Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 28.12.2005

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 12-P of December 19, 2005 on the Case of Constitutionality of Paragraph 8 of Item 1 of Article 20 of the Federal Law on Insolvency (Bankruptcy) Pursuant to the Appeal of Citizen A.G.Mezhentsev

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognised as constitutional Paragraph 8 of Item 1 of Article 20 of the Federal Law on insolvency (bankruptcy) obliging bankruptcy commissioners to be members of one of self-regulating organisations of bankruptcy commissioners. It emphasised that since activities of the bankruptcy commissioner is of public and legal nature, this permits the legislator to present special requirements pertaining to obligatory membership in a professional association. Therefore, such associations may not act on the voluntary principle characteristic of non-commercial organisations created by citizens exclusively on the basis of common interests.

Replacement of licensing of activities of bankruptcy commissioners (envisaged in the Law on bankruptcy of 1998) with an alternative mechanism of state regulation of such activities was stipulated by the administrative reform carried out in the Russian Federation, when interference of the state in economic activities of the subjects of entrepreneurial activities must be restricted. At the same time, the state may impose for all citizens wishing to engage in publicly significant activities, which is the one of the bankruptcy commissioners, obligatory conditions, in particular, the membership in a self-regulating organisation prerequisite. Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court specified that the state represented by its legislative bodies may refine this procedure to implement the rights of interested parties and exclude opportunities of abuse of the rights on the part of officials of self-regulating organisations of bankruptcy commissioners.

The Decision is entered into force immediately after annunciation.

Decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 26 of December 20, 2005 on the Issue Having Emerged after Adoption by the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of the Decision No. 7 of April 5, 2005 on the Amendments to the Decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 35 of December 14, 2000 on Some Issues of the Cases of Implementation by Invalids of the Rights Guaranteed in the Law of the Russian Federation on the Social Protection of Citizens Having Been Exposed to Radiation because of the Disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station

Decision on the indexing of amounts of compensation for the damage to citizens having become victims of the Chernobyl disaster without explanations available in the Decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 35 of December 14, 2000 shows the presence of a judicial error, and such decision may not be recognised as fair. Revision of the decision or another judicial decision adopted before rectification of explanations is not excluded even if there is no opportunity to revoke it, change it or adopt a new decision by the court of enforcement instance because of the expiry of the time limit. Similar judicial act may not be revised according to the procedure specified for decisions having entered into legal force in view of the new available circumstances.

Otherwise, the violated constitutional right of invalids for reimbursement of the damage having occurred through a technical disaster remains unprotected, and they will find themselves in unequal standing as compared to the invalids whose judicial decisions may be revised by enforcement instance.

Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No. 244 of December 20, 2005 on the Endorsement of the Procedure of Providing Information Available in the Federal Register of Normative Legal Acts of the Subjects of the Russian Federation

Defines general principles of organisation of work to provide information available in the Federal Register of Normative Legal Acts of the Subjects of the Russian Federation, composition of such information and terms of access to them for the bodies of state power, bodies of local government, legal entities, citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless persons.

Providing information available in the Federal Register shall be vested in the Scientific Centre of Legal Information of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, directorates of the Ministry of Justice of Russia in the federal districts and structural divisions of the directorates of the Ministry of Justice of Russia in the federal districts of the subjects of the Russian Federation within the federal district.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on December 26, 2005. Reg. No. 7318.

Order of the Federal Service for Financial Markets No. 05-74/pz-n of December 8, 2005 on the Amendments to the Regulation on the Reports of the Specialised Depositary of Operations with Resources of Accumulated Pensions Endorsed by the Order of the Federal Service for Financial Markets No. 05-12/pz-n of April 20, 2005

Refines the time limit of submission by the specialised depositary having concluded the contract for the services to the Pension Fund of the report of the types and cost of securities. The mentioned report shall be submitted to the Federal Service for Financial Markets of Russia and the Pension Fund on the monthly basis no later than within 10 working days after the day of the end of the reported month. Earlier, this report was submitted no later than the 10th of the month following the reported one. The amendments are introduced, in particularly, because of the impossibility to fulfil the previous requirement because of the ten-day-long New Year vacation.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on December 26, 2005. Reg. No. 7314.

Order of the Federal Service for Financial Markets No. 05-53/pz-n of October 27, 2005 on the Endorsement of the Procedure of Committing Marginal Transactions by Professional Participants of the Securities Market Engaged in Broker Activities for a Certain Client Category

Specifies the requirements to the client whose orders may be fulfilled by the broker to carry out marginal operations, as well as the requirements to the brokers who may carry out such operations.

The category of increased risk may include a client with the amount of monetary recourses on the internal account being at least Rbl 600,000, using broker services for at least six months and carrying out marginal transactions for at least three months. The amount of own resources of the broker in this case must be at least Rbl 10 million.

Brokers must keep a register of such clients and notify them of the decision to include or exclude the client no later than the end of the working day following the day of adoption of such decision.

