Post-Soviet Media Law & Policy Newsletter
Issue 37 Benjamin
N. Cardozo School of Law June 13, 1997
Law on the Provision of Information to the Public
CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 1. Objective of the Law
This Law shall establish the procedure of obtaining,
processing, and disseminating of public information and the rights and
responsibility of public information producers, disseminators, the owners
thereof and journalists.
ARTICLE 2. Concepts and Definitions
1. Provision of Information to the Public means
an activity involving furnishing the public with information held by any
member of society, concerning himself, his surroundings and his life, and
national or world news concerning the past, present and future.
2. Mass Media means a book, newspaper, journal, bulletin
or any other publication, television and radio program, film or other audio
and video studio production, information agency report, and electronically
disseminated report. Requirements applied with respect to legal acts issued
by state institutions as well as to publications, the circulation whereof
is less than 100 copies, technical and official documents, securities and
non-periodical advertisement publications that do not exceed one half of
a printer’s sheet shall not apply to mass media.
3. Public Information means information intended for
public dissemination.
4. Producer of Public Information means a publishing
house, radio and television station, film, sound and video studio, agency,
editorial office or other economic entity, collecting and producing information
for massctronically dissemination.
. . . .
8. Cable Television and Radio means television and radio
stations transmitting or relaying radio, television programs through cable
devices.
9. Journalist means a person who collects, writes, edits
or otherwise prepares the material for the producer of public information
on his own initiative or according to contract or by his authorization,
or is a member of a professional association of journalists.
10. Program means the total entity of broadcasts transmitted
by a radio or television station.
11. Broadcast means a part of the program of a radio
or television station, most frequently having its own name, transmission
time, authors and managers.
12. Advertisement means a public announcement, urging
to buy, sell and rent, or is offering a service.
13. Sponsorship means participation of a natural or
legal person in financing the producers of public information and seeking
to advertise one’s name, trademark or image.
14. News means an announcement of facts and data, based
upon the truth, which can be verified by means of investigation and proof.
15. Opinion means thoughts, assessments and remarks
of the mass media, publishers and journalists concerning the news linked
with real events. Truth criteria may not be applied to opinion, however
it must be based upon real facts.
16. State Secret means the news regulated by the Law
on State Secrets and their Protection.
17. Official Secret means the information of the operational
activities of investigation bodies, national security services, Ministry
of Internal Affairs and national defense bodies, regulated by laws.
18. Commercial Secret means secret classification of
economic entity activity, regulated by laws.
19. Personal Health (Medical) Secret information regarding
the health condition of a person, regulated by the Law on the Health Care.
CHAPTER II FUNDAMENTALS OF THE PROVISION OF INFORMATION
TO THE PUBLIC
ARTICLE 3. Freedom to Provide Information to the Public
1. An individual shall have the right to seek, obtain
and disseminate information and ideas without any interference, however
this right may not restrict the rights and freedoms of other individuals.
2. The right to express one’s convictions and to obtain
and disseminate information may not be restricted by any other means except
by laws, should that become necessary to protect the human rights, health,
honor and dignity, private life and morals or to defend the constitutional
order.
3. State officers shall be held liable for interference
in the dissemination of information to mass media and the unlawful refusal
to provide information to public information producers and journalists
in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. Monopolization of the mass media shall be prohibited.
5. Censorship of the mass media shall be prohibited.
. . . .
ARTICLE 5. Legal Restriction on the Freedom of the Provision of
Information to the Public
1. The freedom of the provision of information to
the public may not be restricted by any other means except by laws that
establish:
1) a state secret and protection thereof;
2) an official secret and protection thereof;
3) a commercial secret and protection thereof;
4) an individual’s health (medical) secret and protection
thereof;
5) the rights of an individual and protection of his
private life.
2. The Government, ministries and other state institutions
and municipalities shall have no right to abridge the freedom of the provision
of information to the public by their legal acts. The provisions of legal
acts of the Government, ministries, other state institutions and municipalities,
which abridge the freedom of the provision of information to the public,
regulated by this Law or other laws, shall be null and void.
