Must Justice Be Silent?

On July 1, 2010, the new Russian law on access to information on court activities comes into force. However, some its provisions cause ambivalent response of judges and of wide public.

In Chuvashia, a citizen has already filed a court case demanding to compensate moral damage made to her by publication of her personal data (full name, birth place and date, home address) in a court decision placed openly at the official site of the court that issued it. Reasonable balance between freedom of information and personal data protection becomes a most acute problem that should be solved as soon as possible.