ICNL UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION – JULY 2, 2012

Introduced by the State Duma deputies

I.A. Yarovaya,
A.L. Krasov,
A.G. Sidyakin,
M.Ye. Starshinov,
A.L. Shkhagoshev, and
V.A. Nikonov

Bill #

FEDERAL LAW

On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding the Regulation of Activities of Noncommercial Organizations Performing the Functions of Foreign Agents

Article 1

To amend Federal Law #82-FZ On Public Associations of 19 May 1995 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1995, #21, p. 1930) as follows:

1) to add clause 9 of the following wording to section 6 of Article 21:

“9) a petition to include a public association in the register of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents, provided for by clause 10 of Article 13¹ of Federal Law On Noncommercial Organizations #7-FZ of 12 January 1996 (hereinafter referred to as Federal Law On Noncommercial Organizations), – for public associations incorporated as legal entities, which receive funding and other property from foreign sources and engage in political activities, as defined by clause 6 of Article 2 Federal Law On Noncommercial Organizations.”;

2) in Article 29:

а) to amend para. 8 of section 1 to read as follows:

“to inform the federal agency for state registration about the amount of funding and other property acquired from foreign sources referred to in clause 6 of Article 2 Federal Law On Noncommercial Organizations, as well as about the intended uses of such funding and other property and their actual use, according to the form and within the deadlines established by the authorized federal executive body.”;

1. b) to add section 6 of the following wording: “A public association intending to receive, after its state registration, funding and other property from foreign sources, and to engage in political activities as set forth by clause 6 of Article 2 Federal Law On Noncommercial Organizations, shall file, prior to engaging in political activities, an application with the body which made the decision on its state registration for its inclusion in the register of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents. Such public association shall submit information provided for by para. 8 of section 1 of this Article to the federal agency for state registration on a quarterly basis.”

Article 2

To amend Federal Law On Noncommercial Organizations #7-FZ of 12 January 1996 (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1996, #3, p. 145; ) as follows:

1) to add clause 6 of the following wording to Article 2:

“6. This Federal Law shall understand a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent as a Russian noncommercial organization receiving funding and other property from foreign states, their public agencies, international and foreign organizations, foreign citizens, stateless persons or persons authorized by them, and/or Russian legal entities receiving funding and other property from said sources (hereinafter referred to as foreign sources), with the exception of open stock companies with state participation and their subsidiaries, and which engages, including in the interest of foreign sources, in political activities carried out  in the territory of the Russian Federation.

A noncommercial organization (with the exception of a political party) shall be deemed engaging in political activities, if, irrespective of the goals and objectives stated in its constituent documents, it takes part (including by funding) in the organization and staging of political actions to influence the making by any state agency of a decision to change their public policy, or in the shaping of the public opinion for the aforementioned purposes.”;

2) in Article 13¹:

а) to add subclause 9 of the following wording to clause 5:

“9) an application for the inclusion of a noncommercial organization in the register of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents, referred to in clause 10 of this Article (for noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents)”;

1. b) to add clause 10 of the following wording:

“10. Information contained in the documents of a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent that are submitted for state registration purposes shall make up the register of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents, the keeping of which is the responsibility of the authorized body. The procedure of keeping the said register shall be established by the authorized body.”;

3) to add a paragraph of the following wording to clause 1 of Article 24:

“Any materials published and/or distributed by a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent, including in the mass media or using the information/telecommunication network, the Internet, shall be accompanied by a note to the effect that such materials are published (distributed) by a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent.”;

4) in Article 32:

а) in clause 1:

to add the following wording to para.1: “Annual bookkeeping (financial) reports of a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent, and also (unless otherwise provided by an international agreement of the Russian Federation) annual bookkeeping (financial) reports of a structural unit of a foreign noncommercial nongovernmental organization shall be subject to mandatory auditing.”;

to add a paragraph of the following wording:

“Noncommercial organizations which have received funding and other property from foreign sources shall keep separate records of their income and expenses received (made) within the scope of revenues from foreign sources and their income and expenses received (made) within the scope of other revenues.”;

1. b) to amend clause 3 to read as follows:

“3. Noncommercial organizations, with the with the exception of those referred to in clause 3¹ of this Article, shall submit to the authorized body documents containing reports on their activities and the personal composition of their governance bodies, and documents about the use of funds and other property, including those received from foreign sources, and noncommercial organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent shall also append an auditor’s report. In addition, documents submitted by noncommercial organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent shall contain information about the intended uses of such funding and other property and their actual use. The form of such documents (with the exception of the auditor’s report), as well as the deadlines of their submission, with due account of those provided for by para. 2 of this clause shall be determined by the authorized federal executive body.

