Print LAW ON PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC, July 2, 1996 No. I-1418 (as amended by June 20, 2002 No. IX – 972) (official translation, excerpt)
CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
(…)
ARTICLE 2. Principal Concepts of this Law
(…)
4. Persons means natural or legal persons as well as enterprises not having the rights of legal person.
(…)
19. Opinion means ideas, assessments and remarks, published in the mass media, regarding phenomena or events. Application to opinion of the criteria of veracity is not mandatory however it must be based on facts and expressed ethically.
20. Official State and Local Government Institution and Office Documents means written, graphic, sound, video, computer information or other documents, that concern the activities of State or local government institutions and agencies, that are included in that institution’s accounting and are produced or received by them.
21. Private Information means information about an individual’s personal and family life, personal health and other information not to be published on the basis of the protection of a person’s right to privacy.
(…)
34. Public Information means information intended for public dissemination, or otherwise publicly accessible.
35. Producer of Public Information is a publishing house, broadcaster, movie, sound or video studio, information agency, editorial office or other person, engaged in the production of public information.
36. Disseminator of Public Information is a person who broadcasts, rebroadcasts, sells or disseminates by other means, public information to the public.
37. Owner of Producer and (or) Disseminator of Public Information is a person, who alone or with other persons controls a public information producer and (or) disseminator, through his right of ownership.
38. Provision of Information to the Public means an activity through which public information is presented for everyone.
(…)
ARTICLE 3. Basic Principles of Provision of Information to the Public
1. In the Republic of Lithuania, a guarantee is provided for the freedom of information enshrined in the Constitution, this and other laws, and international conventions and agreements ratified by the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Producers and disseminators of public information and journalists shall be governed in their activities by the Constitution and laws, international agreements ratified by the Republic of Lithuania, and also the principles of humanism, tolerance, respect of an individual, honour freedom of speech, creativity and conscience, variety of opinion, maintain the norms of the professional ethics of journalists, assist in developing democracy, public openness, promote civic responsibility and state progress, strengthen state independence and develop national culture and morality.
3. Public information must be presented in the public information media correctly, accurately and in an unbiased fashion.
4. The use of freedom of information may be linked to such requirements, conditions, constraints or penalties, which are designated by laws and which in a democratic society are necessary for the state security of Lithuania, territorial integrity, public order interests, defence of constitutional order, guarantee of the impartiality of judicial authority in striving to bar the way of law violations and crimes and disclosure of confidential information, and to protect the people’s health and morals, as well as private life, dignity or rights of other individuals.
5. One shall be held accountable according to the procedure established by this and other laws and for violations against freedom of information, and also against the constraints of freedom of information established by this and other laws.
CHAPTER II FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PROTECTION THEREOF
ARTICLE 4. Freedom of Information
1. Each individual shall have the right to freely express his ideas and convictions. This right shall encompass freedom to maintain one’s opinion, to seek, obtain and disseminate information and ideas according to established conditions and procedure.
(…)
ARTICLE 5. Right to Collect and Publish Information
1. Every person shall have the right to:
1) collect information and publish it in the mass media;
2) not to give permission to publish the information produced by him, should its content have been distorted during editorial preparation;
3) take notes, photograph, film, use sound and video technical equipment, as well as other means of securing information, except in instances indicated in Article 13 of this Law;
4) publish broadcasts or published works using his own name, pseudonym or anonymously.
2. No one shall be forced to disseminate the information of state or local authority institutions and agencies, and other budgetary institution information, except in instances specified by laws.
ARTICLE 6. Right to Obtain Information from State and Local Government Institutions and Agencies
1. Every individual shall have the right to obtain from State and local authority institutions and agencies and other budgetary institutions public information regarding their activities, their official documents (copies), as well as private information about himself, held by the aforementioned institutions.
2. State and local government institutions and agencies must inform the public of their activities.
3. State and local government institutions must, in accordance with the procedure established by the Law On the Right to Obtain Information from State and Local government Institutions and other laws, furnish public information as well as, private information held by them, except in instances specified by laws, when private information is not to be divulged.
4. Information for the preparation whereof, accumulation of additional data is not necessary, shall be provided for public information producers and (or) disseminators, no later than within one workday, while information for the preparation whereof, one must accumulate additional data, shall be provided no later than within a week.
5. State and local government institutions and agencies, other budgetary institutions, which have refused to give out public information to a producer of public information, must no later than on the next work day inform the producer in writing, stating the reasons for refusal to provide the information.
6. The public information of State and local government institutions and agencies shall be free of charge. These institutions may accept some payment only for the services involving search of the information supplied, official registering of the information or issuance of documents and multiplication (copying) thereof. This payment may not exceed the real expenditures of information provision.
7. Other institutions or enterprises, as well as political parties, trade unions, political, public and other organisations, shall provide public information producers and other persons with public information concerning their own activity, according to the procedure established in the bylaws, of these institutions, enterprises or organisations.
(…)
ARTICLE 9. Right to Public Criticism of the Activity of Officers of State and Local Government Institutions and Agencies
Every person shall have the right to publicly criticise the activities of State and local government institutions and agencies as well as the activity of officers. Persecution for criticism shall be prohibited in the Republic of Lithuania.
