Law of
the Republic of Kazakhstan On Mass Media
The present Law regulates public relations in the sphere
of mass media, establishes state guarantees of their freedom in accordance with
the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Article
1. Basic concepts used in the present Law
Article
2. Freedom of speech, receipt and information dissemination
Article
3. Mass media language
Article
4. Legislature of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Mass Media
Article
5. The right to found a mass medium
Article
6. Owner of a Mass Medium
Article
7. Mass Medium Editorial Office
Article
8. Information agency
Article
9. Publisher of a mass medium
Article
10. Registration of a Mass Medium
Article
11. Application for Registration of a Mass Medium
Article
12. Exempt from registering a mass
medium
Article
13. Suspension and termination of issue
(broadcasting) of a mass medium
Article
14. Distribution of a Mass Medium
Article
15. Issue Data
Article
16. Mandatory copies of periodical
publications and storage of TV and radio program materials
Chapter 4. Relations between mass media and citizens and organizations
Article
17. Author's works and letters
Article
18. Official statements
Article
19. Right to refutation
Article
20. Rights of a journalist
Article
21. Duties of a Journalist
Article
22. Accreditation of Journalists
Article
23. Accreditation of mass media in the
Republic of Kazakhstan abroad
Article
24. Activity of foreign mass media
representatives in the Republic of Kazakhstan
Chapter 7. Responsibility for violation of legislation on mass media
Article
25. Grounds for responsibility for
violating the legislation on mass media
Article
26. Cases of exemption from
responsibility for dissemination of data that does not comply with reality
President
of the Republic of Kazakhstan
N.
Nazarbayev
Astana,
July 23, 1999
Chapter
One: General Provisions.
Article
1. Basic concepts used in the present Law.
The
following concepts are used in the present Law:
1) Mass information is printed, audiovisual and other messages and
materials intended for an unlimited group of people;
2) Mass medium is a periodical print edition, radio and TV program,
cinema documentary, audio visual recording and other form of periodical and
continuous public dissemination of mass information;
3) Periodical print edition is a newspaper,
magazine, almanac, bulletin, appendixes to them that have a permanent name,
current number and that are issued at least once in every six months; 4) TV,
radio, video, newsreel program that is an aggregate of periodical audio visual
messages and programs that has a permanent name and is aired at least once a
year; 5) Broadcasting is transmission of TV, radio programs, audio visual
recording with usage of analogous and digital electromagnetic systems;
6) Product of a mass medium is circulation or
part of circulation of a separate issue of a print edition or audio visual
program, a separate issue of a radio, TV or newsreel program; 7) Official
statement is information provided by government bodies and intended for further
dissemination via mass media;
8)
Dissemination of mass medium product is sales (subscription, delivery,
distribution) of
periodical
print editions, broadcasting of radio and TV programs, demonstration of
newsreel programs;
9) Mass medium editorial office is a natural
person or creative group, which is a structural subdivision of a legal person
and that maintains collection and preparation of materials for a mass medium on
the basis of labor agreement or other contract relations; 1 0) Editor-in-chief
(editor) is a natural person who heads mass medium editorial office and
possesses of respective rights for its issue, dissemination and broadcasting; I
1) Journalist (mass medium representative) is a natural person maintaining
activity on collection, processing and preparation of messages and materials
for the mass medium on the basis of labor agreement or other contract relations;
12) Distributor is a natural or legal person who maintains dissemination of a
mass medium product on the basis of agreement with its owner, publisher or on
other legal basis; 13) Censorship is a preliminary concordance of messages and
materials prepared by mass media with government bodies, officials and other
organizations at their demand or on other basis with an intention to restrict
or impose prohibition to disseminate messages and materials or their separate
parts;
14) Adult material product is a print edition or
TV, radio program that in general and systematically exploits interest towards
sex.
Article
2. Freedom of speech, receipt and information dissemination
1. Freedom of speech, creative work, expression
of one's views and beliefs in printed or other form, receipt and dissemination
of information in any legal way shall be guaranteed by the Constitution of the
Republic of Kazakhstan. Censorship
shall be prohibited.
2. Government bodies, public associations,
government officials and mass media shall be obliged to provide an opportunity
for each citizen to become familiar with documents, decisions and information
sources affecting his rights and interests.
3. Use of a mass medium for propaganda or
agitation of forced change of constitution order, infringement of integrity of
the Republic of Kazakhstan, detriment of national security; war, social,
racial, national, religious, class or patrimonial superiority, cult of cruelty
and violence, pornography and dissemination of data forming state secret of the
Republic of Kazakhstan and other registered secrets shall be barred.
