Strasbourg, 19/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - In an opinion adopted on Friday 19 June, the constitutional experts of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, commonly known as the Venice Commission, called on the Hungarian government to ensure that the principle of proportionality, as defined in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, is applied to its new legislation on the press.
“Although it is entirely legitimate for the states to set certain restrictions on obscene publications or inflammatory or hate speech, there needs to be enough room for free discussion on public issues”, they said.
They also called on the Council of the Media - the main regulatory body in Hungary - to lay down directives to limit the heavy fines and temporary closures meted out to publishers to last-resort measures not immediately applicable.
They also criticise the fact that one and the same person - who is both too powerful and too dependent on the Prime Minister -is both the chair of the media authority and President of the Council of the Media. There is a risk that candidates are selected purely on the basis of their political views and this opinion proposes changes to the recruitment rules, for instance by including members of civil society in the Council of the Media.
Currently, there are no European standards to define the composition and powers of a media regulation body, leaving the Hungarian authorities free to choose the best model, as long as it guarantees pluralism and independence, the opinion states. It also stresses the importance of transparent rules on allocating the state publicity budget and the right of journalists - including independent journalists - not to divulge their sources. (Véronique Leblanc)