8. The Federal Service on Television and Radio Broadcasts shall reinforce
controls over observance of the Law "On mass media".
9. The present decree comes into force five days after signing.
Mr. Boris Yeltsin
President of Russian Federation
Moscow, Kremlin
December 31, 1993
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