Russian Federation

[RU] Administrative Reform Makes New Turn

IRIS 2004-8:1/26

Dmitry Golovanov

Moscow Media Law and Policy Centre

The administrative reform which began shortly before the last Presidential elections (see IRIS 2004-5: 15) goes on. On 17 June 2004 the Government of the Russian Federation approved an Ordinance regulating the authority of the new Federal Service on Supervision over the Legality in the Sphere of Mass Communications and on Protection of Cultural Heritage (hereinafter - Federal Service on Supervision). Two other Ordinances of the same date regulate in detail the authority of the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications and the Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications.

The Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications shall be the federal executive body that elaborates governmental policy and enacts normative acts in the sphere of mass media and mass communications. A special provision in the Ordinance imposes on the Ministry the duty to draw up and approve an act regulating functioning of the Federal Competition Commission, the licensing body for the broadcasting. The Ministry co-ordinates and controls the activities of the Federal Service on Supervision and the Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications

Subordinate to the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications, the new Federal Service on Supervision shall have extensive powers in the sphere of mass media. It shall supervise the compliance of mass media and mass communication entities with the mass media law, compliance with copyright and neighbouring rights, it will license television and radio broadcasting and exhibition of audiovisual works in cinemas. The Federal Service on Supervision shall organise and provide for the functioning of the Federal Competition Commission. It is also empowered to register mass media entities. Earlier it was decided that all functions concerning registration (of mass media entities, as well as political parties and public organisations) should be concentrated in the competence of the united Federal Registration Service, part of the Ministry of Justice. However, because of the specific character of mass media activities the registration function was delegated to the Federal Service on Supervision. In order to realize its powers the Federal Service on Supervision shall have jurisdiction over the territorial offices of the former Ministry of Press, Television and Radio Broadcasting and Mass Communications.

The Ordinance of the Government of 8 April 2004 (see IRIS 2004-5: 15) gave the Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications the responsibility to list mass media and mass communications entities, television and radio broadcasters, and producers of audio and video in the federal state registers, to provide state services, to manage state property and to enforce the law in the sphere of mass media and mass communications. The Ordinance of 17 June 2004 specifies the above-mentioned responsibilities. The Agency shall arrange competitions for creation of socially-oriented television and radio programs, cinema and animation movies, supervise economic efficiency of subordinate state companies, keep an archive of obligatory copies of periodicals and manage the fund of television and radio programs, phonograms and other audiovisual works (except movies) which are in the federal property. One of the directions of the Agency's activities shall be co-operation with foreign states' authorities and international organisations.

On 29 June 2004 President Vladimir Putin signed into law the Federal Statute which amended a number of Acts including the Statute of the Russian Federation on Mass Media of 27 December 1991 (Article 6 of the 2004 Federal Statute).


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This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.