Poland
Polish media law declared unconstitutional
Warsaw, Poland March 24, 2006 The Polish Supreme Court declared that portions of the Polish media law are unconstitutional.
The Polish Supreme Court handed the ruling Polish Government party Law and Justice a set back its efforts to regulate the media by declaring some provisions of the new Polish media law as unconstitutional.
The media law was put before the Polish Supreme Court by the opposition party Civic Platform. In the arguments before the Supreme Court, the Civic Platform found itself in a unique position of arguing against the law side-by-side with the former ruling party SLD. The SLD itself has had problems in its efforts to attempt to regulate the media and was severely criticized by the Civic Platform. Now the SLD and the Civic Platform, ironically, argued side-by-side about the freedom of the media.
Commentators have opined that the arguments in this case are an argument in the defense of freedom of speech.
One of the provisions that were found unconstitutional was a provision that concerned itself with a disciplining of the media. It was felt that this provision could be used to prevent journalist from expressing their opinions without fear of persecution by the government.
Another provision that was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court was a provision that created to two classes of media.
Social media, under the proposed law, were to receive a special position and to the exempt from many of the provisions of the media law. This has been widely taken to mean that the radio station Radio Maria, owned and controlled by the millionaire Roman Catholic priest Tadeusz Rydzyk, would be unregulated.
Radio Maria has been declared as reliable media by the Polish government party Law and Justice. The Supreme Court ruling now places Radio Maria on the same plane as other media in Poland.
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