ARM-2001-1-001

a) Armenia / b) Constitutional Court / c)  / d) 11-01-2001 / e) DCC-278 / f) On the conformity of several provisions of the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On Television and Radio" with the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia / g) Tegekagir (Official Gazette) / h) CODICES (English).

Keywords of the Systematic Thesaurus:

Keywords of the alphabetical index:

Media, television / Media, broadcasting / Informational system, independence / Media, National Commission on Television and Radio, member, independence.

Headnotes:

Guarantees directed at strengthening the independent operation of the newly established informational system must exclude continuous, durable, direct and indirect influence of and interference by state authorities on the activity of the newly formed system.

Summary:

The President of the Republic, initiating the case, disputed several provisions of the Law on Television and Radio. The disputed provisions of Articles 28, 32, 35, 36, 40, 42 and 59 of the law concern the confirmation of the Statutes of the Public Teleradio company and National Commission of Television and Radio and the review of their activity, as well as the system of state financing of the Public Teleradio company.

The applicant considered that the disputed provisions of the law were contrary to the Constitution for two reasons. First, the powers of the National Assembly are determined by the Constitution and they did not include such functions as the confirmation of the Statute of any legal entity, a special financial review separate from the general state budget, or the control of an activity through reports. Second, the law in question, by reserving such powers to the National Assembly, makes the Public Teleradio company directly dependent on a legislative body.

The main arguments of the respondent were that the statutes of both the Public Teleradio company and the National Commission on Television and Radio were to be confirmed by law, for which the National Assembly possesses the constitutional authority. Furthermore, the disputed provisions concerning financial control fall within the powers granted to the National Assembly by the Constitution, in particular, by the provisions of [ENG-ARM-A-77] Article 77 of the Constitution.

As the main purpose of the Law on Television and Radio was to create a legal basis for transforming National Television and Radio into the Public Teleradio company and establishing a new information system, the Court considered the constitutionality of the disputed provisions in the light of the fundamental issue of whether the law guaranteed the functional independence of the new information system.

The law provided an appropriate system for the formation and operation of the Council of Public Teleradio company by laying down the principle of stable, fixed terms of office of members of the Council. Their terms of office were longer than that of the President of the Republic and were dependent on the nomination and election of the President and Deputy President of the Commission. Such links with state institutions are not equivalent to continuous control.

In relation to the disputed provisions of the Law on Television and Radio regarding the foundation and activity of the Public Teleradio company and the granting of powers to the National Assembly, it is obvious from Articles 62, 71, 76, 77 and 81 that the supervisory powers of the National Assembly regarding executive authorities are defined in precise and concrete terms. Besides, the authority granted to the National Assembly by Articles 28.10 and 42.2 supposes not the existing law-making powers of the National Assembly, but direct and unbalanced power.

Article 28.10 of the Law on Television and Radio states that the National Assembly confirms the Statute of the Public Teleradio company. In Article 32, which determines the powers of the governing body (Council) of the company, it is provided that the Council drafts and presents the Statute of Public Teleradio company to the National Assembly and delivers an annual report on its activity to the President and the National Assembly.

[ENG-ARM-A-75] Article 75 of the Constitution provides an exhaustive list of entities that have the right of legislative initiative in the National Assembly. Thus, the Constitutional Court found that Articles 28.10 and 32 of the disputed law are not in conformity with the requirements of [ENG-ARM-A-62] Article 62 of the Constitution.

Article 35.1 of the law provides that the Council annually drafts the budget of the company for the next year, notifying the Council separately on the amounts distributed for the company and submits it to the government, which submits it to the National Assembly for confirmation.

The drafting, confirmation and exercise of the state budget of the Republic of Armenia are governed by  [ENG-ARM-A-76] Articles 76 and  [ENG-ARM-A-89] 89.2 of the Constitution and by the Law on the Budget System of the Republic of Armenia, adopted on 24 June 1997, and by other legal acts.

According to Article 21 of the Law on the Budget System of the Republic, government bodies and agencies present their budget to the Ministry of Finance, attaching to it the estimate of expenses with the relevant justifications. The government presents the final draft of the budget to the National Assembly. Therefore, the Court found that Article 35.1 of the Law on Television and Radio does not violate the requirements of the Constitution.

Part Five of the Law on Television and Radio is dedicated to questions on the creation, powers and operation of the National Commission on Television and Radio as an independent state body. According to Article 37 of the Law, the activity of the National Commission pertains only to the licensing and supervision of the Public Teleradio company. The idea behind the creation of such a commission is to restrict opportunities for influence by the executive powers and replace the function of governing with the function of regulation, and to provide legal guarantees as to the freedom of activity and equal certainty of the law in its application to all subjects. After an analysis of the different articles of the law, it follows that the law has not fully resolved this issue.

As regards the disputed provisions on the National Commission, the National Assembly is granted a number of powers, relating to the creation of the National Commission on Television and Radio and its supervision.

Languages:

Armenian, English (translation by the Court).