3. In the event of war or emergency situation, the Seimas
may establish restrictions on the activities of public information producers,
necessary for the protection of citizens and the public interests.
4. In the event of calamities and natural disasters,
major accidents or epidemics, war or an emergency situation, the producers
of public information must publish official state announcements free of
charge and without delay.
ARTICLE 6. The Right to Obtain Information
1. Every individual in the Republic of Lithuania
shall have the right to acquaint himself with all of the official documents
of the state, municipal governments and government institutions and other
budgetary organizations, with the exception of those which shall be classified
according to laws.
2. In refusing to provide information to a public information
producer (his representative), state officers must not later than on the
next working day, inform him of this in writing, indicating the reason
for the refusal.
3. The laws shall establish the liability of state officers
for unjustified refusal to provide infortted information was incorrect.
ARTICLE 7. Confidentiality of the Source of Information
The producer of public information and its owner
or journalist shall not have to reveal the source of information and shall
have no right without the consent of the individual who submitted this
information to reveal his surname, name and other data. Having violated
this provision, the public information producer, its owner or journalist
shall be liable according to laws, with the exception of cases when the
submitted information was incorrect.
ARTICLE 8. Information not to be Divulged to the Public
1. It shall be prohibited in the mass media to:
1) urge to change the constitutional order of the Republic
of Lithuania by force;
2) threaten the territorial integrity of the Republic
of Lithuania;
3) incite war, national, racial and religious enmity.
2. Dissemination of information which is knowingly not
in keeping with the truth, is slanderous, insulting and humiliating to
individual honor and dignity, shall be prohibited. Information concerning
the private life of an individual may be announced only with the consent
of that person or in cases where making public of the information shall
not cause harm to the individual, or when the information helps to establish
violations of laws, or crimes and also, when the information is presented
during the proceedings in open court.
3.Officers of state institutions, officials or other
individuals participating in public and political activities shall also
have the right to the protection of private life, with the exception of
cases where their private life may affect the society.
4. Dissemination of pornographic materials shall be
prohibited.
5. In the event the requirements of this Article are
not complied with, each citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, state power
or government institutions and other organizations shall have the right
to address the court.
ARTICLE 10. Liability of Public Information Producers for the
Information being Disseminated
The owner of every public information producer shall
be obliged to authorize an individual (chief editor, editor, broadcast
director), who shall be responsible for the contents of the mass media.
The public information producer must prepare and confirm the internal regulations,
announce them publicly and observe them. These internal regulations must
regulate public information producers’ and persons’ engaged in public information
business official duties and subordination, mutual relations and protection
of information disseminator from possible restriction of freedom.
CHAPTER III STATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PRO-VISION
OF INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC
ARTICLE 12. The Duties of the State and Municipalities, State
Power and Government Institutions While Protecting the Freedom of Information
1. State and municipal, state power and government
institutions must ensure the public nature of their activity for every
permanent resident of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. All of the official information created from taxpayer
funds shall be provided free of charge. State and municipal, state power
and government institutions may impose an additional tax only for
services related with the copying of information for an individual or public
information producer, or some other service required by an individual or
public information producer.
3. The Government shall establish a uniform procedure
throughout the entire territory of the Republic of Lithuania for registering
and supply of official information of the state and municipal, power
and government institutions and other budgetary organizations, to the people
or public information producers. If the officers of state and municipal,
power and government institutions and budgetary organizations refuse to
furnish official information or furnish false information, their activities
of this type shall incur liability in accordance with the laws of the Republic
of Lithuania and may be appealed against in court.
4. No one may be compelled to disseminate the information
of state and municipal, power and government institutions and other information,
except in cases established by laws.
ARTICLE 13. The Right of Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania
to Obtain Information about Themselves
State power and government institutions must, in
accordance with the procedure established by law, provide information to
the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania about themselves, held by these
institutions. For the non-fulfillment of these duties, the officers shall
incur liability provided by laws.
ARTICLE 14. State Responsibility in Protecting the Right of Citizens
to Assess the Work of State Institutions or Officers
The permanent residents of the Republic of Lithuania
shall have the right to publicly criticize the work of state institutions
or officers. Persecution for criticism shall be prohibited in the Republic
of Lithuania. Violations of this Article shall be punishable according
to the procedure established by laws.