Article 3. Mass media
language
1. Mass media
shall be disseminated in the state and other languages.
2. Volume of
broadcasting in the State language via TV and radio broadcasting channels
despite the form of ownership shall not be less than total volume of
broadcasting in other languages.
Article
4. Legislature of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Mass Media
1. Legislature on mass media shall be based on the Constitution of
the Republic of Kazakhstan and shall consist of the present Law and other
normative legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2. If an international treaty sets other rules than contained in the
present Law, then the rules of international treaty are used.
Chapter Two: Organizing
the mass media activity. Article 5. The
right to found a mass medium
1. The right to found a mass medium belongs to natural and legal
persons in accordance with legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Mass medium may be found in a form of a
legal person as well as in a form of structural subdivision of a legal entity.
2. It shall be prohibited for foreign natural persons and legal
entities and persons with no citizenship to own directly or indirectly, use,
dispose and/or manage more than 20 percent of stocks (shares) of a legal entity
that owns a mass medium in the Republic of Kazakhstan or maintains activity in
this sphere.
Article 6. Owner of a Mass
Medium
1. Owner is a natural person or a legal entity or an association of
natural persons and (or) legal entities exercising the right to possess, use
and dispose of the mass medium.
2. Mass medium owner shall have the right to function as an editorial
office, editor, journalist, publisher, distributor in relation to his own mass
medium as well as to other mass media on the basis of a respective agreement.
Article 7. Mass Medium
Editorial Office
1. Editorial office shall maintain preparation and issue (broadcasting)
of a mass medium on behalf of the owner.
2. Editor-in-chief
(editor) shall manage the editorial office.
3.
Relations between owner and editorial office shall be regulated by charter and
contract.
Article
8. Information agency
1. Information agency is a legal entity registered in accordance with
legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, activity of which is directed
at collection, processing and dissemination of messages and materials of
information character.
2. Messages and materials prepared by an information agency shall be
accompanied with its name and date of issue.
3. Mass media shall be obliged to make reference to information
agency when disseminating messages and materials prepared by an information
agency.
4. Articles 2
and 10 hereof shall apply to information agencies.
Article 9. Publisher of a
mass medium
1. Publisher is
a natural person or a legal entity that maintains material and technical
supplying of mass medium production.
2. If an owner
of a mass medium is not at the same time a mass medium publisher, rights,
duties and responsibility of the owner shall be determined in a separate
agreement.
Article
10. Registration of a Mass Medium
1. Mass Media distributed on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan
regardless the form of ownership shall be subject to mandatory registration
with an authorized agency on the matters of mass information of the Republic of
Kazakhstan (further referred to as Authorized Agency).
2. In order to get registered, an owner of a mass medium or his/her
designee shall file an application that meets requirements set in the Article
II of the present Law.
3. Application for registration of a mass medium shall be subject to
reviewing within 15 days from the date it was filed. In the upshot of reviewing the application the Authorized Agency
shall give the owner a registration certificate or a denial on the following
grounds: 1) if an Authorized Agency has earlier issued a registration
certificate to the mass medium with the same name and distribution on the same
territory;
2) if the
contents of application do not meet the requirements of Article II hereof,
3) if the
application is filed before one year has expired since the date when a court
decision to
suspend issue
(broadcasting) of a mass medium.
4) Registration of foreign mass media distributed on the territory of
the Republic of Kazakhstan shall proceed in an order set by the Government of
the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Article 11. Application
for Registration of a Mass Medium
1. An
application for registration of a mass medium shall contain:
1) name,
location, organizational and legal form of ownership of a mass medium;
2) language
(languages) of the mass medium;
3) supposed
periodicity of issue;
4) major
thematic direction;
5) territory of
reach.
The application shall
enclose:
For
natural persons-a document certifying the right for entrepreneurship; For legal
entities-copy of registration certificate of a legal entity.
2. It shall be prohibited
to set other requirements while registering a mass medium.
Article 12. Exempt from registering a mass medium
Periodical printed editions:
With
circulation less than 100 copies; Official, normative and other acts; Court
practice bulletins shall be exempt from registration.
Article 13. Suspension and termination of issue
(broadcasting) of a mass medium 1. Suspension or termination of issue
(broadcasting) of a mass medium shall be possible at the decision made by owner
or court.
2. Suspension shall mean temporary discontinuance of issue of one or
several edition releases as well as broadcasting of radio and television
programs, issue of other mass media.
