Лекция: Article 8. Right to access to information

§ Citizens (natural persons) and organizations (legal entities) (hereinafter referred to as organizations) shall have the right to search and obtain any information in any forms from any sources subject to observance of the requirements established by the present Federal Act and other federal acts.

§ Citizens (natural persons) shall have the right to obtain the information from state authorities, local self-government bodies, their official persons, if this influences directly their rights and liberties, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

§ Organizations shall have the right to the information from state authorities, local self-government bodies, if it directly refers to the rights and responsibilities of this organization or is necessary because of interaction with these bodies at performance of the authorized activities by this organization.

§ The access may not be restricted to:
1) normative legal acts influencing rights, liberties and responsibilities of man and citizen and setting the legal status of the organizations and powers of the state authorities;
2) information on the state of the environment;
3) information on the activity of state authorities and local self-government bodies, as well as on usage of the budget resources (except for the data representing state or official secrets);
4) information accumulated in open funds of libraries, museums and archives, as well as in state, municipal and other information systems created or intended for delivery of this information to citizens (natural persons) and organizations;
5) other information, if inadmissibility of restriction of access thereto is established by federal acts.

§ State authorities and local self-government bodies should provide access to information on their activity in the Russian and state language of the corresponding republic within the Russian Federation in accordance with the federal acts, acts of the subjects of the Russian federation and normative legal acts of local self-government bodies. The person wanting to get access to this information should not explain the necessity of obtaining thereof.

§ Decisions and actions (inaction) of state authorities and local self-government bodies, public associations, official persons breaching the right to access to information may be protested against to a superior authority or in court.

§ In the case of any losses incurred as a result of illegitimate refuse of access to information, unpunctual delivery thereof, delivery of deliberately unreliable information or non-corresponding to the content of the request, these losses shall be reimbursed in accordance with the civil legislation.

§ The following information shall be delivered free of charge:
1) on the activity of state authorities and local self-government bodies placed by these bodies in information-telecommunication networks;
2) concerning rights and responsibilities of the interested person established by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
3) other information established by law.

§ Setting of payment for delivery of information on the activity of state authorities or local self-government bodies shall be possible only in the cases and on the terms established by federal acts.