Official Translation
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW ON PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC
2 July 1996 No. I-1418
Vilnius
(As amended by April 27, 2004 No. IX – 2176)
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 1. Purpose of the Law
This Law shall establish the procedure for collecting, preparing, publishing and disseminating public information and the rights, duties and liabilities of public information producers and disseminators, participants therein, journalists and institutions governing their activities.
2. This Law has the objective of ensuring the application of European Union legal acts referred to in the Annex to this Law.
ARTICLE 2. Amendments and supplements to Article 2
Article 2 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:
“ARTICLE 2. Definitions
1. “Subscriber” means a person who under a contract with a broadcaster or re-broadcaster receives television and/or radio programmes (hereinafter referred to as “programmes”).
2. “Terrestrial television, radio” means programme broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting by an analogue or digital terrestrial television, radio station or a network thereof.
3. “Terrestrial television, radio network” means an electronic communications network which is comprised of more than one analogue or digital terrestrial television, radio station and which is intended for broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting of the same programme/programmes to the public.
4. “Persons” means natural or legal persons.
5. “Personal health information” means information as defined in the Law on the Health System concerning the health of a person.
6. “Audiovisual policy” means the establishment and implementation of the strategy and public administration principles for the audiovisual sector, the directions, objectives and tasks of its development, the drafting of the Republic of Lithuania laws and other legal acts governing the activities of the audiovisual sector, the coordination of the said legal acts with international requirements regarding the expansion of Lithuania’s audiovisual market and their implementation.
7. “Common-use reception network” means a local electronic communications network intended for the reception of television and/or radio programmes and their transmission by distribution lines to terminal equipment.
8. “Disinformation” means intentionally disseminated false information.
9. “Terminal equipment” means television sets, radio receivers, and other reception equipment used to receive broadcast and/or re-broadcast programmes and other types of broadcast information.
10. “Audiovisual works” means cinematographic works or any other works expressed by cinematographic means that are comprised of a series of related images expressing a motion, with or without accompanying sounds, recorded (fixed) in a material visual recording medium.
11. “Cable television, wire radio” means the broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting of programmes by cable television and wire radio networks.
12. “Cable television, wire radio network” means an electronic communications network intended for broadcasting, re-broadcasting and receiving programmes, changing their encoding or electromagnetic oscillation parameters and transmitting them by cable and wire distribution lines to the terminal equipment of subscribers.
13. “Broadcast” means a separate part of a programme, usually having its own name, broadcasting time, authors and hosts.
14. “City and district newspaper” means a periodical which is published and circulated at least once a week in the municipal territory of a single city or district and which has at least 90 % of its circulation distributed within the municipal territory of that city or district.
15. “Microwave multichannel distribution system” (hereinafter referred to as –“MMDS”) means the broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting of programmes by a MMDS network.
16. “Microwave multichannel distribution system network” (hereinafter referred to as the “MMDS network”) means an electronic communications network used for broadcasting, re-broadcasting and receiving programmes, changing their encoding or electromagnetic oscillation parameters and transmitting them by microwave terrestrial transmitters and by the signal reception network of such transmitters to the terminal equipment of subscribers.
17. “Independent producers” means persons who do not have a participating interest in a broadcaster or who are not members of the broadcaster’s administrative bodies, also persons who are not linked with the broadcaster by virtue of an employment, service relationship or joint activity, producing audiovisual works and selling them freely or transferring them otherwise.
18. “Opinion” means views, ideas, value judgements and remarks published in the media regarding phenomena or events. The principle of verification does not need to be applied to an opinion, however it must be based on facts and expressed by ethical means.
19. “Official documents of state and municipal institutions and agencies” means written, graphic, audio, visual, computer information or other documents related to the activities of state and municipal institutions and agencies that are included in the document records of the said institutions and that are produced or received by them.
20. “Satellite television, radio” means programme broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting by an artificial Earth satellite (satellites).
21. “Surreptitious advertising” means information disseminated in any form and by any means about a producer of goods or a provider of services, the name, activities or trade mark thereof, presented in a form that might mislead consumers as to the actual aim of such advertising. Such presentation of information is considered to be surreptitious advertising in all cases when it is done in return for payment or for similar consideration.
22. “Private information” means information about the personal and family life of a person, his personal health and other information not to be published on the basis of the protection of a person’s right to privacy.
23. “Programme” means the total entity of separate audiovisual works (broadcasts, films, advertisements, announcements, broadcasting of various events, etc.) that are independent in their content, structure and broadcasting time and that are transmitted to the public, irrespective of the technical means employed.
24. “Radio frequency (channel)” means a frequency band required for the transmission of at least one programme.
25. “Radio, television station” means a technical complex comprised of radio, television transmitters together with antennae and other technical equipment intended for broadcasting, re-broadcasting and transmitting of programmes.
26. “Regional newspaper” means a periodical which is published and circulated at least once a week in the territories of counties as defined in the Law on the Territorial Administrative Units of the Republic of Lithuania and their Boundaries and which has at least 90 % of its circulation distributed within the territory of a single county.
27. “Advertising” means information disseminated in any form and by any means in connection with a person’s economic, commercial, financial or professional activity for the purpose of promoting the purchase of goods or services, including the purchase of immovable property and the transfer of property rights and obligations.
28. “Re-broadcasting” means the reception of complete programmes, or parts thereof, broadcast by broadcasters to the public and the simultaneous transmission of such unchanged programmes, irrespective of the technical means employed.
29. “Re-broadcaster” means a disseminator of public information, having a re-broadcasting licence or, in cases specified by the law, not having such a licence, who re-broadcasts complete and unchanged programmes, or parts thereof, broadcast to the public and assumes responsibility for their legality.
30. “Sponsorship” means financial or other material assistance provided to a producer and/or disseminator of public information by a person not engaged in the activities of such sponsored public information producer and/or disseminator with a view to promoting its name, its trade mark, its image, its activities or its products.
31. “Transmission” means the sphere of electronic communications activity related to the broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting of programmes, which encompasses the transmission of electromagnetic signals by an electronic communications network to terminal equipment.
32. “Teleshopping” means direct offers of an advertising client broadcast by television to purchase goods or services, including immovable property, property rights and obligations, in return for payment.
33. “Broadcasting” means the production of programmes and their initial transmission to the public by any type of terrestrial transmitter, cable, satellite or any other electronic communications network. It does not include communication services providing items of information or other messages on individual demand such as telecopying, electronic data banks or other similar services.
34. “Broadcasting, re-broadcasting licence” means a written document issued by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania granting its holder the right to engage in programme broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting activity within a defined territory and laying down the conditions for such broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting.
35. “Broadcaster” means a person who possesses a broadcasting licence or, in cases specified by the law, does not possess one and who assumes editorial responsibility for the programmes broadcast, produces and transmits them to the public himself or allows another person to transmit them unchanged; “national broadcaster” means a broadcaster whose programme broadcast by a terrestrial radio or television network is received within a territory inhabited by more than 60 % of Lithuania’s population; “regional broadcaster” means a broadcaster whose programme broadcast by a terrestrial radio or television network is received within a territory inhabited by less than 60 % of Lithuania’s population; “local broadcaster” means a broadcaster whose programme is broadcast by one radio or television station.
36. “Public information” means information intended for public dissemination, except for the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and information which cannot be considered as public information under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
37. “Disseminator of public information” means a broadcaster, re-broadcaster or any other person who transmits or disseminates by other means public information to the public.
38. “Producer of public information” means a broadcaster, a publishing house, a film, sound or video studio, information or advertising agency, an editorial office or other person engaged in the production of public information.
39. “Provision of information to the public” means an activity of providing public information to the public.
40. “The Media” means books, newspapers, journals, bulletins or other publications, television and radio programmes, film and other sound or visual studio productions and other means of public dissemination of information. In accordance with this Law, technical and office documents as well as securities are not ascribed to the media.
41. “News” means facts or data based upon fact published by the media.
42. “Journalist” means a natural person who, on a professional basis, collects, prepares and presents materials to the producer of public information on his own initiative, under a contract with the producer or by his assignment and/or is a member of the professional journalists’ association).
ARTICLE 3. Basic Principles of Provision of Information to the Public
1. In the Republic of Lithuania, freedom of information is enshrined in the Constitution, this and other laws, and international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Producers and disseminators of public information as well as journalists shall be governed in their activities by the Constitution and laws, international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania, also by the principles of humanism, equality, tolerance, and respect for an individual person; they shall respect freedoms of speech, creativity and conscience, variety of opinion, adhere to the norms of professional ethics of journalists, support the development of democracy and public openness, promote civil society and state progress, enhance state independence and develop national culture and morality.
