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Section IV. State Control and Self-Regulation in the Area of Advertising
Article 26. Rights of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Agency for State Control in the Area of Advertising
1. The federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) shall control, within the bounds of its competence, the observance of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising. This agency (its territorial agency):
- shall warn and put a stop to facts of improper advertisement by legal entities or natural persons;
- shall issue to advertisers, advertisement producers and advertisement distributors written instructions to discontinue violations of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising, and decisions on producing counter-advertisements;
- shall send materials on the violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising to the agency that issued the license, in order to resolve a matter regarding suspension or early revocation of the license for the corresponding type of activity;
- shall send to the public prosecutor's office and other authorities within its jurisdiction materials needed for a decision on whether to start a criminal proceeding on the basis of the violations in the area of advertising.
2. The federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) shall have the right to make claims in the courts or arbitration courts, as well as in the interest of an indeterminate group of advertisement consumers in connection with the violation of legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising by advertisers, advertisement producers and advertisement distributors, and on recognizing the invalidity of transactions connected with improper advertisements.
3. When making claims in the courts or arbitration courts, the federal anti-monopoly agency and its territorial agencies are exempt from paying state duties.
4. Federal executive authorities, authorized in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, within their competence to take measures to protect consumer rights and suppress unfair competition, shall have the right to conclude agreements with advertisers, advertisement producers and advertisement distributors for observing the rules and customs of advertising practices.
Article 27. Right of Access to Information
1. Officers of the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency), in order to fulfill the functions entrusted to them in controlling the observance of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising, shall have the right to unimpeded access to all necessary documents and other materials of advertisers, advertisement producers and advertisement distributors.
2. Information comprising commercial secrets and received by the individuals mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article is not to be made public.
In the event such confidential information is made public, the losses incurred as a result shall be compensated by the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) in the procedure established by legislation.
3. Persons mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article shall be allowed access to organizations
conducting activities connected with the use of information comprising state secrets in the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Article 28. The Rights of Self-Regulatory Agencies in the Field of Advertising
1. Self-regulatory agencies in the field of advertising, i.e., social organizations (societies), associations and unions of legal persons, shall:
- participate in the development of the rules on advertising, including draft laws and other normative acts;
- conduct independent examination by advertising experts on the subject of establishing its (their) conformity to the requirements of legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising, and shall forward corresponding recommendations, to advertisers, advertisement producers and advertisement distributors;
- be used by the federal anti - monopoly agency (its territorial agency) when it is fulfilling its duties of regulating the observance of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising;
- forward to the public prosecutor's office materials and turn to the federal executive authorities in connection with violations of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising.
2. Self-regulatory agencies in the field of advertising have the right to make claims in courts or arbitration courts in the established procedure in the interests of advertising consumers, including an undetermined group of advertising consumers, in the event their rights as provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation are violated.
After satisfying a claim in regard to an undetermined group of advertisement consumers, the courts or the arbitration courts shall require the offender to bring the decision of the court or arbitration court to the attention of the indicated consumers by means of mass information or otherwise, in the time period determined by them.
Section V. Counter-Advertising and Responsibility for Improper Advertising
Article 29. Counter-Advertising
1. If the fact of a violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising has been established, then the offender must produce a counter-advertisement within the time period determined by the federal anti - monopoly agency (its territorial agency) that made the ruling in regard to the counter - advertisement. The expenses incurred for the counter - advertisement shall be the sole responsibility of the offender.
2. In the event the offender does not produce a counter-advertisement within the specified time period, then the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) that made the ruling in regard to the counter-advertisement shall have the right to make a decision on the full or partial suspension of the offender's advertisements until the day the offender finishes distributing the counter - advertisement.
In addition, the agency that made the ruling to suspend the offender's advertisements in full' or in part must notify all parties of this fact who are under contract with the offender to produce, place and distribute its advertisements immediately.
3. The dissemination of a counter-advertisement shall be handled in the same manner and for the same duration, space, and placement and in the same order as the refuted advertisement. The content of the counter-advertisement shall be agreed upon with the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) that established the fact of the violation and made an appropriate decision regarding its rectification.
