Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 11.02.2003

Federal Law No. 26-FZ of February 9, 2003 on the Amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation on the Rehabilitation of the Victims of Political Repressions

The victims of political repressions and entitled for rehabilitation children include those left without parental support when underaged or one of them unreasonably victimised for political motives.
Article 2.1 listing the categories of citizens recognised as victims of political repressions is provided in the new wording taking into account the position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation expressed in the Ruling No. 103-O of April 18, 2000. Now, the mentioned persons include children, spouse, parents of the persons killed or deceased in the places of imprisonment and rehabilitated post mortem.
The Federal Law is entered into force from January 1, 2003.

Federal Law No. 25-FZ of February 8, 2003 on the Budget of the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation for the Year 2003

Endorses the budget of the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation for the year 2003 with incomes amounting to Rbl 134,525.9 million and expenses, to Rbl 143,185.4 million.
Specifies that the minimum amounts of the temporary disability allowance (including those in cases of industrial accidents and occupational diseases) and maternity allowances for the full calendar month may not be lower than the fixed minimum amount of labour remuneration (with regional coefficients in the regions and localities where they apply). Preserves the norm stating that the maximum amount of the temporary disability allowance and the maximum amount of the maternity allowance for the full calendar month may not be greater than Rbl 11,700.
The amount of the lumpsum insurance payment in cases of obligatory social insurance against industrial accidents and occupational diseases is determined taking into account the loss of professional abilities of the insured proceeding from Rbl 27,000. In case of death of the insured, the lumpsum insurance payment is fixed in the amount of Rbl 27,000.
The Law preserves the amounts of fines for the violation of the fixed time limits of submission or failure to submit of appropriate reports by insurers.
The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 24-FZ of February 8, 2003 on the Execution of the Budget of the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation for the Year 2001

Endorses the report of execution of the budget of the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation for the year 2001.
The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 23-FZ of February 8, 2003 on the Ratification of the Convention on the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (Convention 182)

Ratifies the convention adopted by the 87 session of the General Conference of the International Labour Organisation in Geneva on July 17, 1999.

Federal Law No. 22-FZ of February 7, 2003 on the Amendments to the Patent Law of the Russian Federation

Amends significantly the Patent Law of the Russian Federation.
Article 3 is extended to include the provision on the prolongation of the patent for individual categories of inventions.
Section III of the Patent Law is extended to include the norms regulating relations pertaining to patents for an invention, useful model or industrial prototype created while carrying out works under a state contract. The Law omits Article 9 specifying the grounds for creating the Federal Fund of Inventions of Russia. The changes to Section IV provide for the legal protection of inventions of authors requesting the patent in their own name and envisages reduction of the amount of the patent fee if they are ready to cede the patent (if granted) to any person expressed by the author in the application.
The changes to Section V are aimed to improve the procedure of consideration of applications and improve the patent conditions for domestic applicants (including the patent conditions abroad), as well as to prevent disclosure of information on the projects without ensuring their legal protection. The Law envisages introduction of the procedure of revising by the federal body of executive power on intellectual property of the decisions on the results of expert evaluation, including those pertaining to possible procedural violations. In this connection, the Patent Disputes Chamber is formed as the sole administrative body in charge of consideration of appeals against decisions of the export evaluation and against patent granting. The Appellate Chamber and the Higher Patent Chambers are abandoned.
Section VII now does not include provisions on the impossibility of consideration in courts of disputes qualified as the sphere of reference of the administrative appellate instance. The changes to Section VIII are aimed to remove the restrictions of the applicant rights and simultaneously regulate the procedures of patenting abroad of the objects of industrial property. The section includes the norms defining the procedure of application of the Law to applications for the objects of industrial property submitted in the framework of international treaties of the Russian Federation.
The Law refines the procedure of "exchange" of protective documents of the USSR for inventions and industrial prototypes for the patents of the Russian Federation envisaging the maximum possible prolongation of the time of such "exchange" and coordination of requests for it with the competent federal body of executive power for the objects of industrial property created at the expense of the resources of the state budget of the USSR, as well as the procedure of use of these objects and the terms of paying out of author royalties.
The Law specifies the particulars of the legal protection of secret inventions.
The Federal Law is entered into force one month after the day of its official publication except for the provisions pertaining to secret inventions (entering into force from January 1, 2004).

Federal Law No. 21-FZ of February 7, 2003 on the Temporary Measures to Ensure Representation of the Small Native Peoples of the Russian Federation in the Legislative (Representative) Bodies of State Power of the Subjects of the Russian Federation

When forming election districts on the defined in the law of the subject of the Russian Federation territories of compact living of small native peoples of the Russian Federation included in the Uniform List of Small Native Peoples of the Russian Federation, the permitted deviation from the average norm of representation in elections is fixed in the law of the appropriate subject of the Russian Federation.
The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication and applies to legal relations pertaining to election of deputies in the legislative (representative) bodies of state power of the subjects of the Russian Federation scheduled before the entry into force of the present Law.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 65 of February 6, 2003 on the Endorsement of the Federal Aviation Rules of Search and Saving in the State Aviation

Specifies the procedure of organisation and carrying out of aviation search and saving in peace time, summoning of aviation units and enterprises supervised by the federal bodies of executive power possessing air vessels of state aviation to watch measures in the framework of aviation search and saving and rescue operations, as well as the main requirements to the outfit of rescue forces with rescue equipment.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 62 of February 6, 2003 on the Fixing of the Cost of Living in Per Capita Figures and for the Main Sociodemographic Groups of Population for the Whole of the Russian Federation for the IV Quarter of 2002

The cost of living for the whole of the Russian Federation for the IV quarter of 2002 is fixed to amount to: Rbl 1,893 per capita, Rbl 2,065 for the able-bodies population, Rbl 1,432 for pensioners and Rbl 1,880 for children.

Order of the Ministry of Taxation of the Russian Federation No. BG-3-06/41 of January 31, 2003 on the Endorsement of the Form of the Summary Financial Report of a Political Party and Procedure of Filling Out of the Financial Report of a Political Party

Endorses the new form of the summary financial report of a political party and its filling procedure.
Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on February 5, 2003. Reg. No. 4185.