4. The use of freedom of information may be restricted by the requirements, conditions, restrictions or penalties set out in the laws and necessary in a democratic society to protect Lithuania’s state security, its territorial integrity, public order and constitutional system, to guarantee the impartiality of its judicial authority in order to prevent law violations and crimes, disclosure of confidential information and protect people’s health and morality as well as their privacy, dignity and rights.
ARTICLE 4. Freedom of Information
1. Every person shall have the right to freely express his ideas and convictions. This right encompasses freedom to maintain one’s opinion, to seek, receive and disseminate information and ideas in accordance with the conditions and procedure set out in the laws.
2. Unrestricted reception and re-broadcasting of television programmes from EU member states and other European countries which have ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Transfrontier Television, broadcast in accordance with the requirements laid down in international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania, shall be guaranteed in the Republic of Lithuania.
ARTICLE 5. Right to Collect and Publish Information
1. Every person shall have the right:
2) not to give permission to publish the information produced by him if its content has been distorted during editorial preparation;
3) to take notes, to photograph, film, use sound and video technical equipment as well as other means of securing information, except for cases referred to in Article 13 of this Law;
ARTICLE 6. Right to Receive Information from State and Municipal Institutions and Agencies
1. Every person shall have the right to receive from state and municipal institutions and agencies as well as other budgetary institutions public information relating to their activities, their official documents (copies) as well as information held by the aforementioned institutions about the requesting person.
3. State and municipal institutions and agencies must, in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on the Right to Receive Information from State and Municipal Institutions and other laws, provide public information as well as private information available to the said institutions, except for cases specified in the laws where private information is not to be divulged.
4. Information for the preparation whereof no additional data is required shall be provided to the producers and/or disseminators of public information within one working day, while information for the preparation whereof additional data has to be collected shall be provided within a week.
5. State and municipal institutions and agencies as well as other budgetary institutions which have refused to provide public information to a producer of public information must not later than on the next working day inform the producer in writing about the reasons for refusal to provide information.
6. Public information of state and municipal institutions and agencies shall be free of charge. These institutions may accept payment only for the services involving information retrieval and the multiplication (copying) of information or documents. This payment may not exceed the actual costs of providing information.
7. Other institutions and enterprises as well as political parties, trade unions, political and public organisations, and other organisations shall provide the producers of public information and other persons with public information relating to their activity in accordance with the procedure established in the articles of association (regulations) of these institutions, enterprises or organisations.
ARTICLE 7. Freedom of Editing Information
1. In order to ensure freedom of information it shall be prohibited to exert pressure on the producer and disseminator of public information, their owners or journalists in compelling them to present false information in the media regarding some events or facts.
2. A journalist shall have the right to refuse an assignment by the producer of public information, its owner or a responsible person appointed by them, which is related to the production and/or dissemination of public information, if the assignment compels him to violate the laws or the Code of Ethics of Lithuanian Journalists and Publishers.
ARTICLE 8. Confidentiality of Information Source
* The producer and disseminator of public information, the owner of the producer and/or disseminator of public information, and the journalist shall have the right to maintain the confidentiality of the source of information and not to disclose it.
Note. 1. To recognize that Article 8 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Provision of Information to the Public contradicts paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and the constitutional principle of the rule of law to the extent that the said article establishes that the producer and disseminator of public information, the owner of the producer and/or disseminator of public information, and the journalist shall have the right to maintain the confidentiality of the source of information and not to disclose it even in cases where it is required in a democratic state to disclose the source of information by a court decision for vitally important or otherwise significant public reasons, also in order to ensure that the constitutional rights and freedoms of a person are protected and that justice is served.
2. To recognize that Article 8 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Provision of Information to the Public contradicts Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania to the extent that the said article establishes that the producer and disseminator of public information, the owner of the producer and/or disseminator of public information, and the journalist shall have the right to maintain the confidentiality of the source of information and not to disclose it even in court although it is necessary to disclose the source of information so that justice is served.
ARTICLE 9. Right to Public Criticism of the Activities of State and Municipal Institutions and Agencies as well as Officials
Every person shall have the right to publicly criticise the activities of state and municipal institutions and agencies as well as officials. Persecution for criticism shall be prohibited in the Republic of Lithuania.
ARTICLE 10. Prohibition to Impose Illegal Restrictions on Freedom of Information
1. State and municipal institutions or agencies as well as institutions governing the activities of public information producers and/or disseminators shall be prohibited to restrict, by their own legal acts, freedom of information as defined in the laws.
ARTICLE 11. Right to Protect the Freedom of Information
1. Every person shall have the right to appeal in court against the decisions and actions of state and municipal institutions, agencies and officials should they violate or illegally restrict a person’s right to receive, collect or disseminate information.
ARTICLE 12. Accreditation of Journalists
1. The producer and/or disseminator of public information shall have the right to accredit journalists to state institutions, political parties, political and public organisations as well as to other institutions by agreement between the parties.
2. A journalist may take part in meetings and other events of the institution or organisation he is accredited to; he shall be provided with verbatim reports, minutes and other documents or their copies subject to the conditions provided for by mutual agreement.
CHAPTER III
PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUAL, PUBLIC AND STATE INTERESTS IN THE FIELD OF PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO PUBLIC
ARTICLE 13. Protection of Individual Rights and Human Dignity
1. To avoid the violation of individual rights and protect human dignity and honour it shall be prohibited while collecting and publishing information:
1) to film, photograph or make sound and video recordings without a person’s consent within his domain;
2) to film, photograph or make sound and video recordings during private events without the consent of organisers who have the right to hold such events;
2. Prohibitions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply where there exists a sufficient basis to assume that violations of law are being recorded.
ARTICLE 14. Protection of Privacy
1. When producing and disseminating public information, a person’s right to have his personal and family life respected must be ensured.
2. Information about a person’s private life may be published only with the consent of that person, except for cases referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and if the publication of such information does not cause undue harm to the person.
3. Information concerning private life may be published without a person’s consent in cases where the publication of such information does not cause undue harm to the person or where such information helps to reveal violations of law or criminal acts, also where such information is presented in the examination of a case in open court proceedings. In addition, information concerning the private life of a public figure (state political figures, public servants, heads of political parties and public organisations as well as other persons participating in public or political activity) may be made public without his consent if such information discloses the circumstances of the aforementioned person’s private life or personal traits which are of public significance.
ARTICLE 15. Right of Reply
Any natural person whose honour and dignity have been degraded by false, inaccurate or biased information published about him in the media, also any legal person whose legitimate interests, in particular reputation, have been damaged by published information which is false, inaccurate or biased shall have the right of reply, providing him with the right to deny false information or correct published information, or shall have the right to demand that the producer and/or disseminator of public information issue a refutation of false information in accordance with the procedure established in Article 45 of this Law.
ARTICLE 16. Right to Receive Compensation for Moral or Material Damage
1. Any natural person whose honour and dignity have been degraded by false information published about him shall have the right under the law to receive compensation for inflicted moral damage in accordance with the procedure established in Article 54 of this Law.
ARTICLE 17. Ensuring Diversity of Opinion in the Media
1. Respecting the diversity of opinion, the producers and disseminators of public information shall present in the media as many as possible opinions that are independent of one another.
ARTICLE 18. Protection of Minors
1. Producers and/or disseminators of public information must ensure in accordance with the procedure established by the law that minors are protected from public information which might have a detrimental effect on their physical, mental or moral development, in particular public information that involves pornography and/or gratuitous violence.
2. The criteria for ascribing public information to information which has a detrimental effect on the physical, mental or moral development of minors shall be established in the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Protection of Minors against Detrimental Effect of Public Information.
3. Any programmes and/or broadcasts which, in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, are ascribed to the category of public information whose publication or dissemination is restricted shall be broadcast and/or re-broadcast only from 23:00 to 06:00 hours or protective measures shall be used to ensure that persons responsible for the upbringing and care of children may restrict the offering of such programmes and/or broadcasts to minors. Where such programmes and/or broadcasts are broadcast or re-broadcast from 23.00 to 06.00 hours without the required protective measures, they must be identified by acoustic and/or visual means throughout the duration of their broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting in accordance with the procedure established by laws and other legal acts.
4. Persons shall be held liable in accordance with the procedure established by this and other laws for publishing and disseminating public information, having a detrimental effect on the physical, mental or moral development of minors, that is in violation of the requirements set forth by this Article as well as other laws and legal acts.
ARTICLE 19. Information not to be Furnished
1. State and municipal institutions and agencies as well as other bodies, enterprises and organisations shall not furnish information to the producers and/or disseminators of public information as well as to other persons if the said information is defined by the laws as a state, business, professional, commercial or bank secret or if it is private information.
