18. 01. 2014

UNCONSTITUTIONAL MEDDLING IN THE ELECTION OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTERS' EDITORS

Belgrade, January 18, 2014 (Dnevnik) - The Constitutional Court of Serbia established that several provisions of the Law on National Minorities' Councils are not in accordance with the Constitution, mainly those concerning education, culture and information.

Disputed legal provisions concern the transfer of founders' rights over educational-pedagogic institutions where teaching is conducted solely in the language of a national minority, cultural institutions the main activity of which is preservation and development of a national minority's culture, and institutions which perform public information solely in the language of a national minority.

The provision of the Article 20 of the Law is also disputed, which stipulates that the National Council provides an opinion in the procedure of the appointment of the members of the managing board, programming board and director general of the Broadcasting Institution of Serbia (RTS) and the Broadcasting Institution of Vojvodina (RTV), if such an institution broadcasts program in the language of a national minority, but also establishes criteria for the election of the responsible editor of the program in the language of a national minority in a public service broadcaster. 

The Constitutional Court established that several provisions of the Law on National Minorities' Councils are not in accordance with the Constitution, mainly those concerning education, culture and information. In  a session held on Thursday, presided by the president of the Constitutional Court Dr Dragisa Slijepcevic, legal provisions were disputed which concern the transfer of founders' rights over educational-pedagogic institutions where teaching is conducted solely in the language of a national minority, cultural institutions the main activity of which is preservation and development of a national minority's culture, and institutions which perform public information solely in the language of a national minority.

In the explanation published yesterday on the website of the Constitutional Court of Serbia, it is stated that the Court,  basing its opinion on the fact that the Constitution defines precisely four areas in which national minorities through their national councils and with the aim of preserving their identity realize additional, collective rights, and these are: education, culture, information and the official use of language and alphabet, established that the provision providing for competencies of the national council in other areas of importance for the preservation of identity of national minorities is not in accordance with the Constitution.

Furthermore, another disputed provision is that of the Article 20 of the Law,  which states that the National Council provides an opinion in the procedure of the appointment of the members of the managing board, programming board and director general of the the Broadcasting Institution of Serbia (RTS) and the Broadcasting Institution of Vojvodina (RTV) if such an institution broadcasts program in the language of a national minority, but also establishes criteria for the election of the responsible editor of the program in the language of a national minority in a public service broadcaster.  The Constitutional Court of Serbia also considers unconstitutional the provision which states that the National Council can suggest to the managing board of a broadcasting institution the appointment of a responsible editor of the program in the language of a national minority from the pool of candidates which apply for the position and match the requirements outlined in the call for candidates.

Another provision which was deemed unconstitutional is the one stipulating that the Republic, the Province of Vojvodina, or a unit of local self-government, as a founder of public enterprises and institutions which wholly or mainly inform the public in the language of a national minority can, in agreement with the national council, wholly or in part transfer founders' rights to the national council. 

Providing the reasoning for the decision, the Constitutional Court of Serbia called on its earlier decision that the Republic and the Province of Vojvodina cannot be founders of broadcast media, as well as on the provisions of the new Law on Public Enterprises according to which neither the Republic or the Autonomous Province, nor a unit of self-government, can be founders of media. The Court thus established that constitutionally and legally it is not possible to prescribe by this law the  transfer of founders' rights over media to a national council.

However, the Court particularly stressed that the unconstitutionality of the said legal provision does not bring into question the transfer of founders' rights conducted over certain media so far.

The Constitutional Court stated that „Although disputable constitutional and legal issues arose before the Constitutional Court pertaining to a certain number of legal provisions regarding which a procedure for the assessment of constitutionality was initiated, the Court has, bearing in mind the need to provide as broad as possible fulfilment of collective rights of national minorities, established that these provisions are not in the collision with the Constitution if they are interpreted and applied under conditions and limitations contained  in this decision of the Constitutional Court".