The law, which caused numerous disputes because of opposition by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) to its adoption, has eventually gone into force thanks to votes from Bosniak and Serb deputies in the House of Peoples, while Croat deputies again voted against.
During previous debates on the law and after its adoption by the House of Representatives, Croat deputies launched a procedure to protect vital national interests, urging the Constitutional Court to voice its position on the law.
The Constitutional Court ruled that objections by Croat deputies to the law were unfounded and that the law did not threaten the national interests of Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
HDZ deputies in the state parliament believe that the public radio and television network in a country like Bosnia-Herzegovina should practically, and not only theoretically, guarantee the country's three constituent peoples the right to use their languages and urged the establishment of a separate channel with programmes in the Croatian language.
The law adopted today regulates the functioning of the public radio and television system and states that there is a public radio and television system on the state level and two radio and television networks on the level of the country's two entities.
The law, which describes the public radio and television network as a corporation of public radio and television services, envisages the establishment of special organisational units in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar, to produce radio and television programmes.
The law reaffirms the right of the country's constituent peoples to use their languages on an equal basis, but it does not envisage separate national channels.
Croat representatives said earlier they would continue the fight for a separate radio and television channel in the Croatian language and try to internationalise the problem as they believe that the Croats' right to their language and culture is threatened.