Official secret: types and concept. Interpretation of the Federal Law on Official Secret

In our article, we would like to talk about official secrets. Very often we hear about this concept, but what exactly it means is not entirely clear. Let's take a closer look at this topic.

Types of Secrets

All secrets can be divided into the following types:

1. State.
2. A commercial.
3. Service.
4. Personal.

Naturally, the first type is the most protected and protected - state secret, since its non-observance can lead to a violation of national security. According to the definition of Russian law, this can include information on foreign policy, economic, intelligence, military, search activities of the state.

What is official secret?

The law does not unambiguously define this concept. However, analyzing normative acts, one can reveal the essence and signs of classifying data as official secret.

So, official secrecy is that information to which access is limited by special bodies, as well as federal laws (on the contributions of the population, information on adoption, people's diseases). It is categorically not subject to disclosure unless the data is requested by the competent authorities.

And now let's talk about what is official and commercial secret. Is there a difference between them and what is it?

There is a presidential decree of March 6, 1997 No. 188 “On approval of a list of confidential information”. So, in this document it is said that the difference between these concepts is that commercial secret is that information that is directly related to commercial activity, but official secret is that information access to which is limited by state authorities.

To understand the essence of the latter concept, it is necessary to refer to the decree No. 1233, approved 03.11.94. It explains the procedure for handling official data. This document is aimed at resolving all issues that arise regarding the information. It provides an explanation of the "For official needs" data privacy stamp.

The provision says that the data of limited use are classified as unclassified information, however, data on the activities of the enterprise may well not be disclosed when necessary. Such a document gives an order to the heads of the federal executive services within their capabilities to identify officials who, in turn, classify official data as limited distribution, to protect them.

So, we can say that the holders of official secrets can be all employees who are employees of state bodies of executive, legislative, judicial power, as well as all structures subordinate to them.

In any organization, a procedure for the implementation of tasks and goals is defined, there is a system of reporting, document control, etc. Information of such a plan can be called official secret. The amount of this information is determined by managers.

Service Secret Examples

Tax secret. According to the tax code of the Russian Federation, tax secrecy is any information about taxpayers that is received by tax authorities. Data about a person, if he is an entrepreneur, is also a secret (personal data).

In this case, the disclosure of data is the transfer or use of commercial information about the taxpayer, which became known to the tax officer.In this case, tax secret is a trade secret.

Data received by government agencies have a certain storage mode and special protection technologies. Only certain officials have access to them.

Official secret of the registry office

Information that has become known to the registry office employee is also confidential. Information should be restricted only to those who have the right to do so. Civil status data is not subject to disclosure. These include birth, adoption, change of name and surname, marriage or divorce.

The registry office management can provide information on acts only at the request of the court, prosecutor's office, investigation or inquiry bodies. As you can see, the secrecy of the record can also be attributed to official secrets. In general, almost all information and documentation can be attributed to this concept. Indeed, not a single paper of absolutely any organization is not intended for prying eyes.

Protection of official secrets

I must say that official information and official secret are somewhere very close concepts. This may include all confidential data that circulate in government bodies. However, this should also apply to commercial organizations. In their circulation is also a mass of documents. This information constituting an official secret is also not subject to disclosure. Non-state structures should develop their provisions regarding this concept.

To do this, you can develop a document in which a list of securities with the signature stamp “For official use only” is indicated. Moreover, each unit can have its own position, because it is no secret that even different departments have access to various documents and information. All this can then be reduced to a single list for the entire organization. In this way, confidentiality protection can be organized.

I must say that the confidentiality stamp is used in many countries. For example, in the USA any commercial information which gets to a person in the course of his work.

Limited Information

The category "official secret" - information that is not subject to disclosure - includes such documents:

1. Legislation regarding the legal status of state structures, public associations rights and property of citizens of the country.
2. Information about emergency situations, dangerous environmental processes and natural phenomena, epidemiological situation.
3. The structure of executive bodies, their functions, directions and forms of implementation.
4. The order of consideration of the submitted documents.
5. Decisions on submitted papers.
6. Information about the budget and use of state resources, as well as the state of the economy.
7. Documentation that accumulates in archives and information networks of organizations.

In general, experts are concerned that the concept of “state and official secret” includes that information by which it is possible to judge the facts of violation of the law by state structures, as well as their officials. And such omissions allow officials to completely restrict access to official investigations of the work of the state apparatus and many other shortcomings. Although maximum openness in this area could be the main stimulus for the healthy functioning of power structures.

