Breaking: All TV Stations Should Be Impartial, Constitutional Court Declares In Major Ruling Against Broadcasting Authority
A constitutional obligation for TV stations to provide “due impartiality” when reporting matters of political controversy also applies to stations owned by political parties, the Chief Justice and two other judges have declared.
This major statement by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti and judges Giannino Caruana Demajo and Anthony Ellul was made during an appeal ruling over a case the PN had won against PBS and the Broadcasting Authority (BA).
In its submissions, the BA’s lawyers argued that the PN’s rights to free expression weren’t breached because the state no longer enjoys a monopoly over broadcasting as it did when the Maltese Constitution was formed.
The BA noted that the broadcasting market has since been liberalised – by virtue of the 1991 Broadcasting Act – and that even political parties are allowed to own their own TV stations.
However, the three judges noted that the existence of multiple political party-owned TV stations doesn’t give the BA the right to abandon its constitutional obligation to monitor for impartiality.
They referred to Article 119(1) of the Constitution, which reads as follows:
“It shall be the function of the Broadcasting Authority to ensure that, so far as possible, in such sound and television broadcasting services as may be provided in Malta, due impartiality is preserved in respect of matters of political or industrial controversy or relating to current public policy and that broadcasting facilities and time are fairly apportioned between persons belonging to different political parties.”
“The BA’s argument that constitutional impartiality is no longer applicable if all political parties own their own stations is incorrect,” the judges said. “The impartiality obligation isn’t only limited to a monopoly as the BA is claiming. Article 119(1) of the Constitution clearly shows it applies in terms of all broadcasting in Malta, public and private alike, and without limitations.”
“The First Court therefore cannot reach an alternative conclusion just because now it is possible for all political parties to have their own TV stations as the BA is insisting.”
“The impartiality obligation imposed by the Constitution is applicable till this day and applies to all stations and broadcasting services.”
In 2021, Lovin Malta and former CEO Chris Peregin filed a constitutional case challenging the constitutionality of a proviso in the Broadcasting Act which allows the regulator not to monitor political party-owned TV stations for impartiality.
This proviso allows the BA to monitor impartiality among private TV stations “by looking at the general output of current affairs programmes across all licensees as a whole”.
In practice, this has seen the BA continue to regulate TVM for political impartiality but not apply the same principles to ONE and NET.
A website, Kaxxaturi.com, has been set up to explain the details of the case and why Lovin Malta decided to open it in the first place.
The case is still ongoing.
Cover photo: Left: Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti (Photo: TVM), Right: Stock image
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