Newsroom
Adoption of Broadcasting Law marks important step in media reform
BELGRADE 19 July 2002
BELGRADE, 19 July 2002 - The OSCE Mission to the FRY has welcomed the adoption by the Serbian Parliament on Thursday of the draft Law on Broadcasting.
The Head of the OSCE Mission to the FRY, Ambassador Stefano Sannino, said: "The adoption of this law is a very important step towards the reform of both the public and the private electronic media, and provides a sound legal basis for the creation of an independent regulatory body for broadcasting, as well as for the transformation of RTS into a public broadcasting service".
The OSCE Head of Mission praised the commitment and work of all those who have been involved in the drafting process, including media operators and national and international experts. According to Sannino, "The outcome is a law that is in line with internationally accepted principles of freedom of the media and that will pave the way for what relevant international organizations expect will be a fair and transparent process of allocation of licences and frequencies".
He added that the OSCE Mission to the FRY was looking forward to working together with all those involved on the rapid and transparent implementation of the law, in particular with regard to the setting up of the Republican Broadcasting Agency.
The OSCE Mission will also continue its involvement in the drafting process of other important pieces of media legislation, such as the draft Law on Public Information, the draft Law on Telecommunications, the draft Law on Access to Information and amendments to the Criminal Code aimed at addressing the issue of libel suits against journalists.
The Head of the OSCE Mission to the FRY, Ambassador Stefano Sannino, said: "The adoption of this law is a very important step towards the reform of both the public and the private electronic media, and provides a sound legal basis for the creation of an independent regulatory body for broadcasting, as well as for the transformation of RTS into a public broadcasting service".
The OSCE Head of Mission praised the commitment and work of all those who have been involved in the drafting process, including media operators and national and international experts. According to Sannino, "The outcome is a law that is in line with internationally accepted principles of freedom of the media and that will pave the way for what relevant international organizations expect will be a fair and transparent process of allocation of licences and frequencies".
He added that the OSCE Mission to the FRY was looking forward to working together with all those involved on the rapid and transparent implementation of the law, in particular with regard to the setting up of the Republican Broadcasting Agency.
The OSCE Mission will also continue its involvement in the drafting process of other important pieces of media legislation, such as the draft Law on Public Information, the draft Law on Telecommunications, the draft Law on Access to Information and amendments to the Criminal Code aimed at addressing the issue of libel suits against journalists.