30. 03. 2009

ANEM PROJECT: LEGAL DEPARTMENT 2008

In March 2009, ANEM completed a nine-month implementation of the project "ANEM Legal Department 2008", whose implementation was supported by the Swedish Helsinki Committee (SHC).

In cooperation with legal office "Zivkovic-Samardzic", which fulfills the tasks of its Legal Department, during the realization of the project ANEM has focused its activities on several areas:

1. Free legal assistance to full members of the Association

Striving to strengthen capacities of its members and advance their business activities in accordance with the law, with support from the SHC, ANEM has offered its full members free legal assistance.

The Legal Department has provided the stations with legal advice and consultations in various areas of media law and related fields, e.g.: realization of rights to broadcasting licenses; privatization and postprivatization issues; legal aspects of reporting; cooperation and claims related to regulatory bodies and collective associations; harmonization of stations' everyday activities with the Law on Advertising and other relevant laws, etc. Apart from this, through the organized workshop, the stations were given a chance to receive complete information on legal aspects of the Broadcasters' Code of Conduct and the obligations and punitive measures arising from it.

2. Activities aimed at improving the position of the stations

Aside from significant support and assistance to stations in the process of issuance of licenses, ANEM has also worked, in cooperation with the lawyers, on the protection of rights of its members threatened by broadcasters without licenses who obstruct their work and compete unlawfully offering knock-down prices. ANEM has taken specific steps towards the authorities, demanding closure of such stations, and organized a press conference aimed at raising public awareness of this problem and increasing the efficiency of regulatory bodies. Working actively on creation and improvement of the regulatory framework for the media, ANEM has also contributed to improved position of all stations – not only its members – especially in their relations with regulatory bodies and collective association, which is an issue that ANEM will continue to focus on in the future as well.

3. Realization of the right to freedom of expression

ANEM is an association that stands for freedom of the media and freedom of expression. ANEM has reacted in cases of violation of these rights with numerous public statements, timely calling on the authorities to immediately react and protect the independent media from the pressures that threaten their existence and their work. Some of those statements have been prepared with support from other media organizations with which ANEM has achieved very good cooperation during this period, relying on a concept that joint activities are the key to solving many problems. Violations of the freedom of the media have unfortunately become more frequent and, apart from cases of jeopardizing individual media outlets and journalistic teams, the official institutions have blocked the appointment of the members of the Council of the Republic Broadcasting Agency, thereby significantly contributing to violation of rights and worsening of the position of the media. In cooperation with other media organizations, ANEM has actively opposed this kind of political pressure and interference in the work of the media and is intensively working to find solution to this problem.

4. Continuation of media reforms, implementation of existing laws and their improvement

Since 2002, the media scene in Serbia is characterized by reforms which have been realized with mixed results. While certain areas of the media sector are regulated by basic legal requirements (for example, the Law on Broadcasting is an overarching media law), other areas (like satellite or cable broadcasting) remain completely unregulated. ANEM has made many public statements, as well as many suggestions and proposals, significantly contributing to improvement of existing laws (Law on Advertising) and adoption of new ones (Law on Transparency and Unlawful Concentration of Media Ownership). However, it became evident in practice that inconsistent implementation of the existing laws and the lack of sublegal regulations in certain areas constitute a big obstacle. In cooperation with its legal office, taking into account this situation and aiming to achieve comprehensive media reforms, ANEM has submitted relevant proposals to regulate certain issues with sublegal regulations. ANEM has also initiated consistent implementation of existing laws, which has remained unnoticed by the wider public.

ANEM has achieved certain results, which are important not only to its members but also to other broadcasters, in the following areas:
• Regulation of satellite broadcasting
• Separation of broadcasting equipment of the RTS (in relation with the forthcoming digitalization)
• Implementation of the law on copyright.

You can download the ANEM proposals here