Campaign “I have the right to free legal information” launched in Vitsebsk
The aim of the campaign
launched by the local organization “Legal Assistance to Population” is to return
the free access to legal information on the web.
Human rights defender Aliaksandr Mikulin explains that one has to pay money to
receive information from the National Center of Legal Information. To his mind,
it contradicts Article 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus,
“law supremacy” and Article 34 which guarantees the right of citizens to “receive,
store and distribute complete, precise and timely information about activities
of state organs and public associations”.
The access to the legal website is paid. It costs 3,500 rubles (about 40 US
cents) a day or 200,000 rubles ($30) for six months. “Thus, what was considered
as public information, the receiving of which was guaranteed to citizens of the
Republic of Belarus (including free access to web
resources) is not accessible any more!” says Mr. Mikulin.
He thinks that rendering paid services by the National Center of Legal
Information is unlawful and campaigns for the abolition of the access fee.