Suspension of issue (broadcasting) of a mass media shall be admissible
for three months at the most. 3. Court shall suspend issue (broadcasting) of a
mass medium in events of violation of Articles 2, 14, 15 and 16.
4. Basis for suspension of issue (broadcasting) of a mass medium
shall be a recurring violation of requirements set in Article 2 hereof by the
mass medium as well as discontinuance of owner's activity in accordance with
legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
5. In event of suspension or termination of issue (broadcasting) of a
mass medium at the decision made by owner or court a notification shall be sent
to the Authorized Agency on the matters of mass media.
Termination
of issue (broadcasting) of a mass medium shall entail annulment of registration
certificate.
Chapter 3. Mass Media
Distribution
Article 14. Distribution of a Mass Medium
1. Distribution of a mass medium shall be accomplished at owner's
decision by the owner or by editorial office, publisher, organizations or
citizens on contract or other legal basis. 2. Retail sale of periodical print
editions publishing adult materials shall be admissible on the specially
provided premises, location and sales guidelines of which shall be set by local
executive bodies.
Broadcasting
radio and TV programs and demonstration of cinema and video products of
pornographic and special sexual and erotic character as well as propaganda of
cruelty and
violence cult shall be prohibited.
3. Broadcasting television and radio programs and commercials
promoting tobacco and alcohol containing products shall be admissible at I 1:00
PM through 6:00 AM of local time.
Advertisement
of alcohol and tobacco products in mass media shall be accompanied with easily
distinguishable text about harm of their abuse. 4. Hindering mass medium
distribution accomplished on legal basis by natural persons or legal entities
as well as by government officials, illegal confiscation and extermination of
circulation or its part shall not be admissible other than on the basis of
decision in legal force.
Article 15. Issue Data
1. Every issue
of periodical print edition must contain the following data:
1) name of a mass
medium;
2) owner of a
mass medium;
3) last name
and initials of editor-in-chief (editor);
4) number and
date of issue of registration certificate and of agency that issued it;
5) periodicity
of publication;
6) ordiecutive
number and date of issue of the mass information;
7) circulation;
8) name of
printery, its address and address of the editorial office.
2. Mass medium
(TV and radio broadcasting) shall be obliged to announce its name every time it
goes on the air or at
least 4 times a day if it broadcasts continuously.
Article 16. Mandatory copies of periodical publications
and storage of TV and radio program materials
1. Mandatory free copies of periodical publications including those
exempted from registration by Article 12 hereof shall be sent to the National
Book Chamber, National Library, Library of the Parliament of the Republic of
Kazakhstan and to the Authorized Agency on the Matters of Mass Media by owner
of the mass medium or by third person on his behalf on the day they are
produced.
2. Editorial offices of mass media (television and radio
broadcasting) shall be obliged to retain recordings of their own broadcast
programs for one month and record them in registration book of air broadcasting
and retain the registration book for at least one year after the last recording
in it is made. Recordings of historical
and cultural value shall be retained in an order set by an authorized agency.
Chapter 4. Relations
between mass media and citizens and organizations
Article 17. Author's works and letters
1. Editorial office shall be obliged to comply with rights for used
works including copyright and other rights for intellectual property.
2. When publishing readers' letters abridgement and text editing that
does not change the idea of contents shall be admissible.
3. No one shall have the right to oblige mass medium editorial office
to publish material rejected by it if the Law provides no other.
Article 18. Official statements
1. Official statements by government bodies shall be placed in mass
media in accordance with legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2. Government bodies shall be obliged to provide mass media
representatives with information on equal basis regardless of their form of
ownership and affiliation excluding information that constitutes state secrets
of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
3. Refusal to provide the requested data shall be appealed by mass
medium representative to superior agency or official and then in the court in
an order provided by the Law for complaints against illegitimate actions of the
state executive agencies and officials infringing rights of citizens.
Article 19. Right to refutation
1. Citizen or legal entity shall have the right to demand refutation
of data derogating his honor, dignity and business reputation in court, if the
person that spread this information is not able to prove that information is
true.
2. If data derogating honor, dignity and business reputation of
citizen or legal entity is disseminated in mass media, it must be refuted in
the same mass media free of charge.
If
a document coming from an organization contains the mentioned data, such
document shall be subject to replacement or recall with mandatory notification
of addressees about non-compliance of the data contained in this document with
reality.
3. Demand of a citizen or legal entity to publish refutation or
responsibility in a mass medium shall be processed in court in event when a
mass medium refused to make this publication or if it didn't make this
publication within one month and in event of its liquidation.
