The IJC notified the Committee of Ministers of the CoE on the need to continue supervising the implementation of the ECtHR judgment in the case of Manole and others v. Moldova

In the letter sent on October 26, the IJC informed the Committee of Ministers, responsible for supervising the implementation of the Strasbourg Court judgments, that the Government failed to fulfil all its obligations in the case of Manole and others v. Moldova, in which Moldova was convicted in 2009, and that stopping supervision on the implementation of the general measures provided for in the judgment would be “premature” in the context of the latest legislative changes. “The national legislation does not yet have efficient guarantees against interference by public authorities, political parties and any other interest groups in the right of the media to freedom of expression,” the letter says.

The letter reminds that the legislative framework that governs broadcasting has been improved in recent years, including by means of the new Code of Audiovisual Media Services, in force since 2018, which vested the Broadcasting Council with duties related to the selection of members for the Supervisory Board of the public provider of media services. However, the IJC notes that the editorial policy of TRM kept “deviating from the principles of impartiality and pluralism because of indirect political interference in the appointment of TRM leadership and of members for the Supervisory Board, elected by the BC.” The IJC recognizes that the situation of the public provider is no longer comparable with the one at the time of the violation of the ECHR, but believes that the arguments shown in the Government’s activity report sent to the Committee of Ministers on October 7 “proved inefficient in ensuring full editorial independence of public providers of media services.”

At the same time, the IJC notes that while the Government’s report points out to the fact that the BC is an autonomous body, the recent changes to the legislation have shown that the BC risks to be politically influenced, and any parliamentary majority can dismiss the BC members on the grounds of “improper performance or non-performance of duties” or “defective activity”. According to the IJC experts, the draft law subjecting the TRM to parliamentary control, voted in the first reading, might allow direct political interference in the TRM’s activity.

In such conditions, the IJC believes that it is premature for the Committee of Ministers to stop supervision of the case. “Given the new legislative amendments, which increased the importance of full and effective implementation of the judgment in the case of Manole and others v. Moldova, the IJC asks the Committee of Ministers to continue monitoring its implementation and recommends additional general measures, calling on the Committee of Ministers to request that the Moldovan Government adopt them,” the IJC’s letter says.

According to the ECtHR’s Department for the Execution of Judgments, the IJC’s letter was sent to the Governmental Agent of Moldova, who represents the state before the Court. The documents are to reach the Committee of Ministers, too.

In 2002, the journalist Larisa Manole and eight other TRM employees sent an application to the European Court of Human Rights against Moldova for violation of the right to free expression. According to applicants, the company Teleradio-Moldova “was subjected to censorship over the entire time of its existence.” In September 2009, the ECtHR ruled in their favor.