2. Also not to be furnished shall be information the provision whereof is prohibited by other laws because it would adversely effect the interests of state security and defence, foreign policy interests, criminal prosecution of persons, violate the territorial integrity of a state or public order or if failure to provide it would prevent serious violations of law or would be very important in human health protection.
ARTICLE 20. Information not to be Published
1. It shall be prohibited to publish information in the media which:
1) incites to change the constitutional order of the Republic of Lithuania through the use of force;
2) instigates attempts against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Lithuania;
4) disseminates, propagates or advertises pornography as well as propagates and/or advertises sexual services and sexual deviations;
2. It shall be prohibited to disseminate disinformation and information which is slanderous and offensive to a person or degrades human dignity and honour.
3. It shall be prohibited to disseminate information which violates the presumption of innocence or which may obstruct the impartiality of judicial authorities. In cases specified by the law and according to the procedure prescribed thereby, the court may restrict the dissemination in the media of value judgements and comments related to a case, which has not yet been examined in court, that may affect the impartiality and independence of the court.
4. Persons shall be held liable in accordance with the procedure established by this and other laws for violating the restrictions specified in this Article.
ARTICLE 21. Duty to Publish Official State Announcements
1. In case of natural disasters, major accidents or epidemics as well as in the event of war or state of emergency, the producers and disseminators of public information shall, in cases specified by the Government and according to the procedure established thereby, publish official state announcements effectively and free of charge.
2. In the event of war or state of emergency, the Seimas may set restrictions and/or other obligations for the producers and disseminators of public information that are necessary to protect the interests of citizens and the general public.
ARTICLE 22. Protection of Copyright and Related Rights
Public information producers, disseminators and journalists shall use literary, scientific, artistic and other works in conformity with the Law on Copyright and Related Rights as well as other laws and legal acts.
Section One
Legal Status and Conditions of Activity of Producers and Disseminators of Public Information and their Owners
ARTICLE 23. Producers and Disseminators of Public Information and the Participants Therein
1. Relations between the producers and disseminators of public information and the participants therein shall be governed by this and other laws, legal acts and agreements between parties.
2. Only legal persons and branches of foreign legal persons or other organisations that are registered in the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure established by the law may be public information producers and/or disseminators. Any natural and legal person of the Republic of Lithuania and of a foreign country may have a participating interest in the producer and/or disseminator of public information, except for cases specified in this and other laws.
3. Persons having a participating interest in a producer or disseminator of public information may, in cases specified by the law and according to the procedure prescribed thereby, terminate or reorganise the activity of producing and/or disseminating public information or may transfer the producer or disseminator of public information to other persons referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.
4. After having sold or otherwise transferred at least 10 % of the broadcaster’s or re-broadcaster’s shares (units), a licence holder must inform the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania thereof not later than 30 days after the transfer of property rights.
5. Where after having sold or otherwise transferred the shares (units) of a broadcaster and/or re-broadcaster possessing a broadcasting or re-broadcasting licence there is a change of the owner (owners) of the controlling package of shares or where the control (management) of a licence holder is transferred to another person (persons) on other grounds, persons intending to transfer and acquire the shares (units) and/or control (management) must obtain a written consent of the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania.
6. The Commission may refuse to give its consent for the transfer of a broadcaster’s and/or re-broadcaster’s shares (units) and/or its control (management) if:
1) persons who intend to transfer and acquire a broadcaster’s and/or re-broadcaster’s shares (units) and/or its control (management) have not presented the data required by the Commission or have presented incorrect data;
2) persons who intend to transfer and acquire a broadcaster’s and/or re-broadcaster’s shares (units) and/or its control (management) are prohibited in cases provided for by the law to have a participating interest in the producers and/or disseminators of public information;
7. State and municipal institutions and agencies (except for scientific and educational establishments), banks, political parties and political organisations may not be the producers of public information and/or participants therein, however they may publish non periodical informational publications intended to inform the public of their activity unless specified otherwise by the law.
8. Every producer of public information or a participant therein shall appoint a person (chief editor, editor, broadcast host) responsible for the content of the media. Where a producer of public information and a participant therein is one and the same natural person, he shall bear responsibility for the content of his media.
ARTICLE 24. Data on the Producers and Disseminators of Public Information and the Participants Therein
1. Each year, by March 30th, the producers and/or disseminators of public information, except for broadcasters and re-broadcasters, shall submit to an institution authorised by the Government in the field of providing information to the public (hereinafter referred to as the “Government authorised institution”) in accordance with the procedure established by the abovementioned institution the data regarding those shareholders or stakeholders of an enterprise who have the right of ownership to or control at least 10 % of all the shares or assets (if the assets are not divided into shares). The data shall include the names of such shareholders or stakeholders, their personal identification codes (registration numbers), the stake held in the assets or the number of shares as well as the percentage of votes. Each year, by March 30th, the producers and disseminators of public information shall submit to the Government authorised institution in accordance with the procedure established by this institution information about its administrative bodies and their members as well as information about property relations and/or joint activity linking them with other producers and/or disseminators of public information and/or the participants therein. By May 15th of the same year and in accordance with the prescribed procedure, the Government authorised institution shall publish the data submitted by the producers and disseminators of public information in the supplement Informaciniai Pranešimai (Information Bulletin) to the official gazette Valstybės Žinios.
2. Members of the Government, Seimas and municipal councils, public servants of political (personal) confidence as well as heads of state and municipal institutions and agencies shall publish the data about their participation in the producers and/or disseminators of public information in the supplement Informaciniai Pranešimai (Information Bulletin) to the official gazette Valstybės Žinios in accordance with the procedure established by the Government authorised institution.
3. Public information producers or disseminators and journalists must publish in their media information about any contribution received if it exceeds the amount of a single minimum wage, specifying the amount of the contribution and wherefrom it was received.
ARTICLE 26. Broadcasters under the Jurisdiction of the Republic of Lithuania
1. A broadcaster is considered to be under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Lithuania if it satisfies at least one of the following conditions:
1) its head office is located in Lithuania and its editorial decisions concerning the programmes broadcast are taken in Lithuania;
2) its head office is located in Lithuania, while editorial decisions concerning the programmes broadcast are taken in another Member State of the European Union, but a significant proportion of its workforce engaged in broadcasting activity is located in Lithuania;
3) its head office is located in another Member State of the European Union, while editorial decisions are taken in Lithuania and a significant proportion of its workforce engaged in broadcasting activity is located in Lithuania.
4) a large proportion of the broadcaster’s workforce engaged in broadcasting activity is located both in Lithuania and another Member State of the European Union, while its head office is located in Lithuania;
5) its head office is located in Lithuania, while editorial decisions concerning the programmes broadcast are taken in another Member State of the European Union or vice versa and a significant proportion of its workforce engaged in broadcasting activity is not located in either of these states, but the broadcaster started its activities in Lithuania in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania and maintains permanent economic relationships in Lithuania;
2. A broadcaster to whom the provisions of subparagraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of paragraph 1 of this Article cannot be applied and who does not fall under the jurisdiction of an EU Member State or any other State which is party to the Convention on Transfrontier Television of the Council of Europe shall be under the jurisdiction of Lithuania if it complies with the following conditions:
2) the broadcaster does not use a channel (radio frequency) belonging to the State of Lithuania, but it uses a communications satellite belonging to the State of Lithuania;
ARTICLE 27. Dissemination of Public Information
1. Information shall be disseminated to the public by the producer of public information or another person under a contract with the producer of public information or with the permission thereof.
2. It shall be permitted to disseminate the means of media produced abroad in the Republic of Lithuania if the content thereof does not contradict the provisions of this Law and international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania. It shall be permitted to broadcast and re-broadcast television programmes produced abroad in the Republic of Lithuania without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 4 of this Law.
ARTICLE 28. State Support to Public Information Producers
1. The State shall support cultural and educational activities of public information producers. State financial support shall be provided to public information producers, except for the support specified in paragraph 6 of this Article, through the Media Support Foundation (a public institution hereinafter referred to as the “Foundation”). Each year the Seimas shall appropriate funds from the State budget to the Foundation.
2. The Foundation shall operate in conformity with the Law on Public Institutions, this Law and other laws as well as its articles of association. The founders of the Foundation shall be: the Lithuanian Architects’ Association, the Lithuanian Artists’ Association, the Lithuanian Photoartists’ Union, the Lithuanian Cinematographers’ Union, the Lithuanian Composers’ Union, the Lithuanian Scientific Society, the Lithuanian Writers’ Union, Lithuanian Folk Artists’ Union, Lithuanian Theatres’ Union, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union, the Lithuanian Cable Television Association, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Association, the Lithuanian Periodical Press Publishers’ Association, Regional Televisions’ Association, the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Society, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Education and Science.
