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07. 04. 2014

DECISION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DETERMINES DISPUTED PROVISIONS OF THE LAW ON CINEMATOGRAPHY UNCONSTITUTIONAL

On 30 May 2012, ANEM submitted to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia the Initiative for assessing the constitutionality of disputed provisions of the Law on Cinematography (Article 19, Paragraph 1, Points 3 and 4) which stipulate that the funds for the development of cinematography will be secured, inter alia, by allocating a part of funding of the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RBA) (20%) and the Republic Agency for Electronic Communications (RATEL) (10%), which they generate by collecting fees from broadcasters (RBA), or from broadcasters, telecommunications operators and other fees (RATEL). ANEM was of opinion that the implementation of these provisions, which undermine the system of financing regulatory bodies for broadcasting and electronic communications, can have adverse consequences for the operation of media, and for the independence of regulatory bodies, and thus also for the functioning of the sectors of broadcasting and electronic communications in Serbia. In the Initiative, ANEM provided arguments which explain why ANEM considers the disputed provisions to be in direct collision with the Constitution, with the current regulation pertaining to broadcasting and with the Media Strategy, as well as with the relevant European regulation. ANEM proposed that the Constitutional Court establishes that the disputed provisions of the Law on Cinematography are not in conformity with the Constitution.


In the Initative, ANEM cited, among other sources, the existing international standards of human and minority rights in the field of the protection of freedom of expression, defined by the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe no. 23 of 2000 on the independence and functions of regulatory authorities for the broadcasting sector. According to the Recommendation, funding represents a key element of the independence of regulatory bodies and should be regulated by law in accordance with a clearly defined plan. The same Recommendation further states that public authorities shall not exercise their jurisdiction regarding financing in a way that would interfere with the independence of regulatory bodies, as well as that the funding mechanisms of regulatory bodies shall not depend on anyone's ad-hoc decisions.

In its ruling of 18 December 2013, the Constitutional Court initiated the procedure for the assessment of constitutionality of the disputed provision of the Law.

Having completed the procedure, the Constitutional Court, in the session held on 3 April 2014, passed a Decision by which it established that disputed provisions are not in conformity with the Constitution. 

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