2.1 Entry

Media representatives enter the National Assembly's building from Šubičeva Street. Upon entry, media representatives need to report to the Reception Desk and undergo a security check. Unnecessary items and clothing are deposited in the cloakroom located in the lobby of the Small Hall. Recording equipment (cameras, lights, etc.) may also be deposited in the Press Room and in the Public Relations Office.

During regular working hours of the National Assembly, accredited media representatives may be present on site between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. When various formal activities are taking place in the National Assembly (sessions, conventions, press conferences or other public events), media representatives are allowed to use the premises and the equipment for an additional two hours after the conclusion of the event if the latter ends before 9 p.m., or one hour if the event ends at a later time. Outside working hours, entry is allowed only upon invitation.

Between 15 July and 1 September and between 20 December and 10 January, i.e. outside the regular annual terms according to Article 6 of the Rules of Procedure (parliamentary recess), media representatives may enter the National Assembly only during events announced to take place in the parliamentary building or upon invitation. In this period, the Press Room and the Radio Room are closed, except during announced events.

2.2 Premises for the work of media representatives

The premises for the work of media representatives include:

• Press and Radio Rooms,
• Press Centre,
• premises of the Public Relations Office,
• lobby of the Great Hall,
• lobby of the Small Hall,
• lobby of the halls at Tomšičeva Street,
• lobby of the balcony.

Media representatives may not disturb protocol events, visits or other activities taking place in the lobbies of the halls and the balcony, and are required to comply with the instructions of the National Assembly’s Services.

No radio, TV or photographic equipment nor audio or video recording and photography (regardless of the technical means) are allowed in the restaurant and in the bar at Tomšičeva Street.

2.3. Premises of the deputies and expert services

Entry, recording, photography, taking statements and making interviews on the premises not designated for reporting on National Assembly's work must be agreed in advance by the interested media with the Office of the President of the National Assembly, the deputy groups, the deputies, or the Public Relations Office.

2.4 Recording, photography and loitering by media representatives on the premises of the National Assembly

Recording, photography and loitering by media representatives on the corridors of the National Assembly and in front of the offices of deputy groups, deputies and Services of the National Assembly is not allowed. Exceptionally, upon consent by the representatives of the expert services of the deputy groups, recording in front of the doors of deputy groups is allowed, whereby the movement of deputies from other deputy groups or other persons should not be disturbed.

Recording, photography and loitering by media representatives in front of the rooms where meetings or talks closed to the public are taking place is not allowed. The only exceptions are the photo session held prior to the beginning of the meeting and the recording of arrival of the deputies and guests to the meeting or talks, provided that the photo session is agreed or announced in advance.

No clandestine audio or video recording is allowed. Deputies, employees and visitors of the National Assembly may not be audio or video recorded and photographed without their consent. Consent may also be silent, i.e. when the recorded persons know or see they are being recorded or photographed but do not oppose thereto. Silent consent may not be claimed when the recorded or photographed persons cannot find out that they are being recorded or photographed and thus cannot express disagreement, for example when a journalist, photographer or cameraman have not clearly shown that they are recording or have even concealed their intention.

The openness of work of the National Assembly and its working bodies and the conditions for work of media representatives are provided with the right to directly follow the sessions of the National Assembly and its working bodies, namely by being present at sessions or viewing the sessions of the National Assembly via live broadcasts, with on-line information (www.dz-rs.si), press conferences, public statements, press releases, various materials, etc. Access to information is provided to all media under equal conditions.

Media representatives may access information on the work of the National Assembly as described below.

3.1 Viewing sessions and meetings

Media representatives may view plenary sessions from the balcony of the Great Hall. Meetings of working bodies that are open to the public may be viewed by media representatives in the meeting rooms subject to availability of seats (media representatives are seated in a specific part of the room, and only exceptionally at the meeting table). While following a meeting, media representatives may not disturb the course thereof.

If a meeting room lacks space for media representatives, priority in allocating such is given to representatives of TV broadcasters. Other journalists may follow the meeting via a radio and TV receiver in the Press and Radio Rooms, in the lobby of the Great Hall and on premises designated by the Public Relations Office. Sessions and meetings may also be viewed through web-streaming by RTV Slovenija.

Live broadcasts or productions of plenary sessions, meetings of working bodies and other events are provided by RTV Slovenija in accordance with its editorial policy.

3.2 Photo sessions and recording

Photography and recording outside the official photo sessions is not allowed.

During plenary sessions, the first fifteen (15) minutes at the beginning of each sitting are reserved to photographers and cameramen for a photo session in the Great Hall and on the balcony of the Great Hall. On the first day of each regular session, photography or recording from the centre of the Great Hall is allowed for three (3) minutes before the beginning of the session; otherwise, photography or recording is possible from a specific spot behind the last row of deputies' seats.

At meetings of the working bodies that are open to the public, photography and recording is allowed throughout the meeting.

At formal and commemorative sessions or other exceptional events taking place in the Great Hall, no 15-minute photo session is held as photographers and cameramen may be present in the Hall at all times. On such events, no photo session is held on the balcony of the Great Hall unless specifically organised by the Public Relations Office. At formal and other special sessions of the National Assembly, cameramen and photographers enter and exit the Great Hall through the door on the right and comply with the instructions given by the staff of the Public Relations Office.

For certain special events (oaths of office, speeches, etc.), additional photo sessions are exceptionally provided. Photos of all events are posted on the National Assembly’s website in their original size; with the indication of the source (Photo: author/National Assembly), they can be freely downloaded and used in reporting on the events in the National Assembly.

On other public events taking place in the Great Hall in addition to sessions (public presentations of opinions, lectures, celebrations, seminars, children's parliament, etc.), photographers and cameramen may be present in the hall at all times, while photography and video recording is also permitted from the balcony. If such events are not broadcast by RTV Slovenija, tripods may be used.

