Friday, March, 28, 2014, 08:54
On Thursday evening, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law on the Facilitation of Access to Public Information.
Bill № 0947 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine in connection with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On Information"(as amended) and the Law of Ukraine "On access to public information" was supported by 235 MPs.
These laws provide public access to the government and decisions made by local authorities. The bill introduces fines for "the unwarranted attribution of information to classified information, failure to respond to a request for information, failure to provide information, unlawful refusal to provide information, untimely or incomplete provision of information, and the provision of false information."
There is also a considerable expansion of the information to which citizens have right of access. The bill provides for amendments to a number of legal codes and 53 laws. On Thursday morning the Verkhovna Rada had been unable to pass the second reading of the bill.
The original news in Ukrainian is on the Ukrainska Pravda website:
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/03/27/7020562/
