2004 freedominfo.org Global Survey Results - Ukraine
Text from the freedominfo.org Global Survey: Freedom of Information and Access to Government Records Around the World, by David Banisar (updated 12 May 2004)

The Constitution does not include a specific general right of access to information but contains a general right of freedom of collect and disseminate information and rights of access to personal and environmental information. (1) Article 34 states, "Everyone has the right to freely collect, store, use and disseminate information by oral, written or other means of his or her choice." Article 32 states, "Every citizen has the right to examine information about himself or herself, that is not a state secret or other secret protected by law, at the bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government, institutions and organisations." Article 50 states, "Everyone is guaranteed the right of free access to information about the environmental situation, the quality of food and consumer goods, and also the right to disseminate such information. No one shall make such information secret."

The 1992 Law on Information allows citizens to request access to official documents. (2) The government body must respond in 10 days and provide the information within 30 days unless provided by law.

Documents can be withheld if they contain state secrets, confidential information, information on law-enforcement authorities or investigations, personal information, interdepartmental correspondence for policy decisions, regulatory and legal documents, and information on fiscal institutions.

Denials can be appealed to a higher level at the agency concerned and then to a court.

The Law on the Amendments to the Several Legal Acts on the Safeguards and Unhampered Fulfillment of the Human Right to Freedom of Speech was adopted in April 2003. It amended the Code of Administrative Offences to increase penalties for violations of access of information. It also prohibits censorship and limits the liability of journalists for the unintentional dissemination of false information. (3)

President Kuchma signed a degree in August 2002 ordering the Cabinet of Ministers to study the implementation of the Act on Information for the years 2000-2002. (4) The order also requires that central and local executive bodies hold online press conferences and regularly update web sites. The study released in January 2003 said that the system of transparency was improving. (5) The Kharkiv Group for Human Rights Protection found that access to information was generally limited and had been decreasing since 1995. (6)

Article 2 of On the Order of Dissemination of Information on Public Bodies and Local Governments Activity by Mass Media (7) requires public bodies to inform the mass media about their activities."

The Law On State Secrets sets broad rules on information relating to defense, foreign affairs, state security and other areas that disclosure would cause harm to the state. (8) The List of Information that belongs to State Secrets (LLISS) defines what can be classified. It is overseen by the State Committee on State Secrets. Ukraine signed an agreement with NATO in 1995 to harmonize its classified information system with NATO. (9) Under the NATO-Ukraine 2003 Target Plan in the Framework of the NATO-Ukraine Action Plan, the Ukrainian Government committed in 2003 to implement regulations on the protection of NATO classified information while at the same time improve access to information based on recommendations of the Council of Europe, improve the transparency of government procurement and "consider a possibility to declassify maps, satellite imagery, and aerial photography with the aim to use them for civil purposes." (10) The Action Plan was agreed to in November 2002 but was classified by the President. The Ukranian Parliament voted in December 2002 to demand that the government declassify it. A study by the Kharkiv Group for Human Rights Protection found that there was a great deal of overclassification of documents in 2000-2001. (11)

The Law On National Archival Fund and Archival Bodies allows for access to records once they are in the possession of the Archives. (12) Documents containing state secrets can be withheld until they are declassified by the public authority. Personal information can be withheld for 75 years.

Ukraine signed the Aarhus Convention in 1998 and implemented it in 2002. (13) The revised Law on protection of natural environment provides for access to information and citizen participation.

A bill on the Protection of Personal Data is currently pending in the Parliament.

Notes

1. Constitution of Ukraine, 1996. http://www.rada.gov.ua/const/conengl.htm

2. The Law on Information, N 2657-Xii, October 2, 1992 As amended by the Law N 1642-III of April 6, 2000 and N 3047-III of February 7, 2002. http://www.elaw.org/resources/text.asp?ID=1479

3. See Article XIX, Statement on the draft Law of Ukraine on the Insertion of Changes to Certain Laws of Ukraine as a Result of the Parliamentary Hearings "Society, Mass Media, Authorities: Freedom of Expression and Censorship in Ukraine", April 2003. http://www.article19.org.ua/laws/april2003e.html

4. Presidential Decree "On Additional Steps to Ensure Transparency and Openness of the State Bodies' Activities" N.683/2002 of 1 August 2002.

5. See Article 19 Ukraine Bulletin, December 2002-January 2003. http://www.article19.org.ua/digest/january2003e.html

6. Kharkiv Group for Human Rights Protection, Freedom of Access to Governmental Information. http://www.khpg.org/index.php?au=0322000900

7. Statute of September 23, 1997 (No 539/97).

8. Law on state secrets no. 3855-XII of 21 January 1994.

9. See NATO-Ukraine Action Plan, 21-22 November 2002. http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/b021122a.htm

10. NATO-Ukraine 2003 Target Plan in the Framework of the NATO-Ukraine Action Plan, 24 March 2003. http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/b030324e.pdf

11. Kharkiv Group for Human Rights Protection , Analysis of Practice Access to Governmental Information. http://www.khpg.org/index.php?au=0322001000

12. Law On National Archival Fund and Archival Bodies of December 24, 1993 N 3814-XII in the redaction of the Law of December 13, 2001 No 2888-III.

13. The Law On the Amendments to the Several Laws of November 28, 2002 N 254-IV.