3. The Council of the Foundation shall be in charge of the Foundation’s activity. The stakeholders in the Foundation shall each appoint one member to the Foundation Council. Member of the Council shall be appointed for a term of office of the administrative bodies of the appointing organisation. The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Science shall appoint members of the Foundation Council for a term of 4 years. The Chairman of the Council, elected by the Foundation Council for a term of 3 years, shall head the Council. Decisions of the Foundation Council shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of the Council members.
4. Sources of funding of the Foundation:
4. Cultural and educational activities of public information producers shall be supported by tender procedure according to programmes submitted to the Foundation. Cultural and educational activities of public information producers, disseminating public information in regional, city and district newspapers, shall be supported by a separate tender procedure according to programmes submitted to the Foundation. The Government shall approve the general regulations for both tenders after having them coordinated with the Seimas Committee on Education, Culture and Science.
6. Each year the Foundation shall publish in the press its annual activity report, while the Chairman of the Foundation Council shall present an annual report on the allocation and utilization of the funds received from the budget at a plenary meeting.
7. Financial support from the State budget for the publication of books and the production of works distributed in the audiovisual media, also for the production of feature films shall be provided through the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Science on a proposal by expert commissions operating under the aforementioned ministries.
ARTICLE 29. Fair Competition in the Field of Provision of Information to the Public
1. State and municipal institutions a well as all types of other enterprises, agencies and organisations or natural persons may not monopolise the media.
2. The State shall create equal legal and economic conditions for fair competition among the producers and disseminators of public information, except for the producers and/or disseminators of productions that involve violence and eroticism. In accordance with the procedure established by this and other laws, State and municipal institutions shall ensure the protection of pluralism in the provision of information to the public and fair competition with the view of avoiding the abuse of dominant position by producers and/or disseminators of public information or in any separate media market. Dominant position in the field of provision of information to the public shall be determined in conformity with the Law of Competition.
ARTICLE 30. National Radio and Television of Lithuania
The National Radio and Television of Lithuania (hereinafter –referred to as the “LRT”) is a non-profit public institution belonging to the State by the right of ownership and operating in accordance with the Law on the National Radio and Television of Lithuania.
ARTICLE 31. Licensing of Broadcasting and Re-broadcasting Activity
1. Broadcasting and re-broadcasting activities in the Republic of Lithuania, except for the broadcasting and re-broadcasting activity carried out by the LRT, shall be licensed. Persons who wish to engage in broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting activities must obtain a broadcasting/re-broadcasting licence. Broadcasting and re-broadcasting licences granting the right to establish and operate their own electronic communications networks or the right to use the transmission services provided by a third party shall be issued by the Commission.
2. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall submit to the Commission information about coordinated radio frequencies (channels) which, according to the Strategic Plan for the Assignment of Radio Frequencies to Broadcasting and Transmission of Radio and Television Programmes, are intended to be assigned to broadcasters and/or re-broadcasters possessing Commission-issued licences granting the right to establish and operate their own electronic communications networks; this information shall be submitted together with information about the basic conditions of operating electronic communications networks required to issue broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting licences. After having received the aforementioned information, the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania shall issue broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting licences in accordance with the procedure and terms established by this Law and the Rules for Licensing Broadcasting and Re-broadcasting Activities.
3. The Communications Regulatory Authority, having assigned radio frequencies (channels) to transmission providers, shall submit to the Commission information about these radio frequencies (channels) together with information about the basic conditions of operating electronic communications networks required to issue broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting licences. After having received the abovementioned information, the Commission shall issue broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting licences in accordance with the procedure and terms established by this Law and the Rules for Licensing Broadcasting and Re-broadcasting Activities.
4. The basic conditions of operating electronic communications networks specified together with radio frequencies (channels) in a broadcasting or re-broadcasting licence, except for licences to broadcast and/or re-broadcast programmes by cable television or wire radio networks, shall comply with the basic operating conditions of radio frequencies (channels) and electronic communications networks, intended for broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting radio and television programmes, presented by the Communications Regulatory Authority to the Commission. The actual transmission provider shall be additionally specified in a Commission-issued broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting licence granting the right to use the transmission services provided by a third party.
5. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to change the radio frequency (channel) and replace it by another radio frequency (channel) used for the same purpose after giving a six-month advance notice to the radio frequency (channel) user or to cancel the assigned radio frequency (channel) after giving a twelve-month advance notice to the radio frequency (channel) user if:
2) the National Radio Frequency Allocation Table is modified and subsequently the radio frequency band designation is modified due to international obligations or EU legal acts, including recommendations – in coordination with the Commission if the assignment of a radio frequency is changed or revoked before the term of radio frequency (channel) use, established by the Communications Regulatory Authority, expires;
3) radio frequency (channel) is used ineffectively or inefficiently according to criteria specified in the Strategic Plan for the Assignment of Radio Frequencies to Broadcasting and Transmission of Radio and Television Programmes;
6. Radio frequencies (channels) shall be the property of the Republic of Lithuania and may not be privatised.
7. The LRT activities shall not be licensed. In order to ensure the broadcasting of LRT programmes, the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania shall issue on a non-tender and priority basis, in accordance with the procedure and conditions set out in this Law, authorisations which grant the rights equivalent to those granted by licences referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
8. Types of licences, the conditions and procedure of issuing them shall be established by this Law and the Rules for Licensing Broadcasting and Re-broadcasting Activities. The rules shall be approved by the Commission.
9. When issuing licences, priority shall be given to persons who undertake to produce original cultural, informational and educational broadcasts, ensure accurate and unbiased presentation of information, respect human dignity and right to privacy, protect minors from public information which might have a detrimental effect on their physical, mental and moral development, and also to persons who have undertaken to broadcast programmes that are not as yet broadcast by other broadcasters within the designated reception zone.
10. Broadcasting and re-broadcasting licences shall be issued by tender procedure, except for cases specified in paragraph 11 of this Article.
11. The Commission shall issue broadcasting and re-broadcasting licences on a non-tender basis in the following cases:
1) for broadcasting and re-broadcasting programmes by a terrestrial television or radio station with a power level ranging up to 1 W;
2) to scientific or educational institutions for broadcasting educational and cultural programmes by a terrestrial television or radio station with a power level ranging up to 20 W;
4) for broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting programmes by an artificial Earth satellite (satellites);
5) to the organisers of public events for broadcasting programmes about events with a maximum duration of 14 days by a terrestrial television or radio station with a power level ranging up to 20 W;
12. The Commission shall set the rate of the licence fee and the rate of the fee for the examination of licence applications. Licence fees shall be transferred to the Media Support Foundation to support audiovisual projects.
13. The licence issued by the Commission to a broadcaster and/or re-broadcaster shall not restrict them from providing other unlicensed services by the same electronic communications network or separate equipment if the provision thereof shall not interfere with programme broadcasting or re-broadcasting in accordance with the conditions set out in the licence. Only persons having a licence may conclude contracts with the providers of electronic communications services for transmitting and/or re-broadcasting programmes.
14. The Commission may suspend a licence by its decision for no longer than three months if the licence holder seriously and gravely infringes the requirements of this law or licence conditions:
2) infringes basic licence conditions and/or obligations concerning the programme broadcast (re-broadcast) and in the event that an administrative penalty was imposed on the broadcaster for the same infringement during the previous 12 months on several occasions;
3) infringes the legal provisions on the protection of minors against the detrimental effect of public information on their physical, mental or moral development and in the event that an administrative penalty was imposed on the broadcaster for the same infringement during the previous 12 months on several occasions;
5) does not pay the contributions specified in this Law to finance the activities of the Commission where the broadcaster was reprimanded for the same infringement during the previous 24 months on two prior occasions;
15. The Commission may revoke a licence by its decision if:
3) the licence holder does not pursue licensed activity for a period of more than 2 consecutive months or more than 3 months within a calendar year without the Commission’s consent;
4) the licence holder has not started to pursue licensed activity within the period specified in the licence;
6) the licence holder fails to eliminate the infringement for which the licence has been suspended or commits the same infringement within 12 months after the expiration of the suspension term.