ARTICLE 15. Prohibition of Mass Media Censorship
Censorship of mass media shall be prohibited. Censorship
shall incur liability in accordance with the procedure established by law.
ARTICLE 16. Anti-Trust Principles
1.The State, its institutions, state and non-state
enterprises, organizations or persons may not have a monopoly on public
information either in the sphere of producing or dissemination thereof.
2. The State shall provide equal economic and technical
conditions for equal competition of information producers and disseminators
(except for those engaged in the production of material of a violent and
erotic nature). The State shall supervise and regulate, in order that not
a single legal or natural person of the Republic of Lithuania might occupy
a monopolistic position among public information producers or disseminators
or of any other market of a separate type thereof.
3. The Law on Competition shall define the monopolistic
situation in the public information market.
4. The State shall promote investments in the public
information production and dissemination. The Law on Foreign Capital Investment
in the Republic of Lithuania shall establish the procedure for foreign
investment in the public information market.
ARTICLE 17. State Support of Producers and Disseminators of Public
Information
The State shall support the cultural and educational
activity of public information producers. State financial support shall
be provided for public information producers only through the Fund for
the Support of the Press, Radio and Television. The Seimas shall appropriate
funds from the State Budget for the Fund annually. State subsidies and
tax reliefs shall be provided without preconditions. The Fund for
the Support of the Press, Radio and Television shall be established by
a meeting of creative unions, public information producers and representatives
of lawyer and scientist unions, which shall be called by the Lithuanian
Periodical Press Publishers’ Association, the Radio and Television Association,
Cable Television Association, Lithuanian Journalists’ Union and Lithuanian
Journalists’ Society.
CHAPTER IV THE RIGHTS, OBLIGATIONS AND SELF-GOVERNANCE
OF PUBLIC INFORMATION PRODUCERS
ARTICLE 18. The Right to Collect and Publish Information and
its Restrictions
1. Every individual shall have the right:
1) to collect information and announce it through the
mass media;
2) not to sign the work produced by him, if its contents
have been distorted in the course of editing;
3) to take notes, photograph, film, use audio and video
equipment as well as record information by other means;
4) to announce publications or broadcasts in one’s
own name, pseudonym or anonymously.
2. The following shall be prohibited:
1) to film, photograph or make sound and video recordings
without the consent of the individual in the place belonging to him;
2) to film, photograph or make sound or video recordings
during closed events without the consent of the organizers of the event,
who have the right to organize such events;
3) to film and photograph persons for advertisements
in mass media without their consent;
4) to film and photograph individuals with obvious physical
deficiencies without the consent of these persons.
3. The prohibitions shall not apply when criminal actions
are being recorded.
ARTICLE 19. Obligations of the Journalist
A journalist must:
1) furnish correct, accurate and unbiased news;
2) indicate the author of information that is being
announced for the first time, if the person who submitted the information
so desires;
3) refuse to carry out the assignment of public information
producer, if the assignment would entail violation of law or the code of
ethics of journalists and publishers of Lithuania;
4) observe the ethics of journalists and respect the
rights of natural and legal persons.
ARTICLE 20. Denial of the Announced News
1. Natural persons shall have the right to demand
a denial of announced news which does not correspond to fact and belittles
their honor and dignity. Legal persons shall have the right to demand the
producer of public information to deny the news concerning them, which
that does not correspond to fact.
2. The request for denial must clearly indicate which
of the announced news does not correspond to fact where and when it was
announced and which of the assertions in the announced news belittle the
honor and dignity of the individual. Denials that do not meet the requirements
of this provision and also those in the cases where a demand is made to
deny the announced news only because of its form and not its essence, shall
be announced in the discretion of the producer.
3. Having received a justified request for denial of
some news that does not correspond to fact or belittles honor and dignity,
a producer of public information must announce the denial without comment,
in an adequate place of his nearest publication, television or radio broadcast.
A later denial does not relieve the public information producer from liability
and is not a premise to soften the penalty.
