Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 6.12.2004

Federal Law No. 157-FZ of December 2, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 28 of the Federal Law on the Obligatory Pension Insurance in the Russian Federation

Article 28 "Procedure and Time Limits of Payment of Insurance Contributions in the Form of Fixed Payment" is extended to include the provision stating that the mentioned contributions are paid no later than December 31 of the current year according to the procedure specified by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Federal Law No. 156-FZ of December 2, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 1174 of Part 3 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

The amount of monetary resources owned by the testate and handed out by the bank from the account of the deceased to pay for his funeral under Article 1174 "Reimbursement of Expenses Caused by the Death of the Testate and Expenses for the Protection of the Heritage and Its Management" is increased from 100 to 200 minimum amounts of labour remuneration.

Federal Law No. 155-FZ of December 2, 2004 on the Amendments to Some of the Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation to Implement the Rights of Citizens for the Accumulated Part of the Labour Pension

Refines the functions of such participants of financial markets as specialised depositaries and non-state pension funds being the subjects and participants of relations in the generation and investing of resources of accumulated pensions. Thus, the services of the specialised depositary in any moment of time may be rendered to the fund by only one legal entity possessing appropriate licenses.

Federal Law No. 154-FZ of December 2, 2004 on the Amendments to Article 326 of the Code of Criminal Procedures of the Russian Federation

The changes permit the chairman of the court session in the presence of the secretary or assistant to actively influence the building of the preliminary list of the jury avoiding to include in it the persons who may not act as the jury members for reasons envisaged in the legislation.

The presiding judge may release the jury members to their oral or written application who are older than 60 years of age, women with children up to three years of age, persons thinking it impossible for them to participate in the implementation of the justice because of religious convictions, persons if their diversion from service duties may inflict significant damage to public or state interests, other persons who have justifiable reasons to avoid participation in the court session.

Federal Law No. 153-FZ of December 2, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 68 of the Federal Law on Joint-Stock Companies

Member of the board of directors (supervising board) of the company having failed to participate in the vote or having voted against the decision adopted by the board of directors (supervising board) of the company in violation of the established procedure may appeal against the mentioned decision in court if this decision is in violation of his rights and legal interests. Such application may be submitted to the court within one month from the day when the member of the board of directors (supervising board) of the company learnt or was to learn of the adopted decision.

Federal Law No. 152-FZ of December 1, 2004 on the Amendments to the Federal Law on Obligatory Social Insurance against Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases

Specified in the law insurance tariff rates are differentiated by the classes of occupational risk rather than groups of industries (subindustries). The class of occupational risk, in turn, is defined according to the types of economic activities of insurants. The given amendments correspond to the replacement from January 1, 2003 of the All-Union Classifier of the Sectors of the National Economy (OKONH) with the All-Russia Classifier of the Types of Economic Activities (OKVED).

Federal Law No. 151-FZ of December 1, 2004 on the Amendments to the Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on the Protection of Health of Citizens

The amendments to Articles 24, 31, 32, 33, 43 and 61 of the Fundamentals of the Legislation specifies the norms permitting to render obligatory narcological aid to the underaged - addicts up to 16 years of age and other up to 15 years of age without their consent, however, with consent or at the request of their parents or legal representatives. The raising of the age from 15 to 16 will permit to render necessary medical aid to the underaged who did not fall under obligatory treatment proceeding from the earlier available provisions.

Federal Law No. 150-FZ of December 1, 2004 on the Amendments to the Federal Law on the Fundamentals of the System of Prevention of Unattended and Delinquent Behaviour of the Underaged

The terms "parents" and "legal representatives" used in the Law are being brought in compliance with the norms of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, Paragraph 2 of Item 1 of Article 64 of which states that the parents are being legal representatives of their children. The earlier available wording "parents or legal representatives" permitted to interpret the term "legal representatives" in such a way that legal representatives did not include parents.

Federal Law No. 149-FZ of December 1, 2004 on the Amendments to Articles 24 and 51 of the Federal Law on the Military Duty and the Military Service

The amendments eliminate ambiguity of interpretation of individual norms of Articles 24 ("Deferment from the Draft to the Military Service") and 51 ("Grounds for Dismissal from the Military Service") pertaining to the term "pension age of the elderly". Since the present-day pension legislation does not have the mentioned term, it is replaced with the word combination "citizens of elderly age (women older than 55, men older than 60)".

The Federal Law is entered into force from January 1, 2005.

Federal Law No. 148-FZ of December 1, 2004 on the Amendments to Articles 3 and 6 of the Federal Law on Tobacco Smoking Restrictions

Retail sale of tobacco items is prohibited not only on the territories of and inside the educational institutions, but also within 100 meters from the boundaries of their territories.

The Federal Law is entered into force 180 days after the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 147-FZ of December 1, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 22.1 of the Federal Law on the Service in the Customs Bodies of the Russian Federation

Specifies that after termination of the authority of the employees of the customs bodies elected (assigned) to the legislative (representative) or executive bodies of state power or the bodies of local government, they regain the earlier occupied position. If the earlier occupied position is not available, the mentioned employees may get at their desire a position of equal status at the previous place of service or another place of service rather than any other position.

Federal Law No. 146-FZ of December 1, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 54 of the Federal Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

Drug addicts shall get narcological aid to their request or with their consent, with the underage addicts up to 16 years of age (earlier, 15 years of age) being provided with narcological aid without their consent, however, at the request or with consent of their parents or legal representatives, except for the cases envisaged in the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Federal Law No. 143-FZ of November 30, 2004 on the Amendments to Articles 5, 6 and 14 of the Federal Law on the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

The Judicial Department and its bodies shall finance expenses in the cases processed by the courts and justices of the peace due for reimbursement from the federal budget.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 715 of December 1, 2004 on the Endorsement of the List of Diseases of Social Significance and the List of Diseases Hazardous to the Population

The socially significant diseases include: tuberculosis, infections transmitted through genitals, B and C hepatitis, AIDS, malignant tumours, diabetes mellitus, psychic and behavioural disturbances, high blood pressure diseases.

Diseases hazardous to the population include: AIDS, viral fevers, fevers transmitted by arthropods and viral haemorrhagic fevers, helminthoses, B and C hepatitis, diphtheria, infections transmitted through genitals, leprosy, malaria, pediculosis, acariasis and other infections, equinia and pseudocholera, anthrax, tuberculosis, cholera and plague.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 712 of December 1, 2004 on the Benefits to Individual Categories of Visitors of the Federal State Organisations of Culture

From January 1, 2005 organisations of culture are recommended to institute benefits for children of pre-school age, students, invalids, draft servicemen when they visit paid events arranged by organisations of culture. The benefits are introduced by the order of the head of the organisation of culture defining the types and amounts of benefits, as well as the terms and time of their granting, including the list of the documents permitting to enjoy the benefits. Information on the procedure of visiting of paid measures on beneficial terms is placed in the areas of the buildings of the organisations of culture available for visitors and in mass media.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 705 of December 1, 2004 on the Method of Distribution of Subventions from the Federal Fund of Compensations among the Subjects of the Russian Federation for the Year 2005

Defines the rules of distribution of subventions from the Federal Fund of Compensations among the subjects of the Russian Federation for the year 2005. Distribution is arranged to provide for the financing of expenses to grant benefits for the payment for the housing and communal services to individual categories of citizens, to provide for the state registration of the acts of civil status and to implement the Law of the Russian Federation on the donorship of blood and its components.

The Decision is entered into force from January 1, 2005.