7) the licence holder broadcasts and/or re-broadcasts a programme (programmes) within the term of licence suspension;
8) there is a change of the owner of the control stock of the licence holder or the control (management) of a licence holder is transferred to another person (persons) without the Commission’s consent or incorrect data have been presented in the request submitted to receive the Commission’s consent;
16. When adopting a decision on the suspension or revocation of licence, the Commission shall set a fixed term before the suspension or revocation of licence becomes effective. This term may not be shorter than the term established by the law for appealing against the Commission’s decisions in court. The licence holder must suspend (discontinue) licensed activity as of the day indicated in the decision, except for cases where the court suspends the decision after it has been appealed against. If the court does not revoke the Commission’s decision on the suspension or revocation of licence, the licence holder must suspend (discontinue) licensed activity as of the day when the court decision goes into effect. The decision of the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania on the suspension or revocation of licence shall be sanctioned by the Vilnius district administrative court. The request to sanction the Commission’s decision shall indicate the factual and legal grounds for adopting it as well as supporting evidence. The request shall be submitted together with the Commission’s decision, copies of documents supporting its factual and legal grounds as well as other required materials. The judge of the Vilnius district administrative court shall examine the Commission’s request and adopt a motivated ruling approving or rejecting the request not later than 72 hours after the request is submitted. If the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania does not agree with the judge’s decision to reject the request, its authorized representative shall have the right to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania against the ruling within a period of 7 days. The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania shall examine the appeal against the ruling of the Vilnius district administrative court within a period of 7 days.
17. A licence holder may not transfer the licence or the rights granted thereby to other persons. In the event that a licence holder reorganises its activity, the successor (successors) to its rights and obligations may be issued, by a decision of the Commission, a new licence (licences) on a non-tender basis to pursue licensed activity under the same conditions if the licence holder submits to the Commission prior to reorganisation a relevant request and a reorganisation project and if there were no violations of the Republic of Lithuania laws governing broadcasting or re-broadcasting activities, licence terms and conditions, and Commission decisions prior to reorganisation as well as in the course of reorganisation.
18. In the event of any change in respect of the licence holder’s founding documents, registered office or managing bodies, the licence holder shall inform the Commission thereof within 30 days.
ARTICLE 32. Protection from Illegal Broadcasting and/or Re-broadcasting
1. Broadcasters and/or re-broadcasters may not enlarge or otherwise change the territorial area of licensed activity specified in the licence (coverage zone of the programmes broadcast and/or re-broadcast) without the Commission’s permission. In the event that the assignment and use of radio frequencies (channels) intended for such broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting is regulated by the Strategic Plan for the Assignment of Radio Frequencies to Broadcasting and Transmission of Radio and Television Programmes, the Commission’s permission must be obtained only where the territorial area of licensed activity is changed subject to the criteria set out in the Plan.
2. It shall be prohibited to illegally interfere in other programmes, use non-assigned radio frequencies (channels) for broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting or cause broadcasting interference.
ARTICLE 33. Programme Re-broadcasting and Common-use Reception Networks
1. The re-broadcasters of television programmes must re-broadcast at least one LRT programme and all the uncoded terrestrial television programmes of Lithuania’s national broadcasters, unless the Commission provides otherwise. The Commission shall also determine the minimum number of re-broadcast programmes and the nature of such programmes. In the event that limited radio frequency (channel) resources are used for the re-broadcasting of programmes, the Commission may limit the maximum number of re-broadcast programmes, taking into account the need of such resources for the re-broadcasting of programmes.
2. Re-broadcasters, providing radio programme re-broadcasting services by cable television or wire radio networks, must re-broadcast at least one LRT radio programme.
4. It shall be prohibited to alter the re-broadcast programmes or parts thereof. The use of special technical measures to ensure the protection of minors against the detrimental effect of public information on their physical, mental or moral development or the exceptional rights of other broadcasters to programmes of parts thereof shall not be considered to be an alteration of a re-broadcast programme.
5. The owners of common-use reception networks whereto more than 40 apartments (households) are connected or whereto they may be connected, which are intended for own use (non-commercial purposes) shall register such networks with the Commission in accordance with the procedure established thereby.
ARTICLE 34. Language in which Public Information is Produced and Disseminated
1. Public information shall be produced and disseminated in the State language or some other language pursuant to the Law on the State Language and the resolutions of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language.
2. Radio and television broadcasts broadcast in a language other than Lithuanian must be translated into Lithuanian or presented with Lithuanian subtitles, except for educational, special occasion, special and re-broadcast foreign radio and television programmes or broadcasts as well as broadcaster-produced broadcasts intended for the ethnic minorities of Lithuania. The Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania, taking into account the needs of ethnic minorities residing in the coverage zone of broadcast programmes, may specify in the licence conditions which portion of the programmes broadcast and/or re-broadcast or parts thereof shall be comprised of programmes or broadcasts in the languages of national minorities.
ARTICLE 35. Storing of Published Information
The producer of public information must keep a copy of a published issue for at least one year and the recordings of audiovisual works and broadcast programmes - for at least 3 months from the day of the dissemination of information.
ARTICLE 36. Requirements Concerning Publications and Their Dissemination
1. Each publication shall indicate its circulation, other publishing data specified by the Lithuanian standard, and the international standard number of the document (ISBN, ISSN, ISMN).
ARTICLE 37. European Audiovisual Works
1. The following shall be deemed European audiovisual works (hereinafter referred to as “European works”):
1) works produced in the Republic of Lithuania or EU Member States and states that have ratified the Convention on Transfrontier Television of the Council of Europe if:
b) the production of these works is controlled by one or more producers established in these states; or
c) the contribution of the producers established in the aforementioned states to the total co-production (production) costs is larger than the contribution of the producers established in other (third) countries and the co-production (production) is not controlled by one or more producers established outside the Republic of Lithuania, EU Member States or European countries that have ratified the Convention on Transfrontier Television of the Council of Europe;
2) works produced in third European countries, i.e. outside EU Member States or states that have ratified the Convention on Transfrontier Television of the Council of Europe, if they are produced by producers established in one or more third European countries or by such producers in co-production with producers established in one or more EU Member States and in the Republic of Lithuania provided that the European Union and the Republic of Lithuania have concluded agreements with these third European countries on cooperation in the audiovisual field and provided that those works are mainly made by authors and producers residing in one or more European states.
2. Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be applied in the event that works produced in the Republic of Lithuania or EU Member States are not subject to discriminatory measures in countries referred to in subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. Works, which within the meaning of paragraph 1 of this Article should not be considered European works, but which are produced within the framework of bilateral co-production (production) contracts between EU Member States or the Republic of Lithuania and third European countries, shall be treated as European works if the contribution of EU or Republic of Lithuania producers comprises a major portion of co-production (production) costs and if the creation (production) thereof is not controlled by producers established in a state other than EU Member State.
4.Works, which within the meaning of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article should not be considered European works, but which are produced mainly in cooperation with authors and producers residing in one or more EU Member States, shall be treated as European works to an extent corresponding to the proportion of the contribution of producers established in EU Member States to the total co-production (production) costs.
ARTICLE 38. Radio and Television Programmes
1. In their regular broadcasts, television broadcasters shall have the right to freely produce and show short reports (with a duration of up to 90 seconds) about events of public importance that take place in Lithuania and other countries, cultural, sports or other events, for the presentation whereof to the public other broadcasters have acquired exclusive rights.
2. The following requirements shall be complied with when broadcasting television broadcasts or programmes about events of major importance for society:
1) television broadcasters, having acquired exclusive rights to broadcast broadcasts or programmes about events of major importance for society which take place in Lithuania and outside its territory, may not broadcast these broadcasts or programmes on an exclusive basis in such a way as to deprive a substantial proportion of the public in Lithuania of the possibility of following such events via live coverage or deferred coverage on free television;
2) broadcasters under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Lithuania may not exercise the exclusive rights specified in subparagraph 1 of this paragraph in such a way as to deprive a substantial proportion of people residing in another EU Member State or a European country which has ratified the Convention on Transfrontier Television of the Council of Europe of the possibility of following the events taking place in Lithuania or outside its territory, which are designated as events of major importance for society under the legal acts of that other state. Programmes or broadcasts covering these events shall be broadcast in accordance with the broadcasting procedure established in the state concerned.
3) the following events shall be considered to be of major importance for society in the Republic of Lithuania: Summer and Winter Olympic Games, World and European Basketball Championships, the Football World Cup and European Football Championship, Lithuanian Song Festivals as well as official commemorations of Lithuanian national holidays. An institution authorised by the Government shall lay down the requirements that have to be complied with when broadcasting programmes or broadcasts about events of major importance for society of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. Television broadcasters shall reserve, where practicable, at least 50 % of their programme time, excluding the time appointed to news, sports events, games, advertising, teletext services and teleshopping, for European works.
4. Television broadcasters shall reserve, where practicable, at least 10 % of their programme time, excluding the time appointed to news, sports events, games, advertising, teletext services and teleshopping, for European works made by independent producers within the past five years.
5. Other requirements for broadcasters’ programmes shall be established by this Law, the Law on the National Radio and Television of Lithuania and other laws as well as by licences issued to broadcasters.
6. The name of the station broadcasting a programme or the name of a programme re-broadcast shall be announced during a radio or television programme at least once per hour. If the programme of a radio, television station is shorter than one hour, the name of the programme must be announced at the end thereof.