For photography and video recording in the Great Hall and in both halls at Tomšičeva Street, only monopods may be used. The use of additional lights is not allowed.

Placing photo and video cameras on deputies’ seats and desks is not allowed.

In the halls at Tomšičeva Street, it is not allowed to enter into the centre of the round tables where remote movable cameras are installed.

Close-up photography and video recording of documents or electronic devices’ screens is not allowed.

The Public Relations Office updates media representatives on photo sessions at protocol events and directs photographers and cameramen during such events.

To produce “silent recordings” and TV reports or report live from the National Assembly, media representatives must send a written request to the Public Relations Office.

Photographs and TV recordings from the National Assembly may be used only for reporting on the work of the National Assembly and may not be used for commercial purposes (use of recordings for advertising, promotional, sales purposes, etc.).

3.3 Public statements
The Public Relations Office, the PR representative in the Office of the President of the National Assembly or the PR representatives in deputy groups inform media representatives of any public statements after the event that is closed to the public in due time.

If a session or meeting is closed to the public, the Public Relations Office organises, as a general rule, a public statement where the person responsible (President or Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly, Chairs of working bodies) reports to media representatives. Statements may not be given in the corridors of the National Assembly, but only in specifically designated areas.

In the National Assembly’s building, public statements are, as a rule, organised in:

• the Press Centre,
• the lobby of the Great Hall,
• the lobby of the balcony, or
• the lobby of the halls at Tomšičeva Street.

Recording statements at UHF CH 43 frequencies (647.000 MHz–654.000 MHz) is not allowed.

3.4 Announcement of events and press releases

A regular task of the Public Relations Office and the PR representative in the Office of the President of the National Assembly is reporting on the events and on the work of the President and other leading officials of the National Assembly, its working bodies and expert services in the form of press releases. Announcements of events and press releases relate to activities taking place in the National Assembly and those taking place abroad and attended by representatives of the National Assembly. The Public Relations Office prepares the relevant material which it e-mails to the media or publishes on the website.

When filing the application for accreditation, journalists may also express interest in receiving information on the work of the National Assembly provided by the Public Relations Office. All media representatives, even if not accredited, may request to be put on the mailing list to receive e-mails.

3.5 RSS

Representatives of the media and of the interested public may subscribe on the National Assembly’s website to receive RSS messages for the areas they cover.

3.6 Organisation of interviews

The Public Relations Office is responsible for organising statements and interviews of Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly, the Secretary General, the Chairs of working bodies, the Heads of delegations, the responsible staff of the National Assembly and the visitors in the National Assembly. The PR representative in the Office of the President of the National Assembly is responsible for organising statements and interviews of the President of the National Assembly. The PR representative in the deputy groups are responsible for organising statements and interviews of other deputies.

3.7 Providing the conditions for the work of foreign media representatives

The Public Relations Office provides all necessary conditions for the work of foreign media representatives; they are provided equal conditions in the National Assembly as domestic media representatives.

3.8 Exceptional cases

In exceptional cases and following the proposal of the Public Relations Office, the Secretary General determines on a case-by-case basis other conditions than those described in the Conditions for the Work of Media Representatives in the National Assembly.

The National Assembly expects media representatives to comply in their work with the provisions of the House Rules and the provisions of these Conditions for Work of Media Representatives in the National Assembly.

The National Assembly also expects media representatives:

• to respect the reputation and role of the institution and the privacy and personal integrity of the deputies, the visitors and the staff of the National Assembly,
• to observe the agreement on retention of any pre-written press releases (embargo) obtained from an official until a set moment or until delivery,
• to enter their names on the list of attendance at meetings of working bodies or other public events and at press conferences, if such list is made available,
• to introduce themselves and state the name of the medium they are working for when asking questions at press conferences and public statements,
• not to move around deputies' desks in the Great Hall of the National Assembly,
• not to use the equipment in the Press Room for private purposes,
• to wear suitable clothing.

In their work, media representatives should also observe:

• the instructions of the elected and appointed officials and other authorised representatives of the National Assembly (concerning working meetings based on the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly regarding restrictions or exclusion of the public),
• the instructions received from the competent persons in the Public Relations Office, in the Office of the President of the National Assembly, and from the leading officials of the National Assembly,
• the instructions of the Security Service of the National Assembly.

The deputy groups, the deputies and the staff employed in deputy groups communicate with media representatives independently: they independently prepare and present written public statements, organise press releases and press conferences of deputy group representatives, and inform the media about the events in the deputy group.

In addition to the Conditions for Work of Media Representatives in the National Assembly, deputy groups also follow their own internal rules or deputy groups' agreements.

Deputy groups send invitations for press conferences and press releases by e-mail also to the Public Relations Office for information.
The rooms hosting the deputy groups' offices are accessible to media representatives only upon invitation or prior personal agreement with a deputy or deputy group representative.

In the offices of deputy groups and individual deputies, photography and recording of statements and interviews is only allowed upon prior agreement with deputy groups representatives or individual deputies.

Deputy groups’ representatives independently inform the Reception Desk and the Security Service of the National Assembly about media activities of deputy groups and provide for order in the corridors in front of deputy groups’ offices.

The staff of the National Assembly not employed in deputy groups may give public statements only upon consent of the Secretary General and provided that the Public Relations Office is informed thereof. Likewise, the staff of the National Assembly is obliged to forward any received or written question or statement request by the press to the Public Relations Office. The Secretary General decides who will prepare such information and deliver it to the public.

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These Conditions begin to apply on the day of their publication on the National Assembly's information board and website.

Ljubljana, 20 December 2016

Secretary General

Uršula Zore Tavčar