Ukraine

[UA] Law Regulates Coverage of the Government by Mass Media

IRIS 1998-8:1/19

Andrei Richter

Comenius University (Bratislava)

The Law On the Procedures of the Coverage of Activities of the Bodies of State Power and Bodies of Local Self-Government in Ukraine by the Mass Media ( pro poryadok vysvitlennya diyalnosti organiv derzhavnoi vlady ta organiv mistsevogo samovryadunnya v Ukraini zasobamy masovoi informatsii ), adopted by the Supreme Rada (parliament) on 23 September 1997, entered into force on 17 October 1997. Since then a special statute regulates the coverage of government activities in the Ukraine. The Statute consists of five chapters and 26 articles. In accordance with the Statute all bodies of the government (Supreme Rada, Office of the President, Cabinet of Ministers, national Ministries and departments, Supreme Court, Constitutional Court) shall provide full information on their activities to the mass media. This is accomplished by granting journalists free access to the Government except for cases defined in the statute "On the State Secrets" (1994) (Art. 2). At the beginning of first session of each call, the Supreme Rada adopts a decree regarding detailed procedures of access and coverage of its meetings (Art. 9). Accreditation of journalists and technical personnel of the mass media to the departments of the government shall be done upon official request from the editors, or upon request from the applicant supported by http://services.obs.coe.int/en/index.htm documents proving his professional status, or upon recommendation from a professional association of journalists (Art. 3). Typically the number of accreditation permits issued to cover sessions of the Supreme Rada exceeds 600.

The mass media may not make independent translations of official documents from Ukrainian to other languages, including Russian (Art. 4).

The Statute confers upon the President, the Chair of the Supreme Rada, the Prime-Minister, Chair of the Supreme Court, and Chair of the Constitutional Court the right to use national state radio and TV channels for urgent appeals to the nation in emergency situations (Art. 14).

The Statute allocates three percent of the annual broadcasts of the state TV and radio channels for the transmission of the parliamentary sessions (Art. 19). State broadcasters must also report on decisions of the Supreme Rada in the newscasts of their channels. National TV and radio companies shall conclude financial agreements with the administration of the Supreme Rada on the reimbursement of expenses incurred by parliamentary broadcasts.