Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media Access to information by the media in the OSCE region: Country Reports Vienna, 3 July 2008 CONTENTS Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... 4 Remarks............................................................................................................ 5 Disclaimer......................................................................................................... 5 Albania ............................................................................................................. 6 Andorra........................................................................................................... 18 Armenia .......................................................................................................... 37 Austria ............................................................................................................ 43 Azerbaijan....................................................................................................... 50 Belarus............................................................................................................ 55 Belgium .......................................................................................................... 63 Bosnia and Herzegovina................................................................................. 69 Bulgaria .......................................................................................................... 73 Canada ............................................................................................................ 90 Croatia ............................................................................................................ 97 Cyprus........................................................................................................... 111 Czech Republic............................................................................................. 112 Denmark ....................................................................................................... 117 Estonia .......................................................................................................... 124 Finland.......................................................................................................... 130 France ........................................................................................................... 135 Georgia ......................................................................................................... 141 Germany ....................................................................................................... 147 Greece........................................................................................................... 166 Holy See ....................................................................................................... 167 Hungary ........................................................................................................ 168 Iceland .......................................................................................................... 179 Ireland........................................................................................................... 184 Italy............................................................................................................... 190 Kazakhstan ................................................................................................... 191 Kyrgyzstan.................................................................................................... 201 Latvia............................................................................................................ 213 Liechtenstein................................................................................................. 222 Lithuania....................................................................................................... 227 Luxembourg ................................................................................................. 236 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ............................................. 240 Malta............................................................................................................. 246 Moldova........................................................................................................ 255 Monaco ......................................................................................................... 282 Montenegro................................................................................................... 284 Netherlands................................................................................................... 290 Norway ......................................................................................................... 295 Poland ........................................................................................................... 301 Portugal......................................................................................................... 306 Romania........................................................................................................ 313 Russian Federation ....................................................................................... 320 San Marino ................................................................................................... 330 Serbia............................................................................................................ 331 Kosovo (Republic of Serbia)...................................................................... 343 2 Slovakia ........................................................................................................ 348 Slovenia ........................................................................................................ 352 Spain ............................................................................................................. 359 Sweden ......................................................................................................... 366 Switzerland ................................................................................................... 372 Tajikistan ...................................................................................................... 378 Turkey........................................................................................................... 387 Turkmenistan................................................................................................ 392 Ukraine ......................................................................................................... 400 United Kingdom ........................................................................................... 431 United States of America.............................................................................. 438 Uzbekistan .................................................................................................... 443 3 Acknowledgements We are grateful to the governments of the OSCE participating States who have assisted our Office in collecting information for the survey “A comprehensive review of laws and practices on access to information by the media in the OSCE participating States”. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the following people, NGOs and OSCE field operations for their contributions to this project. It is due to their efforts that this database of laws and practices on access to information by the media in the OSCE participating States has been compiled and published: Ilir Aliaj, Executive Director, Centre for Development and Democratization of Institutions (CDDI), Albania Access Info, Moldova Klime Babunski, Vesna Gogova, PRO MEDIA, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Republican Bureau on Human Rights and Rule of Law (BHR), Tajikistan Shushan Doydoyan, President of the Freedom of Information Center of Armenia (FOICA) Ádám Földes, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), Hungary Rashid Hajili, Head of the Institute of Media Rights, Azerbaijan Suzanna Jasic, Director, GONG, Croatia Gergana Jouleva, Executive Director, and team members of Access to Information Programme, Bulgaria Ilim Karypbekov, lawyer, Director of Media Commissioner Institute, Kyrgyzstan Walter Keim, Germany Tamar Kordzaia, Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, Georgia Tanya Kotuzhynska, Lawyer, Legal Defense and Education Program, IREX U-Media, Ukraine Yaroslav Samarsky, young lawyer, intern, OSCE Centre in Bishkek Nurbek Toktakunov, Lawyer, Programme Coordinator of Access to Information Project, Independent Human Rights Group, Kyrgyzstan Yevgeniy Zakharov and Oksana Nesterenko, Kharkiv Group for Human Rights Protections, Ukraine OSCE Centre in Almaty OSCE Centre in Ashgabad OSCE Centre in Bishkek OSCE Centre in Dushanbe OSCE Mission to Croatia OSCE Mission to Kosovo OSCE Mission to Montenegro OSCE Mission to Serbia OSCE Office in Baku OSCE Office in Minsk OSCE Office in Yerevan OSCE Presence in Albania OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje 4 Remarks The country reports for this survey are based on data that have been received from the governments of the OSCE participating States and from other sources, including OSCE field operations and international and local media NGOs. These sources have provided information to the best of their knowledge; however, some responses