June 13, 2005
The Law of Ukraine
On Information
Date of Entry into Force:
November 13, 1992
According to the Law, information is documentary
or publicly announced news about events and phenomena in society, state
and environment.
The Law shall apply to informational relations
arising in all spheres of life and activity of society and state while
getting, using, spreading and keeping information.
The subjects of informational relations are:
- Ukrainian citizens;
- legal entities;
- state;
- foreigners;
- stateless persons;
- foreign legal entities;
- foreign states;
- international organizations.
Objects of informational relations are
documentarily or publicly announced information about events and
phenomena in the spheres of politics, economy, culture, healthcare, as
well as in social, ecological, international and other spheres.
All Ukrainian citizens, legal entities and state
bodies have the right to information. It means the possibility of free
getting, using, spreading and keeping information necessary for the
exercise of their rights, freedoms and legal interests, fulfillment of
tasks and functions. Realization of the right to information by
citizens, legal entities and state shall not violate public, political,
economic, social, spiritual, ecological and other rights, freedoms and
legal interests of other citizens, as well as rights and interests of
legal entities. Each citizen shall be ensured free access to
information referring to him personally.
According to the Law, informational activity is a
totality of actions aimed at satisfaction of informational needs of
citizens, legal entities and state.
The key directions of informational activity are:
- politics;
- economy;
- social sphere;
- spiritual sphere;
- ecology;
- science and technology;
- international sphere.
The types of informational activity are:
- getting information (obtaining, acquisition, accumulation of documentary or publicly announced information by citizens, legal entities or state);
- using information (satisfaction of informational needs of citizens, legal entities and state);
- spreading information (distribution, publication, sale of documentary or publicly announced information);
- keeping information (ensuring the proper condition of information and its material carriers).
According to the Law, the main types of information are as follows:
- statistical information (official documentary state information giving quantity characteristics of mass phenomena and processes which happen in economic, social, cultural and other spheres of life);
- administrative information (data) (official documentary data giving quantity characteristics of mass phenomena and processes which happen in economic, social, cultural and other spheres of life and which are collected, used, spread and kept by bodies of state power (except for bodies of state statistics), bodies of local self-government, legal entities according to the legislation, for fulfillment of administrative duties and tasks which are in their competence);
- mass information (publicly spread printed and audio visual information);
- information about activity of state bodies of power and bodies of local and regional self-government (official documentary information created in the course of current activity of legislative, executive and judicial power, bodies of regional and local self-government);
- legal information (totality of documentary or publicly announced information about law, its system, sources, realization, legal facts, legal relations, crimes and fight against them, their preventive measures etc.);
- information about personality (totality of documentary or publicly announced information about personality);
- information of reference encyclopedic character (systematized, documentary or publicly announced information about social, state life and environment);
- sociological information (documentary or publicly announced information about relation of separate citizens and social groups to social events and phenomena, processes, facts).
By regime information is divided into:
- open information;
- information with limited access.
Information with limited access by its legal regime is divided into:
- confidential information (information which is in possession, use and disposal of separate natural persons or legal entities and is spread by their wish according to the provided by them conditions);
- secret information (information containing the facts making state and other types of secret as provided for by law. Spreading such information causes damage to person, society and state).
Pursuant to the Law, information is the object of
ownership right of natural persons, legal entities and state. Grounds
for arising the ownership right to information are:
- making information with one’s own strengths and at one’s own expense;
- agreement on making information;
- agreement containing conditions of the ownership right to information transfer to other person.
The Law determines rights and obligations of participants of informational relations.
The Law sets prohibition of censorship and
interference in professional activity of journalists and mass media by
the bodies of state power or bodies of local self-government, by their
officials.
The Law also establishes responsibility for violation of the legislation on information.