The Supreme Court of Russia Speaks for Openness

Official representatives of the Supreme Court state: Russian courts should seek for maximal openness and transparency. Meanwhile, “reasonable openness” is discussed behind the scenes.

In the opinion of Vyacheslav Lebedev, Chair of the Supreme Court, texts of all court documents (except secrets protected by federal laws) should be published openly in the Internet without any limitations or spoliations. But the law on personal data is an obstacle for such nobility. Attendance of court hearings (allegedly open) is also often problematic. This problem is not specifically Russian: for example, courts in Israel do not seek for full openness of their activities, especially for journalists.
Russian law on access to information on court activities comes into force in about a month. Time will show how it will be observed.