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The Press Club discussed a recent decision by Chisinau Court of Appeal, which forbids the BCC to monitor the television station "NTV Moldova". The case was brought to court after the BCC ordered a general monitoring of the "NTV Moldova" television station for a period of 7 days and the decision of the broadcasting regulator was appealed against by the broadcaster in court.
The participants qualified this case as a "dangerous precedent". The BCC member Cristina Duca pointed out that it is about the "limitation of powers" of the BCC, because monitoring of TV stations is one of the basic functions of the BCC. The members of the Parliamentary Committee for Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sports and Mass Media remained perplexed by the decision of the Court of Appeal. Being present at the club meeting, Sergiu Corneţchi, chief consultant of the Committee, said that this precedent became possible due to the gaps existing in the provisions of the Broadcasting Code in force, which "must be amended as soon as possible".
The expert in media law, Tatiana Puiu, underlined that the BCC decision actually included two decisions, which made possible to appeal it in the court. "I think that two separate decisions should have been taken: one with regard to exercising the duties and the other on sanctioning," said Tatiana Puiu. In reply, the BCC lawyer, Victoria Son, mentioned that the decision was taken in accordance with the legislation and there were no deficiencies in the reasoning.
Representatives of the media and civil society recommended that in the future the BCC should formulate its decisions more accurately, in order not to leave room for interpretation. Nadine Gogu, the Executive Director of the IJC, stressed that if a broadcaster comes to the BCC to obtain a broadcasting license, it also assumes certain responsibilities. "If the court says that the BCC can no longer monitor, that would mean that the broadcaster obtains the license and does what it wants, it is no longer controlled. Or, the role of the BCC is to be a guarantor of public interest, to monitor, control and sanction when necessary", added Nadine Gogu.
In the opinion of the Executive Director of the Association of Independent Press, Petru Macovei, monitoring of a television station is one of the main powers of the BCC, but in this case the legal department "probably did not act properly". At the same time, he asked the BCC member, Cristina Duca, if, following this case, the broadcasting regulatory institution addressed the Parliament. "From my point of view, this situation should have prompted you to be more careful about the quality of the legal reasoning of the decisions you adopt, and, if it is necessary to amend the legislation, address to the Parliament," said Petru Macovei. Cristina Duca replied that the BCC members did not address the Parliament and, according to her, the BCC has reasoned its decision well enough.
The MP Lilian Carp, who attended the event, stated: "The BCC does nothing, but issues decisions that can easily be appealed against, and further on other TV stations will do the same for not be monitored." The BCC member, Cristina Duca, disagreed with the MP's accusations, saying that this was his personal opinion.
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The event was organized within the framework of the project "Advocacy Campaigns to Ensure Transparency of Media Ownership, Access to Information, Promotion of Values and European Integration", implemented by the IJC, which is part of the project "Moldova Partnerships for a Sustainable Civil Society ", implemented by the FHI 360.
The organization of this event was possible thanks to the generous help of the American people offered through the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The opinions expressed at the event belong to the participants and do not necessarily reflect the position of the USAID or the US Government.