Noncommercial organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent shall submit to the authorized body documents containing reports on their activities every half year; documents on the use of the use of funds and other property, including those received from foreign sources, on a quarterly basis; and an auditor’s report, on an annual basis.”;

1. c) to replace the wording “from international or foreign organizations, foreign citizens, stateless persons” in clause 3¹ with the words “from foreign sources.”;
2. d) to add the wording “, and noncommercial organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent – every half year” in para. 1 of clause 3² after the word “annually”;
3. e) to add paragraphs of the following wording to clause 4:

“A structural unit of a foreign noncommercial nongovernmental organization shall annually submit to the authorized body an auditor’s report from a Russian audit organization (an individual Russian auditor) unless otherwise provided for by an international agreement of the Russian Federation.

The authorized body shall place the information provided by the structural unit of a foreign noncommercial nongovernmental organization on its official site in the Internet or provide it to the mass media for publication.”;

е) in para. 3 of clause 4¹ to replace the words “in clauses 4² – 4⁴” with the words “in clauses 4² – 4⁶”;

1. f) to add clauses 4⁵ and 4⁶ of the following wording:

“4⁵. Scheduled checks of a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent shall not be made more than once a year.”;

46. 4⁶. The good and valid reasons for making an unscheduled check of a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent shall include:

the expiry of the remedial action period provided for by an earlier warning issued by the authorized body to the noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent;

the receipt by the authorized body of requests and petitions from citizens or legal entities, or mass media reports regarding facts that indicate the presence of signs of extremism in the activities of the noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent;

the receipt by the authorized body of information from public agencies or local self-government bodies regarding the violation by a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent of the legislation of the Russian Federation pertaining to its sphere of activity;

order (directive) of the director of the authorized body issued in pursuance of  the prosecutor’s requirement that an unscheduled check be conducted as part of prosecutorial supervision of law enforcement following the receipt by prosecutorial bodies of relevant materials and requests.

1. g) in clause 5:

in subclause 4, to replace the words “constituent documents;” with the wording: “constituent documents. Such checks may be conducted with a reference to a structural unit of a foreign noncommercial nongovernmental organization, with the exception of structural units of a foreign noncommercial nongovernmental organization having immunity from aforementioned acts.”;

to add subclause 6 of the following wording:

“6) to suspend, by its decision, for a period not exceeding six months, the activity of the noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent that has not applied for its inclusion in the register of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents. A decision to suspend the activity of such a noncommercial organization may be appealed to a superior organ or court.”;

1. h) to add clause 6¹ of the following wording:

“6¹. In the event of suspending the activity of the noncommercial organization referred to in subclause 6 of clause 5 of this Article, its rights as founder of mass media organs shall be suspended and it shall, be prohibited from staging mas actions and public activities and use its bank accounts, except to make settlements for its economic activities and labor agreements, pay damages inflicted by its actions, or pay taxes, duties and penalties.

If within the suspension period referred to in para. 1 of this clause it applies to the authorized body for its inclusion in the register of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents, the noncommercial organization shall resume its activities from the date of its inclusion in the said register.”;

1. i) to add a paragraph of the following wording to clause 7:

“A noncommercial organization intending to operate, after its state registration, as a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent, shall apply, prior to engaging in such activities, to the authorized body for its inclusion in the register of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents.”;

1. j) in clause 14, to delete the wording “federal executive body authorized to perform the functions to counter the legalization (laundering) of criminal income and the financing of terrorism”;
2. k) to add clause 14¹ of the following wording:

“14¹. A federal executive body authorized to perform the functions to counter the legalization (laundering) of illicit income and the financing of terrorism shall analyze the information about noncommercial organizations’ operations which it may receive on the basis of Federal Law #115-FZ On Countering the Legalization (Laundering) of Criminal Income and the Financing of Terrorism of 7 August 2001, and given reasons to believe that such information is incomplete and/or untrustworthy, and also information to the effect that the noncommercial organization does not observe, or does not observe in full measure, the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, shall inform the body which made the decision to register that noncommercial organization, either in reply to the said body’s request or on its own initiative.”;

1. l) to add clause 16 of the following wording:

“16. The authorized body shall submit to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation its annual report on the activities of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents, containing information about their participation in political activities, the revenue and use of funds, as well as the results of control over their activities.”.

Article 3

In Article 6 of Federal Law
#115-FZ On Countering the Legalization (Laundering) of Criminal Income and the Financing of Terrorism of 7 August 2001 Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2001, #33, p. 3418), to add clause 1² of the following wording:

“1². Any operation made for a noncommercial organization to receive funds and/or other property from foreign states, international and foreign organizations, foreign citizens and stateless persons, if the sum involved is equal to or exceeds 200,000 rubles or is equal to or exceeds the equivalent of 200,000 rubles in foreign currency shall be subject to mandatory supervision.”

Article 4

To amend the Code of Laws of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2002, #1, p. 1)as follows:

1) in Chapter 19:

а) to add the figures “19.7.5² ” to para. 1 of Article 19.7 after the figures “19.7.5¹,”

19. b) to add Article 19.7.5² of the following wording:

Failure of a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent to submit, or to submit in due time, information (data) to a public agency or official, the submission of which is provided for by law and required for the performance of such public organ or official of their legitimate function, as well as submission of such information (data) to such public agency or official in an incomplete or distorted form shall:

entail a warning or administrative fine of 3,000 to 5,000 rubles for private individuals; 30,000 to 50,000 rubles for officials; and 500,000 to one million rubles for legal entities.”;

19. c) to add Article 19.34 of the following wording:

1. Any activity by a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent without its inclusion in the register of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents shall:

entail an administrative fine of 300,000 to 500,000 rubles for officials and 500,000 to one million rubles for legal entities.

