Prawo do krótkich audiowizualnych relacji a prawo do informacji – w świetle prawa europejskiego

Abstract

International efforts are currently underway within the Council of Europe as well as at the forum of European Community to secure execution of the right of the public to information through the right to short reports.
Within the framework of the Council of Europe’s revised European Convention on Transfrontier Television and Council of Europe’s Recommendation No. R (91) 5 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the right to short reporting on major events where exclusive rights for their television broadcast have been acquired in a transfrontier context, the right to short reports is already envisaged. Still, some time ago expert discussions on the update of this right took place. The article presents current (and proposed by experts of the Council of Europe) legal regulations in the area concerning the right to short reports. Efforts to introduce such right to the Community legal regime have also started at the forum of the European Union, widely consulted and finally agreed by the Council and the European Parliament. The right to short reports will be introduced to Community law by a new Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 89/552/EEC on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities (Audiovisual Media Services Directive), expected to be signed and published in the Official Journal of the European Union till the end of 2007. It should be observed that while the Council of Europe convention and Recommendation No. R(91)5 refer only to traditional broadcasting, the scope of entities that may benefit from the right to short reporting within Audiovisual Media Services Directive is much broader, because a wide definition of the notion “broadcaster” was used, basically including providers of linear audiovisual media services. This article analysis the drafting process of relevant provisions of this directive from the original proposal submitted by the Commission, through subsequent stages of work on relevant provisions at the Council and the European Parliament, to that of political agreement in the Council and the EP. It also reveals how different approaches to this issue evolved and asks questions about the actual shape of the right, its beneficiaries and conditions of use. Since the burden of finding a well balanced, fair, clear and workable formula specifying detailed conditions in this regard will rest upon Member States within implantation of directive, such debate would also be needed among them.