Accreditation - Basic Rules and Information
Journalists work in the Chamber of Deputies on the basis of a valid accreditation provided by the Chamber’s Press Department.
The accreditation system for journalists in the Chamber of Deputies is comparable to the practice of issuing press accreditation in other European parliaments. It is a general rule for each Parliament that a valid accreditation is a primary condition that allows journalists to enter and pursue their work.
The Chamber of Deputies recognizes two types of accreditation: permanent and single-use.
Permanent accreditation is issued for the four-year term of the session of the Chamber of Deputies or during the session and terminates upon expiry of the four-year term of the Chamber.
Single-use accreditation is issued to mass media workers exclusively for a selected event or for a specific issue to be monitored within the premises of the Chamber of Deputies. It applies, for example, to the sittings of Chamber of Deputies‘ committees or commissions, organization of specialized seminars, openings, etc. Permanent and single-use accreditations are issued exclusively for the professional purposes of mass media workers in the Chamber of Deputies.
Subject to compliance with the specified conditions – editorial request, editor-in-chief’s authorization for the specific person to work in parliamentary reporting for a specific magazine/newspaper (for a sample request see below) and a waiting period of at least three months – the Press Department of the Chamber of Deputies provides permanent accreditation to enter the Chamber of Deputies for journalistic purposes. The accreditation has the form of a chip card with a photograph to ensure the required identification.
Journalists without permanent accreditation will receive a badge with the word „TISK“ (PRESS) at the reception desk and if they necessarily need to work in the corridors of the Chamber of Deputies, they may apply for a blue card at the Press Department, which they will receive subject to presentation of their press card. This special measure for entry to the corridors of the Chamber of Deputies has been introduced to provide higher protection of the guarded areas at the Assembly Hall that are not automatically accessible to all journalists with a single-use accreditation for work in the press gallery or in the Press Centre.
During plenary sessions, there are about 140 journalists and 11 TV crews, i.e. about 150 persons, working in the Chamber of Deputies. Similarly to all other Parliaments, the journalists in the Chamber of Deputies shall comply with the safety rules defined in the Guideline for Protection of Chamber of Deputies Buildings.
The principles for professional conduct, including the conditions for accreditation in the Chamber of Deputies, are determined by the Press Department. One of the essential prerequisites is that there are certain dressing rules applicable to grant access to the Chamber of Deputies‘ buildings. All persons wearing sandals, shorts, T-shirts, hats or otherwise unsuitable clothes are deemed to be dressed inappropriately.
We understand that mass media workers may not always know accurately and in time that their working duties would bring them to the Parliament, but we have to insist on at least fundamentally tolerable dressing required for accreditation to enter the building. We consider long trousers, a shirt and a jacket to be the standard clothing for men, while women should avoid bare shoulders, shorts and excessively short skirts.
We would like to point out that in case a journalist wears unsuitable clothes, he/she may not be even admitted to the Chamber of Deputies‘ building, which may threaten upcoming news coverage, footage or broadcast, and this is not our fault.