Law Amending the Broadcasting Act (Journal of Law of 2015 section 25)
The amendment gives the minister responsible for the state treasury the power to appoint and dismiss members of public media organisations’ management and supervisory boards. Furthermore, senior officials of the public media will no longer be selected through open and public competition procedures. The amendment also states that members of the governing bodies of public media organisations will no longer serve a certain term of office. Last but not least, as of the Act’s entry into force, the incumbent senior management of TVP S.A. and Polskie Radio S.A., state-operated TV and radio organisations, will be removed from office. The Act also limits the role of the National Broadcasting Council.
Draft Law Amending the Broadcasting Act (Sejm Paper No. 158)
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OpinionOpinion of the Helsinki Foundation for Human RightsThe draft may threaten the constitutional freedom of expression that is one of the pillars and constituents of a democratic society. The proposed legislation seeks to strengthen government control over public media and the political message. As a result, the legislation supports the concept of public media as a political tool in policy debates.
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StatementStatement of the National Broadcasting CouncilThe draft introduces changes, which once enacted, would allow the immediate appointment of new authorities in public radio and television enterprises. It allows the Minister of Treasury virtually unlimited changes in the membership of the management and supervisory board of the public radio and television entities. This action eliminates the necessary distance between the authorities and public media, which serves to protect free speech and freedom of information.