According to the Regulation, the leadership of federal executive organizations, in the context of their competence, establishes the category of officials who are authorized to attribute documents or official information to a limited distribution group, thereby ensuring its protection.

Secret Information

Information constituting an official secret:

1. Data on the management of organizations and their employees (professional qualities, criminal records, personal data, residential addresses, work experience).
2. Documentation on the structure of the enterprise, methods of its management and staff training.
3. Information on capital investments, securities, bank accounts.
4. Information about sources of financing, transactions and contracts.
5. The creditworthiness of the enterprise, the state of its material and technical base.

The disclosure of official secrets can bring enormous material and financial damage to the organization and even damage its reputation. And therefore, its preservation is an indispensable condition for the work of the enterprise.

It is clear that official secret is not a state secret, however, its legal regime is established by state and non-state bodies.

What information should be classified as official secrets?

Information can be classified as official confidentiality if it meets the following criteria:

1. According to the Federal Law, it refers to official information on the functioning of state structures, access to which is severely limited due to official needs (such a law has not yet been developed).
2. It is purely confidential information of other persons (bank secret, commercial secret, privacy of personal life).
3. Not a state secret.
4. Received by an employee of a state structure due to official use.

Having analyzed the legal norms Art. 139 The Civil Code of the Russian Federation, as well as government decrees of 1994, can define official secrets as confidential information about the work of government agencies, protected by law, and limited in access due to official necessity.

Other options are possible.

For example, official secrets are unclassified data that are limited in distribution due to official necessity in the bodies of the state apparatus and subordinate units.

Official Secrecy Act

Earlier, the category “official secret” was used to determine information related to the “Secret” stamp, and criminal liability was provided for its disclosure. Now this article has been removed from the Criminal Code, and its previous interpretation is not used in the legal field due to the fact that the Law on State Secret was adopted in July 1993.

Currently data from classified as "Secret" enter state secret. I would like to note that the use of such a neck is unacceptable for documents of categories other than state ones. This is specified in Section 8 of the Law.

However, the Civil Code of Russia, which entered into force in 1995, provides for the concept of “official secret”, even the category “commercial secret” has been singled out. And this is a very important point, which was previously considered in a completely different light.

Article 139 of the Code states that official and commercial confidentiality occurs when there is information that is of financial interest to third parties. There is no free access to such data and their legal owner takes the necessary measures to maintain confidentiality.

In addition, such information is protected by the Code and other laws.

There is also a draft Federal Law “On Commercial Secrets”, in which it is planned to ensure the preservation of official secrets when transferring documents marked “commercial secrets” to state structures (Article 18, draft Law).

For its disclosure provides for criminal liability of the Criminal Code, in contrast to commercial (Art. 183).

If previously official secret could be divided into two types, one of which was classified as “Secret”, and the second was a commercial secret, now such a division does not make sense. In general, up to sixty-five kinds of secrets can be found in the law. But the fact is that many of them mean almost the same thing, either their meanings are so tightly intertwined that it is difficult to separate, or they are special cases of more general concepts.

What threatens the disclosure of official data?

The disclosure of information that constitutes official confidentiality leads to administrative or criminal liability.It all depends on the circumstances of the violation.

Administrative punishment

Official secrets - information that is not subject to disclosure. For its violation, administrative officials may be brought to responsibility who violated the confidentiality of information.

Article 15.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides in such cases a fine in the amount of thirty thousand rubles to fifty, as well as deprivation of office for a term of one to two years.

Criminal liability

There are several rules in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation regarding liability for non-compliance with official secrets:

1. Disclosure of adoption information (Article 155 of the Criminal Code of Russia). A fine of up to eighty thousand rubles or imprisonment of up to four months is provided.
2. Disclosure of data on activities undertaken with respect to judges or a criminal case participant (Article 311 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Penalties of up to two hundred thousand rubles or imprisonment of up to five years may be applied.
3. Employee Security Disclosures law enforcement (Article 320 of the Criminal Code of Russia). Sanctions are the same as in article 311.

An important point is that the position of a civil servant or an employee of law enforcement agencies implies the impossibility of its occupation by a person who has a criminal record. This means that a person who has violated official secrets is automatically dismissed on negative grounds.