Civil control is a key mechanism of counteracting and suppressing corruption and represents one of the main functions of civil society. The first phase of civil control consists in systematic monitoring of decisions and actions of public power organs and of their functionaries; the second phase – in social expert examination of such decisions and actions; and the final phase – in public presentation of the results of the said expert examination to the authorities and society. In the working of the civil control mechanism, the function of the driving belt is realized by mass media.