ARTICLE 21. Compensation for Damage
1. The public information producer, having announced
without the consent of the individual, news concerning his private life,
that belittle his honor and dignity (except cases specified in Article
8 of this Law) and having announced the information which knowingly does
not correspond to fact, that belittles a person’s honor and dignity and
not having denied this, shall compensate according to the procedure established
by laws, for the moral damage inflicted upon this person, the amount of
compensation for moral damage may not be in excess of 10,000 litas.
2. A denial and an apology having been published by
the producer of public information, according to the procedure established
by this Law, shall provide the grounds for the court to reduce the compensation
for moral damage or to totally relieve him of it.
3. A public information producer, who had announced
without the consent of the individual, news which belittle his honor and
dignity (except cases specified in Article 8 if his Law), concerning his
private life and also who has announced knowingly false news that belittle
a persons honor and dignity and having issued a denial and apology
according to the procedure established by this Law, the court may rule
for him to compensate for moral damage, however in this case the sum of
moral compensation may not exceed 1,000 litas.
4. The court shall establish the amount of compensation
for material damage incurred by legal or natural persons due to announcement
of news which does not correspond to the truth.
ARTICLE 22. Exemption from Compensation of Damage
1. A public information producer shall not be liable
for the announcement of news which does not correspond to fact, if he indicated
the source of news and it was:
1) furnished by state power institutions, political
parties, political and public and trade union organizations and in
official or publicly announced documents of natural or legal persons;
2) publicly voiced at open meetings, conferences, press
conferences, rallies and other events and the public information producer
has not distorted the essence of the words and specific facts. In this
event all responsibility shall fall to organizers of the events
and individuals who announced the news;
3) earlier announced by other public media, if these
news was not denied in the mass media which had announced them;
4) announced by participants in direct radio or television broadcasts,
not subordinate to the public information producer;
5) announced in a special election broadcast, which
has not been made by the public information producer himself;
6) announced in non-anonymous advertisements, non-anonymous
commissioned articles and broadcasts;
7) having expressed an opinion, commentary, and remarks
associated with the news, provided in the mass media.
2. In the above cases the liability shall rest with
the one who was the first to disseminate the incorrect news. The public
information producer, having disseminated the incorrect news and having
received the text of denial, shall be obliged to announce it without delay,
through his own mass media.
ARTICLE 23. Code of Ethics of Journalists and Publishers
1. Professional ethics in the sphere of the provision
of information to the public shall be regulated by the Code of Ethics of
Journalists and Publishers.
2. The Code of Ethics of Journalists and Publishers
shall be approved by the meeting of the representatives of journalist organizations,
which shall be convened by the Lithuanian Periodical Press Publishers’
Association, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Association, the Lithuanian
Journalists’ Union, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Society, the Lithuanian
Journalism Centre, and the Lithuanian Radio and Television.
ARTICLE 24. The Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers
1. The Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers
shall examine the violations of regulations, committed in the course of
providing information to the public.
2. The Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers
shall be formed by, and its operation shall be established by, a meeting
of the representatives of journalist organizations. Members of the Ethics
Commission shall be appointed for a term of two years.
3. The commission’s work shall be organized by the Chairperson
of the Commission, who shall be elected from its membership for a
term of one year.
4. Natural and legal persons may appeal to the Commission
of Journalists and Publishers concerning violations of the rules of ethics.
5. In examining the violations of the Code of Ethics of
Journalists and Publishers, the Commission shall be governed by the Code
of Ethics of Journalists and Publishers of Lithuania and the Resolution
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe “On Journalistic
Ethics.”
6. The decisions of the Ethics Commission of Journalists
and Publishers, concerning violations in professional ethics regulations,
must be presented in publications and radio and television broadcasts in
accordance with the procedure established by the Commission.
7. Public information producers, being in disagreement
with the conclusions of the Commission, may appeal against them in court,
however they have to announce the conclusions of the Commission in their
publication or broadcasts. Natural or legal persons, disagreeing with the
decision of the Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers,
may appeal against them in court within 30 days of the receipt thereof.