4. Citizen or legal entity, in relation to which data derogating his
honor, dignity and business reputation was spread, shall have the right to
demand compensation of losses and moral harm caused by initiator as well as
refutation of such data.
Chapter 5. Rights and
duties of a journalist
Article 20. Rights of a journalist
Journalist shall have the
right:
1) to
accomplish research, request, receive and disseminate information;
2) to visit
government agencies, organizations with all forms of ownership and to be
received by
their officials in
relation to maintenance of their business responsibilities, be present at all
events held by agency that accredited the journalist excluding events when a
decision was made to hold a private event;
3) to make recordings including use of audiovisual equipment, cinema
and photo shooting except events prohibited by legislative acts of the Republic
of Kazakhstan; 4) to be allowed upon presentation of journalist's credentials
in the regions of natural disasters, at meetings and demonstrations and at
events with other forms of expressing public, group and personal interests and
protest;
5) to have access to documents and materials except their fragments
containing data that is a state secret;
6) to check
trustworthiness of received information;
7) to address
specialists when checking received information materials;
8) to disseminate his/her messages and materials
under his/her signature and conditional name (pseudonym);
9) to refuse to publish material under his/her
signature if its contents after editing contradicts his/her personal beliefs;
10)
to keep the secret of copyright and information sources except for events when
these secrets are published at court's demand.
Article
21. Duties of a Journalist
Journalist
shall be obliged:
1) to implement the program of a mass medium
activity, which he/she has contract relations with, in accordance with
legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
2) not to
disseminate information that does not comply with reality;
3) to satisfy
request of persons that granted information to mention their authorship;
4) to respect
legal rights and interests of natural persons and legal entities;
5) to carry out other responsibilities laid upon
him/her in accordance with legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Chapter
6. Accreditation of journalists
Article
22. Accreditation of Journalists
1. Upon concord with government agencies, public
associations and organizations mass media shall accredit its journalists with
them.
2. Government agencies, public associations and
organizations, with which the journalist is accredited, shall be obliged to
notify him/her in advance on sessions, meetings and other events, provide
him/her with verbatim, protocols and other documents.
3. An accredited journalist shall have the right
to be present at session, meetings and other events held by government
agencies, public associations and organizations that accredited him/her except
for events when a decision was made to hold a private event.
4. Journalist may be deprived of accreditation if
he violated the rules of accreditation or for dissemination of data, derogating
honor and dignity of the government agencies, public associations and
organizations that accredited him/her.
5. Rules of journalists' accreditation shall be
asserted by an authorized agency in an established order.
Article
23. Accreditation of mass media in the
Republic of Kazakhstan abroad
Owner
of a mass medium in the Republic of Kazakhstan shall have the right to found press
stations, accredit journalists in other countries in an order provided by
legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and of the country of stay if
international agreements provide no other.
Article
24. Activity of foreign mass media
representatives in the Republic of Kazakhstan
1. Accreditation
of foreign mass media representative offices and their journalists shall be
held
by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2. Legal status
and professional activity of foreign journalists and other foreign mass media
representatives
accredited in the Republic of Kazakhstan shall be regulated by legislation of
the Republic of Kazakhstan and international treaties ratified by the Republic
of Kazakhstan.
Chapter 7. Responsibility
for violation of legislation on mass media
Article 25. Grounds for responsibility for violating the
legislation on mass media
1. Disseminating data derogating honor and dignity of a citizen or an organization (government agency, public, creative, scientific, religious or any other association of citizens and legal entities) that does not comply with reality and influencing the court by mass media shall entail responsibility provided in legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2. Responsibility for violation of legislation on mass media shall be
taken by the guilty officials from the government agencies and other
organization as well as the owner, distributor, editor-in-chief (editor) of a
mass medium, authors of disseminated messages and materials. 3. Hindering legal
professional activity of a journalist shall entail responsibility established
by legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Article 26. Cases of exemption from responsibility for
dissemination of data that does not comply with reality
Editor-in-chief (editor)
equally with a journalist shall not carry responsibility for dissemination of
data that does not comply with reality in the mass media:
1) if official
messages and documents contained this data;
2) if the data
was received from advertisement and information agencies or press services at government
agencies and other organization;
3) if the data is an exact quotation of official statements made by
deputies from representative agencies, government officials, organizations and
citizens; 4) if this data was in author's speeches that were broadcast with no
preliminary recording or in texts that are not subject to editing in accordance
with the present Law;
5) if this data
was in mandatory in accordance with Article 18 hereof messages.
President
of the Republic of Kazakhstan
N.
Nazarbayev
Astana,
July 23, 1999
451-1
ZRK