ARTICLE 39. Advertising and Teleshopping
1. Advertising and teleshopping shall be fair and honest. Advertising and teleshopping shall not prejudice respect for human dignity, include any discrimination on grounds of race, sex or nationality, be offensive to religious or political beliefs, encourage behaviour prejudicial to health and the protection of the environment.
2. Advertising and teleshopping shall not be misleading and shall not prejudice the interests of consumers.
3. Advertising and teleshopping shall not have a detrimental effect on the physical, mental or moral development of minors and shall therefore comply with the following requirements:
1) they shall not directly exhort minors to buy a product or a service by exploiting their inexperience or credulity;
2) they shall not directly encourage minors to persuade their parents or others to purchase the goods or services being advertised;
3) they shall not form children’s opinion that the use of certain services and goods will make them physically, psychologically or socially superior to others in their peer group;
4. Advertisers shall not have the right to exercise any influence over the content of public information, except for the content of their own advertisements.
7. Advertising of tobacco products, including teleshopping for tobacco products, shall be prohibited.
8. Restrictions on advertising for alcoholic beverages shall be determined by the Law on Alcohol Control.
9. Advertising for medicinal products and medical treatment available only on prescription shall be prohibited in the media, except for special publications or broadcasts. Advertising for other medicinal products or medical treatment with medicines shall be readily recognisable and shall warn about possible harmful effects if misused.
10. Persons who regularly host news programmes shall not participate in advertising and teleshopping, neither shall they voice over advertising or teleshopping.
11. Advertising and teleshopping requirements in television programmes:
1) advertising and teleshopping shall be readily recognisable as such and kept quite separate from other parts of the programme service by acoustic and/or optical means. Advertising and teleshopping spots shall not prejudice the integrity and value of the programme, taking into account natural breaks in and the duration and nature of the programme, and the terms and conditions of contracts between the holders of broadcasting rights and the broadcasters. Announcements made by the broadcaster in connection with his own programmes and ancillary products directly related to those programmes, public service announcements, charity appeals and other information broadcast free of charge shall not be considered to be advertising;
2) advertising and/or teleshopping shall not be inserted in any broadcast of a religious service; documentaries, news, religious programmes and children’s programmes, when their duration is less than 30 minutes, shall not be interrupted by advertising or by teleshopping;
3) the broadcasting time for advertising shall not exceed 15 % of the daily broadcasting time. The broadcasting time for advertising may be increased up to 20 % of the daily broadcasting time if it is devoted to teleshopping;
4) the amount of spot advertising and/or teleshopping within a given one-hour period shall not exceed 12 minutes;
5) teleshopping spots in programmes that are not exclusively devoted to teleshopping shall be of a minimum uninterrupted duration of 15 minutes. The maximum number of teleshopping spots per day shall be eight and their overall duration shall not exceed three hours per day. They must be clearly identified as teleshopping spots by optical and/or acoustic means;
6) in programmes consisting of autonomous parts and in sports broadcasts as well as in broadcasts of other events containing intervals, advertising and/or teleshopping spots shall only be inserted between the parts or in the intervals;
7) if the duration of broadcast audiovisual works such as feature films or films made for television (excluding series, serials, light entertainment programmes and documentaries) is more than 45 minutes, they may be interrupted by an advertisement once for each period of 45 minutes; the broadcasting of such works may be further interrupted by an advertising spot only if their duration is at least 20 minutes longer than two or more complete periods of 45 minutes;
8) where broadcasts other than those covered by subparagraph 6 of this paragraph are interrupted by advertising, a period of at least 20 minutes shall elapse between each successive advertising break within the programme;
12. The National Consumer Rights Protection Board and the Competition Council, in cooperation with regulatory institutions governing the activities of producers and/or disseminators of public information as well as with self-regulatory institutions, shall maintain control over compliance with advertising requirements specified in this and other laws.
13. Associations of advertising businesses shall lay down in a special advertising code the additional requirements for advertising ethics and establish self-regulatory institutions to supervise compliance with such requirements.
14. Persons shall be liable for violating the requirements applied to advertising in accordance with the procedure established by the law.
ARTICLE 40. Sponsorship of Radio and Television Programmes
1. If a programme or broadcast is sponsored in whole or in part, it shall clearly be identified as such at the beginning and/or end of the broadcast by indicating the name or logo of the sponsor.
3. Sponsored programmes or broadcasts shall not encourage the sale, purchase or rental of the products or services of the sponsor or a third party, in particular by making special promotional references to those products or services in sponsored broadcasts, except for those cases where this is done in advertising spots.
4. Programmes or broadcasts may not be sponsored by persons whose principal activity is the manufacture and/or sale of tobacco products. This prohibition shall be established in the Law on Tobacco Control.
5. Persons whose activities include the manufacture of medicinal products or medical treatment may sponsor programmes by indicating the name or logo of their undertaking, but may not promote medicinal products or medical treatment available only on prescription.
ARTICLE 42. Duties of Journalists
1. The duties of journalists shall be set out in this and other laws as well as in international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Journalists shall:
2) authorise information prepared for dissemination for the first time if this is requested by the person who has submitted the information;
3) refuse an assignment by the producer of public information, his owner or a responsible person appointed by them if this assignment compels them to violate the laws or the Code of Ethics of Lithuanian Journalists and Publishers;
ARTICLE 43. Duty to Provide Information
1. Producers and disseminators of public information, state and municipal institutions and agencies shall provide information (including tapes of broadcasts) free of charge to regulatory institutions governing the activities of producers and disseminators of public information referred to in Chapter 5 of this Law, which is necessary for the implementation of their functions.
2. Information, relating to personal data managed by the producers and disseminators of public information, which is provided to the regulatory institutions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be used in compliance with the Law on Legal Protection of Personal Data.
3. The producers and disseminators of public information must provide natural and legal persons with information (including broadcast tapes) the publication of which, in the opinion of aforementioned persons, degrades their honour and dignity or has damaged their legitimate interests, in particular their reputation. Requests to provide information shall be submitted to the producers and/or disseminators of public information in writing. Public information producers and/or disseminators may exact payment for providing public information, the amount of which shall not exceed the expenses involved in making a copy of the requested information.
Article 44. Professional Ethics when Providing Information to the Public
1. The norms of professional ethics which have to be adhered to by the producers and disseminators public information as well as journalists is defined in the Code of Ethics of Lithuanian Journalists and Publishers, the Resolution on the Ethics of Journalism adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, also by international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania governing the production and dissemination of public information, and this Law.
2. The Code of Ethics of Lithuanian Journalists and Publishers shall be approved, amended or supplemented by the meeting of representatives of journalists’ and publishers’ organisations which is convened by the Lithuanian Periodical Press Publishers’ Association, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Association, the Lithuanian Cable Television Association, Regional Televisions’ Association, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Society, the Lithuanian Journalism Centre, National Radio and Television of Lithuania, and the Lithuanian Chapter of International Advertising Association.
ArticlE 45. Refutation of Published Information
1. The producers and/or disseminators of public information must refute published false information which degrades the honour and dignity of a natural person or has damaged the legitimate interests of a legal person, in particular reputation.
2. A request to refute information shall be submitted to the producer or disseminator of public information in writing not later than 2 months after the publication of the information, the refutation whereof is requested. It shall be indicated in the request for refutation which published information is false, when and where it was published, which statements in the published information are degrading to the honour and dignity of a person. Refutations that do not satisfy the requirements of this clause, also in cases where it is requested to refute published information not as to its substance or where it is requested to make a refutation, the size and form whereof exceeds the requirements for refuting published information specified in paragraph 3 of this Article, shall be published at the discretion of the producer of public information.
3. After having received a reasoned request to refute published false information, degrading the honour and dignity of a person, the producer or disseminator of public information must publish the refutation free of charge and without any comments in an equivalent place, of an equivalent size and in the same form in the nearest possible publication, television or radio broadcast, or any other media where such information was published. A subsequent refutation shall not release the producer of public information from liability.
4. The requirements specified in paragraph 3 of this Article shall also be adhered to in those cases where the producer or disseminator of public information publishes, of his own free will, the refutation of false information degrading the honour and dignity of a person or damaging his legitimate interests, and apologises to the person.
CHAPTER V
REGULATORY INSTITUTIONS GOVERNING THE ACTIVITIES OF PRODUCERS AND DISSEMINATORS OF PUBLIC INFORMATION AND SELF-REGULATORY INSTITUTIONS
ARTICLE 46. The Powers of the Government Authorised Institution in the Field of the Provision of Public Information
1. The implementation of state policy in the field of providing information to the public shall be coordinated by a Government authorised institution.