ARTICLE 25. The Inspector of Journalist Ethics
1. The inspector of journalist ethics shall be a
state officer, appointed by the Seimas on the proposal of the Ethics Commission
of Journalists and Publishers. The inspector of journalist ethics shall
examine the complaints lodged by natural persons concerning violations
of their honor and dignity in the mass media, and the professional claims
of the subjects of mass media.
2. The inspector of journalist ethics shall act in accordance
with the regulations approved by the Seimas, and his activity shall
be funded from the budget.
3. The inspector of journalist ethics must examine the
complaint within 30 days and must acquaint the applicants and public information
producers with his conclusion.
4 . Having acknowledged that the complaint of the applicant
is justified, the inspector of journalist ethics shall contact the public
information producer who had disseminated false news that belittle the
person’s honor and dignity, and shall recommend to announce their denial.
Should this be refused, the inspector of journalist ethics shall refer
the complaint to the Commission of Journalist and Publisher Ethics and
shall take part in its sitting.
5. The inspector of journalist ethics shall report to
the Seimas no less frequently than once a year.
ARTICLE 26. Licensing of Radio and Television
The activity of the radio and television stations,
cable television and radio, that are registered in Lithuania, with the
exception of the national radio and television, shall be licensed. The
Radio and Television Commission shall issue term licenses to radio and
television stations on the basis of tenders, for the transmission and relay
of programs. The program contents, its production and technical requirements,
number of licenses, duration of their validity and amount of license
fees which will be remitted to the Fund for the Support of the Press, Radio
and Television, as well as other conditions shall be established by the
Radio and Television Commission by no less than a two-thirds majority vote
of the commission members.
Comment
Mass media law, as it is usually called in Lithuania,
is one of the most liberal laws in the region. Press freedoms are guaranteed
in a manner similar to other East Central European countries in the first
and the second chapter. Here we will comment on some of the articles which
make Lithuanian journalists happy. Article 7 protects the sources of information
by forbidding the producer of information or journalist to reveal the source
of information without the consent of the individual.
Article 8, paragraph 1 doesn’t hold journalists responsible
for making state secrets public. According to the definition of the information
divulged to the public, only officers of state institutions are to be held
responsible for disclosure of state secrets.
Article 8, paragraph 3 basically makes it very difficult
for a public person to use the notion of “the protection of private life”
as a defense in a court. Media law made a public person’s private life
very transparent to the public. This kind of attitude proved very effective
in the case of the former Prime Minister Adolfas Slezevicius.
Prime Minister A.Slezevicius withdrew his deposit of
30.000 USD from the private bank which went bankrupt the next day. The
story about that was printed in the newspapers. Slezevicius’ lawyer claimed
that the Prime Minister’s private deposit was a private matter, and threatened
to take newspapers to court. He didn’t do that, however, because Article
8 allows journalists to intrude into the private life of a public persons
if his private life might affect society. Because of the, the scandal Prime
Minister was forced to resign.
Article 21 allows a producer of public information
to diminish the amount of compensation in a defamation case from 10.000
litas to 1000 litas (250 USD) if the latter voluntarily issues a denial
and apology. This approach enables the defamed to receive moral compensation
without going to court. Media also have the choice between apologizing
and paying ten times less, or going to court and, if loosing the case,
paying 10.000 litas and apologizing.
Article 22 lists very broad exemptions from the compensation
of damage. This enables Lithuanian journalists to quote persons speaking
in public without fear of being taken to court on the ground of insulting
somebody’s honor or dignity.
Articles 24 (on Ethics commission of journalists and
publishers) 26 and 27 (on Radio and TV commission) and 17 (Fund for the
support of press, radio and TV) creates an unprecedented mechanism, in
all East Central Europe, of mass media self-regulation and strengthens
media as a fourth estate, independent from the state’s interference in
the areas of: TVR licensing, media subsidies, decency regulation, etc.
Marius Lukosiunas
Law on the National Radio and Television
CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 1. Purpose of the Law
1. This law shall establish the procedure of the
founding, administration, activity, reorganization and liquidation of the
National Radio and Television of Lithuania (abbreviation-LRT) and the rights,
obligations and liability of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania.
2. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania, shall base
its activity upon the Law on Public Information, Law on Public Institutions,
other legal acts and, if it shall not be established to the contrary by
this Law, upon its own by-laws.
ARTICLE 2. The Concept and Status of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania
1. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania
denotes a public, non-profit institution which according to the right of
ownership, belongs to the State.
2. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania is a legal
person, having its own seal and bank accounts, in accordance with the procedure
established by laws.
ARTICLE 3. The Principles of Activity of the National Radio and
Television of Lithuania
1. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania
must collect and publish information concerning Lithuania and the world,
acquaint the public with the variety of European and world culture, reinforce
the independence of the Republic of Lithuania and democracy, create, nurture
and protect the values of national culture, foster tolerance and humanism,
culture of co-operation, thought and language, and strengthen public morality
and civic awareness. In preparing and broadcasting its coverage the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania must be guided by the principles of objectivity,
democracy and impartiality, ensure freedom of speech and creative freedom,
must reflect in its broadcasts diverse opinions and convictions, with individuals
of various convictions having the right to take part and voice their views
in them. Human rights and dignity must be respected in the broadcasts,
and the principles of morality and ethics must not be violated.
2. All population members of Lithuania shall have the right
to make use freely of the information transmitted by the National Radio
and Television of Lithuania.
3. Government representatives, shall not have the right to
make use of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania of their own
initiative, except in instances stipulated by laws.
ARTICLE 4. The Program Requirements of the National Radio and
Television of Lithuania
1. A variety of topics and genres must be ensured
in the programs of National Radio and Television of Lithuania and the broadcasts
must be oriented towards the various strata of society and people of different
ages, various nationalities and convictions, and biased political views
should not be allowed to predominate in the programs. The information presented
in information broadcasts and commentaries of the National Radio
and Television of Lithuania, must be balanced and reflecting various political
views, while opinions and factual news must be authorized, substantiated
and comprehensive
2. Priority shall be accorded to national culture
as well as, world culture, journalistic, analytical, informative, educational
and art broadcasts, in National Radio and Television of Lithuania programs.
Mass culture shall be reflected in review, informative and analytical
type broadcasts.
3. The Council of the National Radio and Television
shall establish the transmission scope, program structure and proportions
of the individual parts thereof of the National Radio and Television of
Lithuania.
4. Material produced in Lithuania shall comprise no
less than 60 per cent of the programming of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania. The portion of broadcasts of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania, created by independent producers (legal and natural persons
who prepare radio and television broadcasts, but are not permanently employed
by the National Radio and Television of Lithuania) shall be stipulated
by the Council of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania.
ARTICLE 5. The Rights, Responsibilities and Liability of Lithuanian
Radio and Television
1. The Lithuanian National Radio and Television
is the successor to the rights and responsibilities of the Lithuanian Radio
and Television, founded by the Seimas of Lithuania. There may not be any
other partners of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania. The functions
of the general meeting of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania
shall be assigned to the Council of the National Radio and Television of
Lithuania.
2. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania shall
have the right of publishing and also the right of free recording and transmission
of the Seimas and Government meeting proceedings, and formal acts of the
state and use the recordings according to its own discretion.
3. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania shall
have the right to prepare 90-second segments of all public cultural and
sport events, regardless of who has the rights to this event.
4. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania shall
have the right to hold competitions, festivals, conferences, seminars,
establish art collectives, establish direct ties with foreign organizations
and companies, take part in the activities of international organizations,
to organize radio and television broadcasts to foreign countries, to re-transmit
foreign radio and television programs, to establish branches and correspondent
centers.
5. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania must
provide the opportunities for employees to raise their qualifications.
6. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania has
the priority right to free or newly-equipped frequencies and state radio
and television facilities with the newest radio and television equipment,
however it does not have the right to have more than two television and
four radio channels. Commercial advertising is banned on the newly-obtained
National Radio and Television Channels, which may be designated for culture
and education programs only.
7. Other radio and television stations are not permitted
to use the channels of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania without
a license from the council of the National Radio and Television of
Lithuania.
8. The programs created by the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania shall be its property by right of ownership.
9. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania shall
be held accountable to the public for its activity, through the Council
of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania.
ARTICLE 6. The Procedure of Sponsoring and Advertising of Broadcasts
of The National Radio and Television of Lithuania
1. Commercial advertising shall be permitted within
the program of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania, in
accordance with the procedure stipulated by the Law on the Implementation
of the Law on Public Information.
2. The Council of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania shall be guided by the international conventions and the following
requirements:
1) news information and religious broadcasts may not
be sponsored;
2) broadcasts may not be sponsored by natural and legal
persons, the advertising of whose sold or manufactured production is banned;
3) the sponsor of a broadcast may not exert any influence
upon the contents and procedure of presentation of the programs carried
on the National Radio and Television of Lithuania;
4) programs sponsored by National Radio and Television
of Lithuania may not present any references of an advertising nature concerning
the products or services of the sponsor;
5) during broadcasts of plays and concerts advertisements
may be inserted only during play, concert or competition intermissions.
The Council of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania shall establish
the procedure of advertisement broadcasting during sport competitions;
6) information and religious broadcasts and programs
as well as children’s broadcasts may not be interrupted by advertisement
inserts;
7) advertising of tobacco products, narcotic materials,
explosives and also, of prostitution and other activity prohibited by laws,
is banned on the National Radio and Television of Lithuania;
8) advertising is banned on the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania, on the days of state mourning;
9) advertising of medicines and medical treatment measures
is banned on the National Radio and Television, unless licenses are issued
for this purpose by the Ministry of Health;
10) the procedure of advertising during National Radio
and Television of Lithuania programs shall be established by the Council
of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania.
ARTICLE 7. The Requirements of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania During Employee Strikes or in Extraordinary Situations
1. During strike actions by the employees of National
Radio and Television of Lithuania, the radio and television must ensure
for its listeners and viewers, the minimum of information, which shall
be stipulated by the Council of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania.
2. In the event of natural disasters, epidemics, an
extraordinary or war situation, National Radio and Television of Lithuania
must broadcast the official statements of the President, Seimas, Government,
Constitutional Court and Office of the Prosecutor General.
CHAPTER II THE MANAGEMENT OF THE NATIONAL RADIO
AND TELEVISION OF LITHUANIA
ARTICLE 8. Procedure of the Formation of the Council of the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania
1. The governing bodies of the National Radio and
Television of Lithuania are the Council and the Administration of the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania. The Council of the National Radio and
Television of Lithuania is formed in accordance with the procedure established
by Article 29 of the Law on Public Information. Members of the Seimas,
Government, Radio and Television Commission, and also persons who are working
according to labor contracts with radio and television stations, including
the National Radio and Television of Lithuania, and also the owners
and co-owners of radio and television stations, may not be members of the
Council of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania.
2. The formation of the Council of the National Radio
and Television of Lithuania shall be organized by the Seimas Committee
on Education, Science and Culture.
3. Candidates to the Council of the National Radio and
Television of Lithuania must be familiar with administration and management
and possess these types of skills, or journalistic work experience.
4. Council members may not be dismissed from their duties,
prior to the expiration of their term of appointment, except in instances
whereby:
1) a council member shall himself refuse to take part
in the work of the council;
2) a council member shall fail to participate in the
councils work for more than a 3-month period, without reasonable excuse;
3) a council member shall have committed a crime and
have received a court sentence;
4) a council member shall lose his Republic of Lithuania
citizenship.
5) the legal basis for a council member’s appointment
shall change.
5. When a position shall become vacant in the Council
of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania, the Chairman of the
Council shall contact the institution which had delegated the absent council
member and request the appointment of a new council member to carry on
until the expiration of the councils term of office.
6. The institutions, authorized to appoint council members,
must appoint them within 10 days of the day of coming into effect of this
Law. Having appointed all of the council members, the Seimas Committee
on Education, Science and Culture shall organize the election of the council
chairman, no later than within a 10-day period. The chairman of the Council
of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania shall be elected for
a one-year-term by an absolute majority vote of the National Radio and
Television of Lithuania council members. Upon the recommendation by the
council chairman, the deputy chairman of the council shall be elected by
the same procedure. They may be elected to these posts for two consecutive
terms of office.
