Paragraph from audiovisual media services code declared unconstitutional in Moldova

Chisinau, 23 November /MOLDPRES/ - The media services distributors have right to place advertising in foreign audiovisual services re-broadcast in Moldova.   

The Constitutional Court (CCM) has declared unconstitutional the paragraph 7 of the Article 66 of the audiovisual media services code, according to which the media services distributors have no right to place advertising or teleshopping in the media audiovisual services re-rebroadcast and will exclude the advertising and teleshopping from the foreign audiovisual media services re-broadcast.   

CCM President Domnica Manole reasoned the constitutional judges’ ruling, noting that ‘’the legislative body established an absolute obligation, without taking into account the less intrusive measures in the freedom of expression of the media services distributors and without differentiating the programmes re-broadcast from the states parties to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television and from the states which are not party to the convention.’’

According to the president of the Constitutional Court, ‘’the provisions appealed are rigid and establish a general measure as to the distributors of media services; the legislative body established an absolute obligation and did not differentiate the media services distributors.’’ ‘’The right to the freedom of expression includes also the right to the re-broadcasting of foreign programmes which include advertising and teleshopping,’’ Manole noted.