Russian Federation

Russia: Bill on the Right to Information Passes in First Reading

IRIS 1997-9:1/16

Andrei Richter

Comenius University (Bratislava)

On 3 September 1997 the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (the lower house of the Parliament) adopted in the first reading the Bill "On the Right to Information". The Bill was drafted by the Ministry of Justice and other departments of the government and submitted to Parliament by the President of Russia. The Bill consists of 14 chapters.

It guarantees to everyone the freedom to seek, receive and impart information (Article 1). State departments shall provide free of charge lists of information materials that they possess. State departments and bodies of self-government shall provide information related to the rights and liberties of the applicants, no charge in such cases shall be taken either (Article 10). The Bill states that information shall be provided within 30 days after the request. In case the department does not possess the information requested, a reply with directions as to where such information is held shall be passed within seven days (Article 7). If the requested document is classified as secret, those parts of it which are not secret shall be provided anyway (Article 8).

In a remarkable departure from the tradition the Bill was printed in the Official Journal after the first reading, whereas typically the newspaper publishes Acts that enter into force on the same day.