7. The council chairman shall convoke meetings of the
Council of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania at least once
a month, and in the event he is not discharging his duties, the meetings
shall be convoked by the deputy chairman, upon his own initiative, or by
the request of more than one third of the council members. The meetings
shall be legal whenever they shall be attended by at least one half of
the council members. Decisions shall be adopted at the meeting by a simple
vote majority of the participating council members.
8. The Council of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania shall act in accordance with the regulations approved by it.
9. The Council of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania shall be funded (compensated for meetings, administrative
expenses) from the state budget funds, allotted for the National Radio
and Television of Lithuania.
ARTICLE 9. The Functions of the Council of National Radio
and Television of Lithuania
1. The Council of the National RTV of Lithuania
shall:
1) determine the scope of transmission of the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania, the number of channels and their use
for program transmission;
2) form the cultural and political strategy of the programs
of National Radio and Television of Lithuania and approve on an annual
basis, the structure of the programs;
3) approve the by-laws of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania;
4) regulate the income received by the National Radio
and Television of Lithuania as a result of sales, publication and use of
radio and television broadcasts;
5) approve the offices of the creative employees of
the National Radio and Television, who are working according to fixed-term
contracts, and workers who are hired via public tender, and stipulate the
categories of employees who are not permitted to work at other RTV stations,
newspapers and journals;
6) hear the report of the director general of the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania, regarding the activity of the National
Radio and Television, at least once a year;
7) establish the procedure of the public tender for
the position of the director general of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania;
8) publish a public tender for the position of the director
general of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania, no later than
within 15 days, following the appointment of the council and chairman of
the National Television and Radio of Lithuania;
9) elect by means of public tender and approve the director
general of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania and stipulate
his salary.
10) stipulate the number of assistants to the director;
11) approve the assistants to the director general upon
the recommendation of the director general;
12) relieve of their positions, for improper performance
of their duties, the director general and upon his recommendation, the
assistants to the director general.
2. A member of the council may not become the director
general of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania.
3. The National Radio and Television of Lithuania shall
be subject to decisions of the council.
4. In instances wherein the director general of the
National Radio and Television of Lithuania shall fail to agree with a decision
by the Council of National Radio and Television of Lithuania, he may appeal
to the council to reconsider the decision. The council must deliberate
the request of the director general no later than within a period of 10
days. Following a repeat vote, by more than one half of the council members,
the director general of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania
must implement the decision. Any disputes arising between the director
general and the council shall be resolved by the court.
5. The activity of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania shall be public and the council shall render an accounting
of its activity to the public, through the mass media.
ARTICLE 10. The Director General of the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania
1. The director general shall be in charge of the
activity of the administration of the National Radio and Television of
Lithuania.
2. The director general shall be selected, through public
tender, for a 3-year term and be approved by the Council of the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania, if his candidacy shall be supported
by at least one half of its members. Upon failure to secure this number
of votes, a new tender shall be held.
3. The director general may be relieved of his duties,
prior to the expiration of his term, for failure to carry out his
duties properly, if at least eight members of the council of the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania, shall vote in support of this.
ARTICLE 11. The Functions of the Director General of the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania
The director general shall:
1) be in charge of the operational activity of the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania, represent the National Radio and Television
of Lithuania within the country, abroad, and among international organizations,
approve the structure and system of labor compensation of the National
Radio and Television of Lithuania, publish directives, form contracts and
supervise the observance of these documents.
2) participate without the right to vote, at the council
meetings of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania;
3) form an administrative board in the capacity of an
advisory body, stipulate the number of its members and its formation procedure,
and approve its labor regulations.
ARTICLE 12. The Requirements of the Director General, his Deputies
and Members of the Administrative Board
Should the individual who has been approved as director
general, and also his assistants or members of the administrative board,
be a member of a political party or a political organization, they shall
interrupt their membership in that organization during the term of their
service in the positions of director general, assistants of the director
general, or administrative board member.