The Court turned down a proposal from the commercial network Nova TV that it establish if the rules of conduct of the national electronic media during election campaigns are in line with the Constitution and laws, and ruled that they are in compliance with the Constitution and relevant laws.
Nova TV claimed that the said rules determined what kind of programmes commercial TV networks will air during the election campaign, who will participate in those programmes, as well as when they will be aired and how long they will last.
Stating reasons for the ruling, which was passed with 13 votes for and one against, the Court said that the entire system of media coverage of the election campaign by the national public broadcaster HRT and commercial networks was purposeless from the point of view of election participants and viewers, since it did not serve its purpose because of the duration of political shows and the structure of questions and presentations of candidates.
However, the issue of purpose of such detailed and complex coverage of the election campaign is not subject to the assessment of its compliance with the Constitution and relevant laws, the Court said.