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The Judicial Chamber on Informational Disputes under the President of Russian Federation adopted a Recommendation "On the application of the principle of "presumption of innocence" for the journalists' activity". The Recommendation is a reply to the inquiry of the Moscow Media Law and Policy Center. The immediate reason for the inquiry was the draft law "On Television and Radio Broadcasting" that passed its first reading in the State Duma (lower house of the Parliament) in September 1997, Article 18 of which prohibits broadcasters from disseminating information that violates the "presumption of...

At the end of August, the President of the Russian Federation approved a decree which strengthens the role of State electronic media in order to develop a unified, nationwide sphere of information and re-establish the cultural and educational role of State television. The purpose of the legislation is to enable the government of the Russian Federation, the Russian State television company and the Mayor's Office in St.Petersburg to set up a common pan-Russian State television channel called "Kultura TV". Pending the setting up of an editorial office, editing responsibility lies with the State Broadcasting...

Duma On 5 September 1997 the State of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (the Lower House of the Parliament) adopted the Federal Act "On Basic Guarantees for Citizens of Russian Federation of the Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in Referenda" (No124-FZ). It was signed by President Boris Yeltsin on 19 September 1997 and came into force on 30 September 1997. The Act consists of 66 Articles dividing over eleven Chapters. The concept of election canvassing is given in Article 2 of the Law and is defined as the activity of the citizens of the Russian Federation, candidates,...

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...

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that replaced the previous Criminal Code of 1962 and entered into force in January 1997, introduces criminal liability and more severe penalties in a number of offences that relate to the audio-visual and new media sectors. Article 146 of the Code says that if an abuse of copyright or neighbouring rights, as well as plagiarism inflicts substantial damages, violators are subject to fines from 200 to 400 minimum monthly wages (at present: from approximately USD 2,800 to 5,600), or to forced labour of 180 to 240 hours, or to a jail term of up to two years....