When carrying out such transactions to client orders, the brokers may set the margin limit in the amount of at least 25%, discount value at least 15%, margin level for sending claims at least 20%.

The Order is entered into force from April 1, 2006.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on December 26, 2005. Reg. No. 7311.

Order of the Federal Service for Financial Markets No. 05-52/pz-n of October 27, 2005 on the Endorsement of the Regulation on the Requirements to the Financial Standing and Business Reputation of Participants of Credit History Bureaus

Assessment of the financial standing of the participant of the bureau is carried out if he possesses more than 5% of stocks (shares) of the credit history bureau personally or together with affiliated entities.

For credit history bureau participants being legal entities, the following requirement to the financial standing apply: cost of net assets of the bureau participant possessing more than 25% of the stocks (shares) of the bureau must be at least Rbl 3 million as of the end of each of the two most recent fiscal years preceding the year of purchase of the share (contribution) in the registered (shared) capital of the bureau by the bureau participant. Bureau participant must exist for at least two years, and the cost of the purchased share (contribution) in the registered capital of the bureau must not be greater than the cost of his net assets as of the moment of purchase of the share (contribution). Besides, the bureau participant must not have debts in taxes and fees as of the date of submission of application to enter the record in the state register of credit history bureaus.

For natural persons, the following requirements are specified: total volume of incomes of the bureau participant possessing more than 25% of stocks (shares) of the bureau for each of the two most recent calendar years preceding the year of purchase of the share (contribution) in the registered (shared) capital of the bureau must be greater than Rbl 300,000. The cost of the purchased share of participation (contribution) in the registered (shared) capital of the bureau must not be greater than 25% of the total volume of incomes of the bureau participant for the two most recent calendar years preceding the year of purchase of the share (contribution).

Requirements to the business reputation of bureau participants have been defined. In particular, participants must not be called to account for the two most recent years for violations of the legislation on the bank, commercial, service and/or tax secret.

The Order lists the documents submitted to the Federal Service for Financial Markets of Russia to confirm the financial standing and business reputation of the participants of credit history bureaus.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on December 26, 2005. Reg. No. 7308.

Order of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation No. 757 of December 5, 2005 on the Urgent Measures to Provide Medicines to AIDS Patients

Specifies the main principles of organisation of work to provide medicines released free of charge to doctor prescriptions for treatment and prevention of AIDS infection in the centres for prevention and combating AIDS and infectious diseases, as well as in medical treatment and prevention and apothecary institutions. Medicines are provided to grown-ups and children observed in dispensaries, as well as the citizens needing preventive AIDS treatment. Also defines the procedure of organisation of work of the centre for prevention and combating of AIDS and infectious diseases.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on December 22, 2005. Reg. No. 7294.

Direction of the Central Bank of Russia No. 1644-U of December 23, 2005

From December 26, 2005, the interest rate for the overnight credit is reduced from 13% to 12% annual.

Letter of the Central Bank of Russia No. 160-T of December 26, 2005

In addition to information drawn up to reporting form 0409605 "Information on the Residues of Resources of Credit Organisations and State Management Bodies on the Accounts Opened in the Central Bank of the Russian Federation" as of January 10, 2006, information as of January 1, 2006 drawn up to the mentioned form must also be submitted simultaneously (without operations of 2006).

Letter of the Central Bank of Russia No. 157-T of December 23, 2005 on the Procedure of Application of the Letter of the Bank of Russia No. 98-T of July 13, 2005

Reports that the Letter of the Bank of Russia No. 98-T of July 13, 2005 on the methodology recommendations on the application of the Instruction of the Bank of Russia No. 59 of March 31, 1997 on the application of measures of intervention to credit organisations in cases of violation by credit organisations of the normative legal acts in the sphere of combating of legalisation (laundering) of incomes obtained in a criminal way and financing of terrorism is of recommended nature.

The given Letter must not be applied formally without analysis of all information available with the territorial institutions of the Bank of Russia on the nature, danger and reasons of available violations, general assessment of work of credit organisations in execution of the requirements of the legislation in the sphere of combating of legalisation (laundering) of incomes obtained in a criminal way and financing of terrorism.

Letter of the Central Bank of Russia No. 150-T of December 21, 2005 on the List of Organisations

The list of organisations whose promissory notes (claims rights under credit contracts) may be accepted as a security under credits of the Bank of Russia, as well as organisations that may acts as guarantors for the promissory notes (claims rights under credit contracts) accepted as a security under credits of the Bank of Russia, does not include now the Tyumen Oil Company because of the termination of activities of this company in the form of incorporation in the OAO TNK - VR Holding.

Letter of the Central Bank of Russia No. 149-T of December 21, 2005 on the Exclusion of Securities from the Lombard List of the Bank of Russia

In view of the conversion of the bonds of the Tyumen Oil Company into the bonds of the OAO TNK-VR Holding, the mentioned bonds possessing the state registration number of issue 4-05-00168-A (first tranche) are excluded from the Lombard List of the Bank of Russia.