2. The Government authorised institution shall perform the following functions:
1) summarise the practice of the application of laws and other legal acts governing the provision of information to the public and submit proposals regarding the drafting of laws and other legal acts as well as regarding the amendment and supplementation of effective legal acts;
2) draft, in cooperation with organisations of public information producers and disseminators, the laws and other legal acts proposed by the Government in the field of provision of information to the public;
3) implement, in cooperation with other institutions operating in the field of provision of information to the public, the provisions of international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania related to provision of information to the public;
4) provide legal consultations and methodological assistance regarding the provision of information to the public;
5) organise conferences, seminars, and practical trainings regarding the provision of information to the public;
3. The Government authorised institution shall have the right to receive information necessary to perform its functions from associations of public information producers and disseminators, regulatory institutions governing the activities of producers and disseminators of public information and self-regulatory institutions, state and municipal institutions and agencies. The Government authorised institution shall be prohibited from disseminating information which is a commercial secret of broadcasters and/or operators.
Article 47. Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers
1. The Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers (hereinafter in this Article referred to as the “Commission”) shall be a self-regulatory institution of public information producers and disseminators.
2. The Commission, comprised of 12 members to be appointed each by the Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights, the Lithuanian Psychiatric Association, the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference, the Lithuanian Periodical Press Publishers’ Association, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Association, the Lithuanian Cable Television Association, Regional Televisions’ Association, and the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Society, the Lithuanian Journalism Centre, National Radio and Television of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Chapter of International Advertising Association, shall be formed and its rules of procedure shall be established by an assembly of the representatives of journalists’ and publishers’ organisations. Members of the Commission shall be appointed for a term of three years.
3. The work of the Commission shall be organised by the Chairman of the Commission, who shall be elected by the Commission from among its members for a term of one year.
4. The Commission shall perform the following functions:
2) examine the violations of professional ethics committed in the course of providing information to the public by journalists, producers of public information or responsible persons appointed by the participants therein;
3) ascribe press publications, feature and video films, radio and television programmes or broadcasts to the media category of pornographic, erotic and/or violent nature;
4) supervise compliance by the producers and disseminators of public information with the requirements laid down in the laws and other legal acts regarding the public showing, reproduction and distribution of feature films, video films and video programmes, their circulation and distribution, the public showing of events of erotic nature, and the procedure for disseminating printed matter of erotic and violent nature;
5. In performing its functions, the Commission may seek assistance from experts delegated by the ministries of culture, health and justice.
7. The Commission shall act in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, this and other laws, international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania, decrees of the President of the Republic, other legal acts passed by the Seimas and Government, as well as the Code of Ethics of Lithuanian Journalists and Publishers and the Resolution on the Ethics of Journalism adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
8. The Commission shall work in accordance with the regulations approved by it. Commission decisions concerning the violations of professional ethics or other violations shall be published immediately in the same media where the Commission has established these violations. If a producer and/or disseminator of public information fails to publish the decision of the Commission pertaining to the violations of professional ethics or other violations in its own media, the decision shall be announced on the National Radio of Lithuania.
9. The producers or disseminators of public information who disagree with the decisions of the Commission may appeal against them in court; but they must nevertheless publish them in accordance with the procedure established in paragraph 8 of this Article.
Article 48. Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania
1. The Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania shall be an independent institution accountable to the Seimas, which regulates and controls the activities of radio and television broadcasters and re-broadcasters falling under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Lithuania. The Commission shall participate in the formation of national audiovisual policy. It shall act as a body of experts for the Seimas and Government on the issues of radio and television broadcasting and re-broadcasting.
2. In its activities, the Commission shall adhere to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, this and other laws and legal acts, also to the regulations approved by the Commission.
3. The Commission shall be a public legal entity, which has its own seal bearing the State emblem and bank accounts. The seat of the Commission shall be in Vilnius.
4. The Commission shall comprise 13 members: one member shall be appointed by the President of the Republic, three members shall be appointed by the Seimas on a proposal from the Committee on Education, Science and Culture, one member each shall be appointed by the Lithuanian Artists’ Association, the Lithuanian Cinematographers’ Union, the Lithuanian Composers’ Union, the Lithuanian Writers’ Union, the Lithuanian Theatres’ Union, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Society, the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference, and the Lithuanian Periodical Press Publishers’ Association. Members of the Commission shall be appointed for the entire term of office of the appointing institution or the entire term of powers of the appointing organisation’s management body. Only a person of good repute may be appointed as member of the Commission. No appointed member of the Commission shall serve more than two consecutive terms. The legal grounds for a member’s work in the Commission shall be a decision adopted by the appointing institution or organisation.
5. Member of the Commission shall not be recalled from office until the term of his powers expires, except where:
2) member of the Commission had not attended Commission meetings for more than 4 consecutive months without a valid excuse;
6. In the event that a member of the Commission is recalled from office on the grounds provided for in this Article, the Chairman of the Commission shall request the institution which has appointed the member in question to appoint a new member of the Commission for the remainder of the term of the member of the Commission who has resigned or has been recalled. Information about the composition of the Commission and any changes thereof shall be published in the official gazette Valstybės Žinios.
7. The powers of a member of the Commission shall expire when a decision on appointing a new member by the appointing institution or organisation’s managing body comes into force.
8. Members of the Seimas and Government, members of the Council of the National Radio and Television of Lithuania, public servants of political (personal) confidence, persons linked with broadcasters and re-broadcasters by virtue of employment, also persons having a participating interest in the broadcasters and re-broadcasters may not be appointed as members of the Commission. Family members of members of the Commission may not have a participating interest in broadcasters or re-broadcasters. If appointed to the Commission, members of political parties and organisations shall suspend their membership in a political party or organisation and participation in the activities thereof until the end of their term in the Commission.
9. Members of the Commission shall elect by a majority vote the Chairman of the Commission for a term of two years.
10. Meetings shall be the main form of work of the Commission. Commission meetings shall be convened at least once a month by the Chairman of the Commission on his own initiative or at the request of at least one-third of the members of the Commission. Information about planned meetings and their agenda shall be published in the press or placed on the Commission’s Web page.
11. Meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public. A meeting of the Commission may be closed where there is a need to protect the privacy or property of a person, also if a public hearing may disclose state, professional or commercial secrets.
12. Meetings of the Commission shall be deemed valid if they are attended by at least two-thirds of its members. Decisions shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of all the members of the Commission, except for cases specified in this Law. Decisions on issuing or refusing to issue a licence, also on penalties, changes in licence conditions, the suspension of tender conditions and tender results, also the suspension or revocation of a licence shall be adopted by at least a two-third majority of all members of the Commission. The abovementioned decisions, except for the decisions on changes in licence conditions and tender conditions, shall be adopted by a secret vote.
13. Decisions of the Commission shall be signed by its Chairman or any other person authorized by the Commission. Decisions of the Commission shall be binding for broadcasters and re-broadcasters. They will be published in the official gazette Valstybės Žinios and shall come into force on the next day of their publication, unless a later date of their coming into force is specified in the said decisions. Persons may appeal to court against the abovementioned decisions within 30 days of the date of their coming into force.
14. For the Commission to perform its functions, the Administration of the Commission shall be formed. It shall be headed by the Director of the Administration. A member of the Commission may not be the Director of its administration. The Director shall be appointed by the Commission on a competition basis. The Director shall make an annual report to the Commission on the activities of the Administration. The composition of the Administration and the number of its staff shall be approved by the Commission. The activities of the Administration shall be organised in conformity with its regulations approved by the Commission.
15. For the purpose of financing the activities of the Commission, the broadcasters and re-broadcasters (except for the LRT) that receive earnings from broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting activity must transfer every month to the Commission’s account 0.8 % of their earnings from advertising, subscription fees and other activities related to broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting. Payments from broadcasters or re-broadcasters shall be enforced through court if they fail to transfer the funds to the Commission’s account within a period of 3 months after the fixed date. The Commission may be financed from other sources as well: funds received for examining licence applications, other payments for provided services, support funds, publishing activities, etc.
16. The Commission shall annually draw up and approve the estimate of its planned expenditure. This estimate and the report on its implementation shall be published by the Commission in the supplement Informaciniai Pranešimai (Information Bulletin) to the official gazette Valstybės Žinios.