2. The publishing and/or distributing of materials by a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent, including via mass media and/or using the Internet, without indicating the fact that these materials are published (distributed) by a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent shall:

entail an administrative fine of 300,000 to 500,000 rubles for officials and 500,000 to one million rubles for legal entities.”;

2) to add Article 20.31 of the following wording to Chapter 20:

The organization of activity of a noncommercial organization performing the functions of a foreign agent, regarding which an effective decision to suspend its activities has been made, as well as any participation in such activity shall:

entail an administrative fine of 30,000 to 50,000 rubles for organizers and 3,000 to 5,000 rubles for participants.”;

3) to add the words “Article 19.7.5²,”  to section 1 of Article 23.1 after the figures “19.7.5¹; to add figures 19.34 after the figures 19.33; and to replace the figures 20.30 with figures 20.31;

4) In section 2 of Article 28.3:

а) to add figures “, 20.31” in clause 1 after the figures 20.29”;

19. b) to add figures “, 19.7.5², 19.34” in clause 4 after the figures “19.7”;

5) to add figures “19.34” to section 1 of Article 28.4 after the figures “19.32,”, and figures “20.31” after the figures 20.29.

Article 5

To amend the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 1996, #25, p. 2954; 2003, #27, p. 2708; #50, p. 4848; 2005, #30, p. 3104; 2010, #19, p. 2289; #41, p. 5192; 2011, #11, p. 1495; #50, p. 7362) as follows:

1) to amend Article 239 to read as follows:

“Article 239. The Establishment of a Noncommercial Organization Trespassing to the Person and the Rights of Citizens

1. The establishment of a religious or public association the activities of which is connected with personal violence or infliction of other damage to their health, as well as the leadership of such an association shall:

be punished with a fine of up to 300,000 rubles or the size of the salary or other income of the convicted for a period of up to two years, or limitation of liberty for a period of up to four years, or deprivation of liberty for the same period of time.

2. The establishment of a noncommercial organization (including noncommercial organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent) or a structural unit of a foreign noncommercial nongovernmental organization, the activities of which are connected with instigating citizens to refuse to perform their civic duties or to perform other unlawful acts, as well as the leadership of such an association or structural unit shall:

be punished with a fine of up to 200,000 rubles or the amount of the salary or other income of the convicted for a period of up to 18 months, or restriction of liberty for a period of up to three years, or forced labor for up to three years, or incarceration for the same period of time.

3. Participation in the activities of the aforementioned noncommercial organization as well as propaganda of acts referred to in sections 1 and 2 of this Article shall:

be punished with a fine of up to 120,000 rubles or the size of the salary or other income of the convicted for a period of up to one year, or restriction of liberty for a period of up to two years, or forced labor for up to two years, or incarceration for the same period of time.”;

2) to add Article 330.1 of the following wording:

“Article 330.1. Deliberate Evasion of Duties Provided for by the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Noncommercial Organizations Performing the Functions of Foreign Agents

Deliberate evasion of performing duties connected with the submission of documents required for the inclusion in the register of noncommercial organizations performing the functions of foreign agents, as well as of any other duties provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation regulating the activities of said noncommercial organizations shall be punished by:

with a fine of up to 300,000 rubles or the size of the salary or other income of the convicted for a period of up to two years, or mandatory community service for a period of up to 480 hours, or correctional labor for up to two years, or incarceration for the same period of time.”

Article 6

To amend Article 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation (Compendium of Laws of the Russian Federation, 2001, #52, p. 4921; 2002, #22, p. 2027; #30, p. 3015, 3020, 3029; #44, p. 4298; 2003, #27, p. 2700, 2706; #50, p. 4847; 2004, #27, p. 2711; 2005, #1, p. 13; 2006, #28, p. 2975, 2976; #31, p. 3452; 2007, #1, p. 46; #16, p. 1827; #24, p. 2830, 2833; #31, p. 4008, 4011; #50, p. 6235, 6248; 2008, #49, p. 5724; 2009, #11, p. 1168, 1267; #18, p. 2145; #26, p. 3139; #44, p. 5170; 2010, #1, p. 4; #11, p. 1168; #15, p. 1756; #21, p. 2525; #27, p. 3427, 3431; #30, p. 4003; #31, p. 4164, 4193; #49, p. 6412; 2011, #1, p. 16; #15, p. 2039; #23, p. 3259; #30, p. 4598, 4601, 4605; #45, p. 63; #50, p. 7361, 7362) as follows:

1) to add figures “330.1,” after the figures “328,” in subclause “а” clause 1 section 2; and

2) figures “239,” after the figures “229.1” in section 5.

Article 7

This Federal Law shall take effect after ninety days from the date of its official publication.