It is expected that already today amendments to the law on mass-media can be made in the parliament. Many innovations can be included in new edition of the law. Marketing.by asked a professional lawyer to comment on edition of the law which is offered to be accepted.

The draft law “On changes and amendments to the Law of the Republic of Belarus “About press and other mass media” states the law in a new edition. It is assumed that changes are concerned both contents and structures of the document.

It is necessary to note that the given normative legal act will be implemented under the new name as the Law «About mass media». It is supposed that change of the document name is caused by corrected sphere of its regulation.

At the very effective date the new law will be extended on all kinds of mass media, as established in the Republic of Belarus, as well as in foreign states in cases established by legislation. Hence, to allocate separately in the name the word "press" as one of kinds of mass-media in the light of the law is irrelevant.

In the draft law “About mass media” many terms which are used in the mass media sphere and were determined earlier have undergone updating as well.

So, for example, a journalist to be admitted such, is not obliged to fit criterion of vocational training; obligatory periodicity of a printed mass-media is established by a target date not less often than once in six months (in the previous edition-1 year); it is supposed to understand as production of mass-media as well informational reports (materials) distributed through the Internet network; the legislator approves closed list of forms of periodical distribution of mass-media in which distribution of the mass information with use of the Internet network is included.

Periodicity of radio and television issue is not determined in the draft, so in that connection it is possible to assume, that the criterion of periodicity for the given kind of mass-media will be established by the authorized registering bodies. Also the draft law has fixed new terms in the field of mass-media: news agency, foreign mass-media, correspondent item, etc.

It is interesting that draft law developers have formulated and have reduced to one article principles of mass-media activities which as much as possible correspond to international standards in the given area.

It is necessary to pay separate attention to clause 6 of the draft law, fixing inadmissibility of monopolization of mass-media.

Part 3 of article 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus says that «monopolization of mass media by the state, public associations or separate citizens, and also censorship are not allowed». While creating that norm project developers provided that monopolization of mass-media by state bodies, political parties, other public associations, other legal or physical persons is not allowed. However, it is not certain in the given clause what is possible to consider as monopolization of mass-media by the state.

Financing of mass-media

In the current law there are no restrictions on financing of mass-media release by foreign legal and physical persons. In the draft law there are restrictions on foreign financing.

In part 2 of article 8 the draft law the following requirement is fixed: it is forbidden to receive money resources and other property for financing purposes of mass-media by foreign legal persons, foreign citizens and persons without citizenship, not living on territory of the Republic of Belarus permanently, except for cases of participation of the specified persons in authorized capital of the legal person which fulfils functions of editor of the mass-media, and also other cases stipulated by the legislation.

On the basis of that norm it is possible to draw the following conclusion: 2 lawful sources of financing of mass-media will be given to the above-stated subjects only: 1) to act as the founder of the legal person-editor of mass-media by means of participation in the authorized capital; 2) to sponsor for mass-media according to requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus about granting the gratuitous (sponsor's) assistance.


Mass-media establishment

In the light of amendments regarding mass-media financing in article 10 Establishment of mass-media, a new subject possessing an opportunity to establish mass-media appeared - foreign legal persons, and also foreign citizens and persons, not living on the territory of the Republic of Belarus permanently.

Thus the given subjects cannot be founders of mass-media individually. Article 10 of the draft law fixes a requirement that foreign legal persons, and also foreign citizens and persons without citizenship, not living on the territory of the Republic of Belarus permanently, can establish mass-media only together with citizens and legal persons of the Republic of Belarus.

Also the draft law brought a new norm forbidding representing as the founder of mass-media a physical person deprived of the right to be engaged in activities, connected with manufacture and release of mass-media.

Thus the term during which such interdiction will act is not determined, hence, it will be possible to draw a conclusion, that according to the draft law such physical person never and under no circumstances can represent himself as a founder of mass-media. The given position contradicts article 23 of the Constitution of the Republic Belarus, and also positions about responsibilities of the Criminal and Administrative Codes.


Registration of mass-media

The basic change in this section of the draft law is absence of the norm on coordination of accommodation of mass-media Under the part 2 of article 10 of the current law «About press and other mass media» along with the application for registration of mass-media in the Ministry of information it is necessary to give the document on coordination of accommodation of the given mass-media with the local executive committee.

The draft law expands the list of information obligatory for representation by a founder of mass-media in registration body: except for the indication on the name and a kind of mass media, its founders, language, prospective territory and the form of periodic distribution, provisional subjects of mass-media, its periodicity, sources of financing, the address of edition, indication of data on whether the applicant is the founder, the editor-in-chief, the publisher or the distributor of other mass media, it will be necessary to specify also prospective circulation (for printed mass-media).

It is supposed that at the stage of registration it will be problematic enough for the founder of mass-media to inform with accuracy circulation and territory of distribution of the future mass-media.

Under the current law «About press and other mass media» the following strictly limited list of documents should be enclosed to the application for state registration purposes: the charter of edition, the decision on its creation, documents on payment of the state tax and on the coordination of accommodation of the given mass media with corresponding local executive and administrative bodies.