The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK) submitted on Tuesday to the Constitutional Court its comments against the Law on the Independent Media Commission (IMC), opposing it as “unconstitutional” and against the freedom of the media.
This law, approved by the Assembly of Kosovo in July despite all the criticism, provides, among other things, the licensing of online media, their monitoring and fines of up to 40 thousand euros.
The head of AGK, Xhemajl Rexha, who together with the media lawyer, Flutura Kusari, submitted the association’s comments to the Constitutional Court, said he hopes that the court will overturn this law.
“What has actually happened and the discussion that will take place within the Court regarding this law is of absolute historical importance, because for the first time a decision will be made on such an important law in terms of media freedom and expression in Kosovo”, said Rexha.
The largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), also sent comments to the Constitutional Court against this law last month.
Rexha hopes that the court will be “convinced” that the law is “unconstitutional and “it will be repealed in its entirety, as the way it was drafted, the way it is contained, are contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and contrary to the universal freedom of the media “.
In July, Tomas Szunyog of the European Union (EU) Office in Kosovo expressed regret that the Assembly passed the law “without addressing concerns” and did not align with EU standards.
The government has defended the law on the IMC, saying that it respects the EU Directive and that it is harmonized with the legislations that are in force.
Lawyer Kusari said that the law was made “in violation of several articles” of the Constitution and for this she hopes that there will be a basis for the repeal of the law in its entirety.
“Today we submitted comments through which they argue that the procedure of how the law was made and some articles related to the regulation and functioning of the commission contradict some articles of the Constitution, but in particular they contradict the principle of gender equality, the freedom of the media and the independence of the IPC. We hope that our arguments will convince the court to repeal the law on IPC”, she said.
What does the draft law envisage for the IMC?
The draft law approved on Thursday, July 11, foresees the licensing and control of online media that produce videos by the IMC, earlier in this body only audio-visual media were required to be registered.
The Independent Media Commission (IMC) – established in 2005 – is the competent body for the regulation, management and supervision of the broadcasting frequency spectrum in the Republic of Kosovo.
According to this draft law, the media operating as non-governmental organizations will have to open companies that meet the licensing conditions from the IMC.
Also, the media must obtain permission from the IMC in case of a change of ownership over 10 percent.
According to him, online media will be subject to a regime of sanctions worth up to 40,000 euros for eventual violations such as: non-compliance with the law, non-submission of the annual report to the IMC within the deadline, non-keeping of the archive of broadcasts, non-observance of the time set for broadcasting, as well as for several other cases.
In addition to the inclusion of online media that produce videos under the monitoring of the IMC, the new draft law also provides for the increase of the number of IMC members from seven to 11 and the extension of their mandate.
The members of the IMC are voted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo and, according to the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK), this increase in staff in the IMC can be misused by the Government “to send their people”, who could stay longer in their positions, thus endangering, according to them, the independence of the IMC.
The draft law for the IMC was approved by the Government of Kosovo on December 27 of last year, and was sent to the Assembly of Kosovo, where it was approved in the first reading on March 7 of this year.
After approval in the second reading, it must be signed by the president of the country, Vjosa Osmani.
The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK) and the Council of Written Media of Kosovo (KMSHK) had called on the Government of Kosovo to immediately abandon the changes in the draft law, as something like this was considered an “attack on the media”.
The mission of the OSCE and the EU have previously said that they support the purpose of the draft law to harmonize Kosovo’s legislation with the relevant provisions of the EU, including the Audiovisual Services Directive, but, “as the Council of Europe report points out, more work is needed on the draft to ensure that it neither undermines the independence of the IMC nor creates legal inconsistencies”.
