The Constitutional Court of Kosovo has repealed the Law on the Independent Media Commission (IMC), after finding that some articles of the law are not in compliance with the Constitution of Kosovo.
The case was submitted to the Constitutional Court by deputies from the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo, but the court has merged these requests into a single case.
The Law on the IMC was approved on July 11, 2024 in the Assembly of Kosovo, without the participation of opposition parties in the vote.
The subparagraphs that were found to be inconsistent with the laws relate to the election of IMC members, the dismissal of the chairman and members of the Commission, the powers of the IMC, the regulation of the ownership of licensees, and several points of the article relating to sanctions and fines.
The applicants for the constitutional review of the Law on the IMC argued that it was adopted without public consultation. The Constitutional Court's decision stated that not only the formal aspects of public consultation are required, but that they must include "substantive debates" regarding all aspects of a legal initiative.
Regarding the parts of the law that spoke about the dismissal of the chairman and members of the IMC, the Constitutional Court found that two subparagraphs, which relate to the criteria for dismissal such as "loss of trust" and that of "violation of integrity" or "biased positions", conflict with Article 7 of the Constitution.
Regarding the mandate of the members of the IMC, the Constitutional Court said that they have a four-year mandate, but their mandate ends when new members are elected - so they can remain in office until new members are elected.
However, the judgment stated that this does not relieve the Assembly from its responsibility to elect the members of the IMC within the deadlines set by law.
"As a result, the Court clarified in the Judgment that the Assembly is obliged to fulfill the legal obligation to elect the chairperson and members of the Independent Media Commission, and within the legally established deadlines, so that members who have completed their mandate do not remain in office without compelling reasons, as defined by the contested Law," the judgment said.
The Constitutional Court's ruling also mentioned the part of the law – now repealed – that deals with online media.
"In this regard, the judgment emphasizes that it is up to the Government or the Assembly, during the review of the contested Law, to further examine the issues raised regarding the definitions, as well as the obligations provided for by the Stabilization and Association Agreement with regard to European Union legislation," the announcement said.
The adoption of the Law on the IMC had sparked opposition from media rights groups, opposition parties, and the European Union.
The Kosovo Journalists Association welcomed the Constitutional Court's ruling.
In August last year, the AJK had sent comments on the law to the Constitutional Court, opposing the part of the law that envisaged increasing the number of members of the IMC from seven to 11.
According to the AGK, this could be misused by the Government "to send their people", who could stay in their positions longer, thus endangering, according to them, the independence of the IMC./ REL (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
