25. 04. 2013

FORTY-SECOND MONITORING REPORT

Here are the highlights of the Monitoring Report for March 2013:

Freedom of expression - the part of the Report concerning pressures and threats treated five cases from this period indicating possible violations of freedom of expression, as well as unfavorable conditions for the work of media and journalists in Serbia: an attempt to influence the editorial policy of the Vojvodina public service broadcaster (RTV ) by a high SPS official; pressure on journalist of the portal "Pistaljka" to reveal the source of information used in the article about the controversial procurement at the Blood Transfusion Institute of Serbia; bomb attack on the home of the businessman and owner of "Telegraf.rs" portal, possibly connected to the writing of the portal; pressure, insults and personal disqualifications by the Mesihat of the Islamic Community addressed to journalist of the daily "Danas" in their press release relating to the article about the rebel of a group of imams against the Mufti; an incident connected to the dismissal of the director of Novi Pazar TV Jedinstvo, which is, at least according to the media reports, politically motivated - this case illustrates fundamental shortcomings of the legal framework for the media in Serbia. The part of the Report dealing with court proceedings includes: analysis of the judgment of the Appellate Court in Belgrade, in the case Nikola Sandulović Vs. Publisher, editor and journalist of the daily "Danas", which, according to the authors of the Report, raises standards of freedom of expression in Serbia; analysis of the case of sentencing a journalist to imprisonment for failing to pay the fine ordered by the court for defamation, despite it has been decriminalized in the recent amendments to the Criminal Code.

Implementation of existing laws - the authors analyze the implementation of the Broadcasting Law, namely the manner in which the RBA has applied the provisions of the said law pertaining to the supervision of work of broadcasters and the regulators' authority to sanction broadcasters, all in relation to a controversial statement made by a participant in the TV Pink reality show "Farma - Pregled" about his relationship with a minor, as well as regarding the temporary revocation of broadcasting license to Radio Fokus.

In the part of the Report treating the adoption of new laws, the authors deal with the public discussion on the Draft Law on Public Information and Media, with the topic that was in the focus of roundtables held within the debate, as well as with what the discussion has revealed about a particular group of media.

The work of competent authorities - regulatory bodies: in this period, the RBA Council ended the procedure of issuing licenses for broadcasting of RTV program in regional and local areas - the authors point to a problematic decision to grant the license; by paying a part of its revenues to a separate account of the Film Center of Serbia, Ratel has fulfilled its obligation imposed by the Law on Cinematography - the authors suggest why such an obligation is disputable and what are its practical consequences for the media; Press Council has extended its jurisdiction by amending the Statute - the authors specifically point out a significant novelty that could contribute to the increase of Council's influence; state authorities: the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, the Anti-Corruption Agency and the Ombudsman have published their annual reports on the work for year 2012 and each of these reports contain important information for the media and about the media - the authors analyze the findings in these reports, and in particular, address the issue of (lack of) transparency of media ownership, which was underlined in two out of three above-mentioned reports.

The process of digitalization - the authors deal with conducted and announced activities of the competent authorities relating to the improvement of the regulatory framework necessary for the successful implementation of the digitalization process - adopted amendments to the Digitalization Strategy and Action Plan, anticipated adoption of key regulatory documents - the Switch-off Plan and other significant documents/acts.

The process of privatization - starting from the Draft Law on Public Information and Media, as well as the opinions voiced during the public discussion on the draft law, the authors point to the ill effects of possible decision of the state not to finish privatization of the media.

Conclusion of the Report - summing up the findings of the most important events in the media sector, the authors point to the rare positive and negative aspects of the media situation in Serbia in this period.

The Forty-second Monitoring Report is done by an expert team of ANEM Legal Department, law office "Zivkovic&Samardzic", in cooperation with ANEM. It can be downloaded here, whole or in part, by clicking on the selected section below.

http://serbia.nlembassy.org/

The content of this Report is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The content of this Report is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Open Society Foundation, Serbia.

Section FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION here
Section MONITORING OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING REGULATIONS here
Section MONITORING OF ADOPTION OF NEW LAWS here
Section MONITORING OF THE ACTIVITIES OF REGULATORY BODIES, AUTHORITIES AND COLLECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS here
Section MONITORING OF THE DIGITALIZATION PROCESS here
Section MONITORING OF THE PRIVATIZATION PROCESS here
Section OVERALL CONCLUSION here
The COMPLETE REPORT can be downloaded here