Putin signs law on publication of parliamentarians' depersonalized declarations

MOSCOW. Feb 6 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that envisages that deputies' and senators' income declarations will be published in a generalized form without specifying personal data, according to a report published on the legal information website.

The document amends the legislation on the general principles of organizing public administration in Russian regions.

The law generally concerns the legal regulation of the exercise of powers by deputies of legislative bodies of Russian regions and deputies of representative bodies of municipal entities, as well as procedures governing provision by them of information on incomes, expenditures, property and property obligations.

In particular, it provides that official websites of regional legislative bodies and representative bodies of municipal entities will publish generalized (statistical) information on the exercise or improper fulfilment by deputies of the obligation to provide relevant information.

A similar regulation applies to Russian senators and State Duma deputies.

"The official websites of the Federation Council and the State Duma will publish generalized information on the fulfilment (improper fulfillment) by senators of the Russian Federation, State Duma deputies of the obligation to provide relevant information. The procedures governing access to the said information and its publication on the official website are governed by the relevant chamber of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation," the Federation Council State Legislation and State-Building Committee said in its resolution on the law.

State Duma State-Building and Legislation Committee head Pavel Krasheninnikov earlier told reporters that parliamentarians' personal data will not be published from now on when information on their declarations is published on the Internet.

The law also allows regional and municipal deputies not to file income declarations if they do not exercise their powers on a permanent basis.

The law also decrees that the chairperson of a legislative body of a Russian region can only exercise his powers on a professional basis.

The document also introduces additional grounds for early termination of the powers of a deputy of a legislative body of a region or a deputy of a representative body of a municipal entity if they are absent from all sessions of the relevant representative body for six consecutive months without valid reasons.