The Constitutional Court announced this Wednesday that it has annulled Law 08/L‑289 on the Independent Media Commission (IMC), having found that several of its articles conflict with the Constitution of Kosovo.
“The Court held that Law no. 08/L‑289 on the Independent Media Commission must be annulled and then revised in light of the findings of this Judgment,” the press release states.
Some of the violations identified concern the method of selecting members, the dismissal of the Commission’s Chair, the IMC’s competencies, and others.
The Association of Journalists of Kosovo, together with media lawyer Flutura Kusari, submitted the expert opinion requested by the Court on this law, and welcomes the decision to annul it—believing that a new law, debated and drafted with broad public participation and in line with European standards, is needed, respecting the Council of Europe’s recommendations.
The key part of the ruling on the violations reads:
The Court, unanimously, decided to
Declare the appeals admissible;
Find that sub‑paragraphs 1.2 and 1.3 of paragraph 1 of Article 15 (Selection of IMC Members) of the challenged law are not compatible with Article 141 [Independent Media Commission] of the Constitution;
Find that sub‑paragraphs 3.4 and 3.5 of paragraph 3 of Article 18 (Dismissal of the Chair and IMC Member) of the challenged law are not compatible with Article 7 [Fundamental Values] and Article 141 [Independent Media Commission] of the Constitution;
Find that sub‑paragraphs 2.4 and 2.5 of paragraph 2 of Article 4 (IMC Competencies), paragraph 5 of Article 25 (Broadcast Licenses and Their Renewal), and paragraph 2 of Article 43 (Regulation of the Ownership of Licensed/Registered Entities) of the challenged law are not compatible with paragraph 1 of Article 7 [Fundamental Values] of the Constitution;
Find that points 1.2.1 and 1.2.24 of sub‑paragraph 1.2 of paragraph 1, and points 1.3.5 and 1.3.6 of sub‑paragraph 1.3 of paragraph 1 of Article 60 (Fines) of the challenged law are not compatible with paragraph 1 of Article 7 [Fundamental Values] of the Constitution;
Annul the challenged law;
Dismiss the requests for interim measures.