In specific cases, in respect to the decision made by the federal anti-monopoly agency (its
territorial agency) which made the ruling on the counter-advertisement, substitutions may be made regarding the means of dissemination, duration, space, place and order for implementing the counter-advertisements.
Article 30. Responsibility of the Advertiser, Advertisement Producer and Advertisement Distributor
The advertiser bears responsibility for violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising in respect of the contents of the information submitted for the creation of an advertisement, unless it is proved that the violation occurred at the fault of the advertisement producer or the advertisement distributor.
The advertisement producer bears responsibility for violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising in respect of the execution, production, and preparation of the advertisement.
The advertising distributor bears responsibility for violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising in respect of the duration, place and the means of placing the advertisement.
Article 31. Responsibility for Violating the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Advertising
1. Legal entities or persons (advertisers, advertisement producers and advertisement distributors) bear civil responsibility in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation for the violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising.
Persons whose rights and interests are violated as a result of improper advertisements have the right to turn to the courts or the arbitration courts in the established procedure with claims, including claims for the reimbursement of losses, lost profits, damage caused to health and property, compensation for moral damage, and public retraction of inappropriate advertisements.
Persons with claims seeking compensation for damages to health, property, dignity, honor and business reputation caused by improper advertisement shall be exempt from the payment of state duties.
2. Improper advertisement, or refusal to counter-advertise, or non-submission of information in the determined time period at the request of the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) shall result in administrative responsibility in the form of a warning or a penalty in an amount of up to 200 times the minimum wage, as determined by federal law,
Improper advertisement, repeated within a year of the imposition of administrative deductions and penalties for the same activity, shall be considered a criminal offense In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Knowingly false advertising, produced for the purpose of receiving profits (earnings) that causes considerable harm to the state or the public interest or to the rights and interests of persons regulated by law shall be considered a criminal offense in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
3. The federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) shall have the right to impose fines on advertisers, advertisement producers and advertisement distributors In the amount of 5,000 times the minimal wage established by federal law for failure to stop within the determined time period violations of the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising and decisions on producing counter-advertisements.
The amount of fines payable by advertisers, advertisement producers or advertisement disseminators In accordance with this Federal Law shall be entered into the appropriate budgets as follows:
40 percent - to the federal budget;
60 percent - to the budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation on the territory where the legal entity or individual entrepreneur (the advertiser, advertisement producer or advertisement distributor) is registered.
Penalty amounts shall be withheld by the courts if the payments are not made voluntarily.
The payment of a fine shall not relieve an advertiser, advertisement producer or advertisement distributor from fulfilling a court order to stop violating the legislation of the Russian Federation on advertising or from a ruling on producing a counter-advertisement.
4. The advertiser, advertisement producer or advertisement disseminator has the right to turn to the courts or arbitration courts with an application to recognize as fully or partially invalid the decision of the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency) in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Filing such an appeal shall not excuse the filer from fulfilling the demands of the order or the decision of the federal anti-monopoly agency (its territorial agency), unless the courts or arbitration courts make a decision to suspend the fulfillment of such order or decision.
Section VI. Closing Provisions
Article 32. International Agreements of the Russian Federation in the Field of Advertising
If an international agreement of the Russian Federation has established other rules on advertising different from the ones provided by this Federal Law, then the international rules shall be observed.
Article 33. On Implementation of this Federal Law
1. This Federal Law shall come into force on the day of its official publication.
2. The effectiveness of Article 16.1 of this Federal Law, in respect of advertisements for alcohol, tobacco and tobacco products in television programs, shall be repealed as of 1 January 1996, and advertisements for these goods in television programs shall not be allowed from that moment on.
3. It is proposed that the President of the Russian Federation introduce normative legal acts promulgated by him in accordance with this Federal Law.
4. The Government of the Russian Federation is authorized:
- to prepare suggestions on updating legislative acts of the Russian Federation in accordance with this Federal Law;
- to bring normative legal acts of the Government of the Russian Federation into conformity with this Federal Law.
President of the Russian Federation
B. Yeltsin
Moscow, the Kremlin
18 July 1995
No.108-FZ
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