ARTICLE 10. Prohibition to Apply Unlawful Constraints to Freedom of Information
1. The government and other executive power institutions State, local government institutions and institutions that regulate the activities of public information producers and (or) disseminators shall be prohibited from placing constraints by their own legal acts, on freedom of information as defined by laws
2. Censorship of public information shall be prohibited in the Republic of Lithuania. Any actions shall be prohibited by which an attempt to control the content of the information published in the mass media prior to publication of this information, shall be made.
ARTICLE 11. Right to Defend Freedom of Information
1. Every person shall have the right to appeal in court against the decisions of State and local government institutions, agencies and the officers thereof, as well as actions thereof, should they violate or unlawfully constrain a person’s right to obtain, collect or disseminate information.
2. Persecution of a producer, disseminator, owner of public information or journalist for published information shall be prohibited, if no violations of laws occurred during its production and dissemination.
(…)
CHAPTER III PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUAL, PUBLIC AND STATE INTERESTS IN SPHERE OF PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO PUBLIC
(…)
ARTICLE 19. Information not to be Furnished
1. State and local government institutions and agencies as well as other agencies, enterprises and organisations shall not furnish to public information producers, and (or) disseminators and other persons information, which according to laws is a state, official, professional, commercial or bank secret or is private information.
2. Also not to be furnished shall be information, the furnishing whereof is prohibited by other laws, because its furnishing would cause damage to interests of state security and defence, foreign policy interests, criminal prosecution of persons and also, would violate the territorial integrity of the state or public order, or the failure to furnish it might bar the way to serious law violations or would be very important in protecting human health .
3. In accordance with the procedure established by laws, the refusal to furnish requested information shall be given to the person in writing, with an indication of the reasons for refusal to furnish the information, included.
ARTICLE 20. Information not Subject to Publication
1. It shall be prohibited to publish in the mass media information which shall:
1) incite to change the constitutional order of the Republic of Lithuania through the use of force;
2) instigate attempts against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Lithuania;
3) instigate war, national, racial, religious and social discord and gender enmity and hatred;
4) disseminate, propagate or advertise pornography as well as propagate and (or) advertise sexual services and sexual deviations;
5) propagate and (or) advertise narcotic or psychotropic substances.
2. Dissemination of disinformation and information which is slanderous, insulting to a person and degrading to the personal honour and dignity of a person, shall be prohibited.
3. It shall be prohibited to disseminate information in violation of the presumption of innocence or which may obstruct impartiality of the judiciary authorities. In instances determined by laws and procedure, the court may limit the dissemination in mass media, of the appraisals and comments, linked with a case which has not yet been examined in court and possibly having an impact on court impartiality and independence.
4. Violations of the constraints stipulated in this Article shall be punishable according to the procedure established by this and other laws.
5. The Government shall establish the procedure of dissemination of press publications, film and video-film, radio and television programmes and other public information attributed to erotic, violent or other restricted public information.
(…)
CHAPTER IV PRODUCTION AND DISSEMINATION OF PUBLIC INFORMATION
Section One: Producers and Disseminators of Public Information, their Legal Status and Activity Conditions
(…)
ARTICLE 28. State Support for Public Information Producers
1. The State shall support the cultural and educational activity of public information producers. State financial support shall be provided for public information producers with the exception indicated in paragraph 6 of this Article, through a public institution, the fund for the Support of the Press, Radio and Television (further - Fund). The Seimas shall appropriate funds from the State Budget for the Fund, annually.
2. The Fund shall operate, based upon this Law, the Law on Public Institutions and other laws, as well as the Fund’s bylaws. Founders of the Fund shall be: The Lithuanian Architects’ Union, Lithuanian Artists’ Union, Lithuanian Photo Artists’ Union, Lithuanian Film Artists’ Union, Lithuanian Composers’ Union, Lithuanian Writers’ Union, Lithuanian Folk Artists’ Union, Lithuanian Theatre Union, Lithuanian Scientists’ Union, Lithuanian Journalists’ Union, Lithuanian Cable Television Association, Lithuanian Radio and Television Association, Lithuanian Periodical Press Publishers’ Association, Regional Televisions ‘ Association, Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association, Lithuanian Journalists’ Society, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Science.
3. The Council of the Fund shall be in charge of the Fund’s activity. The co- owners of the Fund, shall each appoint one member to the Fund’s Council. A Council member shall be appointed for a term equivalent to the term of office of the organisation appointing him or that of its administrative bodies. The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Science shall appoint the Fund Council members for a term of 4 years. The chairman of the Council, who shall be elected by the Fund Council for a 3-year term, shall head the Council. Decisions of the Fund Council shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of the Council members.
4. Sources of funding for the Fund:
1) State grants (subsidies);
2) Funds contributed by legal or natural persons;
3) License tax on broadcasters registered in the Republic of Lithuania;
4) Interest on Fund money kept in banks;
5) Other legally obtained funds;
5. The cultural and educational activities of public information producers shall be supported according to public tender based upon the programmes submitted to the Fund. The Government shall approve the general regulations of the public tender, co-ordinated with the Seimas Committee on Education, Culture and Science. Chairman of the Fund Council shall present at a Seimas plenary sitting, an annual report on the distribution and use of the funds received from the Budget.
6. Financial support from the State Budget for book publishing and also publishing of production disseminated through audiovisual media shall be provided through the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Science, based upon the recommendation of the expert commissions working at these ministries.
(…)