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TELEVISION SHOULD MAKE DECISION ON ITS OWN

Politics

Today Media support Internews organization expressed its opinion On the Amendments to the RA Law on Television and Radio.

Based on the examination of the substantiation of the RA new draft law On Making Amendments to the RA Law on Television and Radio, presented to the NA discussion on the initiative of the RA government, it follows that the Draft adoption is untimely and, taking into consideration the volume and significance of the regulation subject, needs a policy to be worked out and passed, stipulated by the RA law On Legal Acts (Article 27.)

Of course, working out the policy and action plan is stipulated by the 5th point of the draft substantiation. However, it is expected to implement it only after passing the draft, which, in our opinion, will become not only a source of legal uncertainty but will also endanger the introduction of new participants into the radio and television market through licensing. Meantime, it is apparent from the substantiation that at this moment it is not possible to assess the technical requirements and, especially, the expected expenses of the state, citizens and private broadcasters.

Besides, it is not reasonable to consider the license allotment “temporary and useless” (see the 5th point of the substantiation,) as well as the license suspension, since broadcast digitization on behalf of licensees can be stipulated as a mandatory condition for allotting a license. Thus, we think that entrepreneurs will have a chance to independently decide whether it is worth applying for a license, and whether the investment repayment and the chance to obtain income is real possibility. The latter will emerge from the principle of free market, without making obstacles to the natural development of the mass media.

Finally, it should be mentioned that, based on the strategic importance of the Draft regulation area, as well as the circumstance that the introduction of digital communication as a sphere of cooperation between RA and EU is specifically mentioned in the European Neighborhood Project, in our opinion, initiating public discussions on the issue of the above-mentioned legislative improvement and the profound examination of its applicability on behalf of the civil society becomes extremely necessary.