Article 49. Competence of the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania
1. The Commission shall perform the following functions:
1) in conjunction with the Communications Regulatory Authority, draw up the Strategy for Assigning Radio Frequencies to Broadcast and Transmit Radio and Television Programmes; also, in conjunction with the Communications Regulatory Authority and in accordance with the Strategy for Assigning Radio Frequencies to Broadcast and Transmit Radio and Television Programmes, draw up and approve the Strategic Plan for the Assignment of Radio Frequencies to Broadcasting and Transmission of Radio and Television Programmes;
2) announce and organise, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and the Rules for Licensing Broadcasting and Re-broadcasting Activities, tenders for obtaining broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting licences, determine the terms and conditions of these tenders and licences, and issue licences;
3) set the rate of the licence fee and the rate of the fee for the examination of licence applications;
4) maintain control over compliance by broadcasters and re-broadcasters with the obligations undertaken by them, also with licence conditions and the decisions adopted by the Commission
5) maintain, within its sphere of competence, supervision over the implementation of the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Minors against Detrimental Effect of Public Information;
6) establish the procedure for adhering to the requirements laid down in the laws and the requirements of the European Union concerning the structure and content of programmes as well as the broadcasting of advertisements;
7) maintain control over compliance by broadcasters with the provisions of this Law concerning the proportion of European works and works by independent producers in the programmes broadcast, the right to broadcast events of major importance to society as well as with the requirements laid down in paragraphs 10 and 11 of Article 39 of this Law concerning television advertising and provisions on the sponsorship of programmes;
8) maintain control over compliance by re-broadcasters with the provisions of this Law concerning the re-broadcasting of programmes;
9) monitor broadcasters’ and re-broadcasters’ programmes to maintain control over compliance with the laws and Commission decisions regulating the activities of broadcasters and re-broadcasters as well as with licence conditions;
10) impose, in accordance with the procedure established by the law, the following penalties on broadcasters and re-broadcasters who have violated the requirements of this Law, licence conditions or who do not comply with the decisions adopted by the Commission: reprimands, monetary penalties prescribed by the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Lithuania, suspension of licence for a period of up to 3 months or revocation of licence;
11) submit proposals concerning the drafting of laws governing the activities of broadcasters and re-broadcasters as well as other legal acts related to these activities;
13) collect information about broadcasters, re-broadcasters and common-use reception networks, analyse their activities, publish information about the participants therein, prepare information and methodical materials on these issues;
14) prepare and submit every 2 years to the Seimas an analytical survey of the implementation of Lithuania’s audiovisual policy, the development of the market of audiovisual services, and the prospects for the expansion of national audiovisual sector, including the statistical data on the progress necessary to comply with the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 38 achieved by all the broadcasters falling under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Lithuania, also stating the reasons that impede the implementation of the said provisions and remedial measures taken or to be taken.
15) cooperate with the institutions of the European Union and other foreign countries which perform equivalent functions, also represent, within the sphere of its competence, the Republic of Lithuania in international organisations;
2. The Commission shall have the right to obtain free of charge from broadcasters and re-broadcasters, state and municipal institutions and agencies as well as other legal persons the information necessary to discharge its functions. Members of the Commission and the Administration shall be prohibited from disseminating information which is a commercial secret of broadcasters and re-broadcasters.
Article 50. Inspector of Journalist Ethics
1. The Inspector of Journalist Ethics shall be a State Officer who shall supervise the implementation of the provisions of the Law on Provision of Information to the Public.
2. The Inspector of Journalist Ethics shall be appointed by the Seimas on a proposal from the Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers.
3. Only a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania of good repute with higher education qualifications and the competence necessary to perform his duties shall be appointed the Inspector of Journalist Ethics.
4. Members of Seimas and Government as well as public servants of political (personal) confidence may not be appointed as the Inspector of Journalist Ethics. The Inspector of Journalist Ethics and members of his family may not be linked with producers and/or disseminators of public information by virtue of employment and may not have the shares of the producers and/or disseminators of public information.
5. The Inspector of Journalist Ethics shall act in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, this and other laws, international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania, decrees of the President of the Republic, and other legal acts adopted by the Seimas and Government.
6. The Inspector of Journalist Ethics shall act in conformity with the principles of legality, objectivity, justice and openness.
7. The decisions of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics may be appealed against in court within 30 days after the day of their publication.
8. The Inspector of Journalist Ethics may not hold any other elective or appointive office and receive any other remuneration, except for that prescribed for his current position and payments for pedagogical or creative activity.
10. The activities of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics and his employees who perform information and technical work shall be financed from the State budget. The funds allocated for this purpose shall be listed under a separate budget item.
Article 51. Competence of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics
1. The Inspector of Journalist Ethics shall perform the following functions:
1) examine the complaints of interested persons regarding violation of their honour and dignity in the media;
2) examine the complaints of interested persons regarding violation of the right to privacy in the media;
3) assess compliance with the principles of providing information to the public set forth in this and other laws, submit proposals to state institutions for improving their implementation;
4) cooperate with counterpart institutions of the European Union and other countries as well as represent, within the sphere of his competence, the Republic of Lithuania in international organisations;
2. In discharging the functions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Inspector of Journalist Ethics may:
1) reprimand the producers and disseminators of public information about the noticed violations of legal acts governing the provision of information to the public and request that they be eliminated;
2) request that a producer or disseminator of public information refute in accordance with the established procedure published false information, degrading the honour and dignity of a person or damaging his legitimate interests, or provide that person with a possibility to reply and deny such information;
3. Decisions of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics shall be published in the supplement Informaciniai Pranešimai (Information Bulletin) to the official gazette Valstybės Žinios.
4. The Inspector of Journalist Ethics shall have the right to receive, free of charge, from the producers and disseminators of public information, state and municipal institutions and agencies the information necessary for discharging the functions thereof.
CHAPTER VI
LIABILITY FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE LAW ON PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC AND PROCEDURE OF ITS IMPLEMENTATION
Article 52. Liability of Producers and Disseminators of Public Information as well as Officials
1. Public information producer or disseminator shall be liable, in accordance with the procedure established by this and other laws, for violating this and other laws and international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania governing the production of public information, also for violating the statutory procedure of dissemination of public information.
2. State and municipal institutions and agencies as well as other budgetary institutions and officials shall be liable, in accordance with the procedure established by the law, for preventing the producers or disseminators of public information to spread news, for illegal refusal to provide public information or for providing false information. Such acts may be appealed against in court.
Article 53. Suspension or Termination of the Activities of Producers and/or Disseminators of Public Information
1. The activities of a producer and/or disseminator of public information, except for broadcasters and/or re-broadcasters, may be suspended or terminated by court if the producer and/or disseminator of public information violates the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 20.
2. When making a decision on the suspension of the activities of a producer and/or disseminator of public information, the suspension term set by the court may not exceed 1 month with respect to newspaper editorial offices and 3 months with respect to magazine editorial offices.
Article 54. Compensation for Moral and Material Damage
1. The producer and/or disseminator of public information who has published information about the private life of a natural person without his consent (except for cases referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 14 and Article 55 of this Law), as well as the producer and/or disseminator of public information who has published false information degrading the honour and dignity of a person, shall pay moral damages to that person in accordance with the procedure established by the law. The amount of moral damages may not be in excess of 10 000 litas, except for cases where the court establishes that false information degrading the honour and dignity of a person has been published intentionally. In such cases the amount of damages may be increased by court decision, but no more than 5 times. In each single case, the amount of moral damages awarded may not be in excess of 5 % of the annual income of the publisher and/or disseminator of public information.
2. Refutation of false information degrading human dignity and honour and an apology published by the producer of public information in accordance with the procedure established by this Law may serve as a basis for the court to reduce moral damages.
3. The producer of public information who has published information about the private life of a person without his consent (except for cases referred to in Article 14 of this Law) as well as the producer of public information who has published false information degrading the honour and dignity of a person and who has refuted and apologised for it in accordance with the procedure established by this Law shall be ordered by court to pay moral damages, but in this case the amount of moral damages may not be in excess of 3 000 litas, except for cases when false information degrading the honour and dignity of a person has been published intentionally.
4. When determining the amount of pecuniary moral damages, the court shall take in to account the financial circumstances of the person who has incurred the damage, the gravity of the offence, its consequences and other significant circumstances.
Article 55. Release from Compensation for Damage
1. A producer of public information shall not be liable for the publication of false information if he indicates the source of information and the information was:
1) provided by state and municipal institutions and agencies, political parties, trade unions, political and public organisations as well as other persons in official or published documents;
2) publicly stated in open meetings, sessions, news conferences, rallies and other events and if the producer of public information did not distort the assertions made. In this case, all responsibility shall be borne by the organisers of the aforementioned events and the persons who made the information public;
3) published earlier in other means of mass media if the information has not been refuted by the means of mass media where it was published;
4) announced by the participants of live radio and television broadcasts who are not subordinate to the producer of public information;
5) announced in a special election campaign broadcast which was not produced by the producer of public information;
2. In cases specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, responsibility for the publication of false information shall be borne by the person who was the first to publish such information.
Article 56. Final Provisions
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC ALGIRDAS BRAZAUSKAS
Annex to
Republic of Lithuania
Law on Provision of Information to the Public
EU LEGAL ACTS BEING IMPLEMENTED
1. Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by Law, Regulation or Administrative Action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities.