Germany

[DE] Amendments to Inter-State Broadcasting Agreement Enter into Force

IRIS 2001-1:1/15

Alexander Scheuer

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

The 5th Rundfunkänderungsstaatsvertrag (Agreement to the Amend the Agreement between Federal States on Broadcasting), agreed by the Minister-Presidents of the Länder and signed between 6 July and 7 August 2000, entered into force on 1 January this year.

The main subject of debate before the agreement was ratified by the various Land parliaments was a rise in public service broadcasting licence fees. The Landtag (Land parliament) of Saxony referred in the preamble to its Zustimmungsgesetz (Act of Consent) to the desire shared by many of the parliaments for closer involvement in deciding future amendments to Agreements between Federal States on Broadcasting, which regulate German media law. It also mentioned efforts to replace the current system with a new regulatory framework for the media in the medium term.

Changes are also made to the rules on short reporting, necessitated by the ruling of the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court (see IRIS 1998-3: 7) and the new Article 52a of the Rundfunkstaatsvertrag (Agreement between Federal States on Broadcasting), which deals with the allocation of terrestrial digital broadcasting capacities.

In the Staatsvertrag über die Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ARD) (Agreement between the Federal States on the Union of German Public Service Broadcasters), the rules regarding the right of reply were revised. The purpose of this was to clarify to which broadcaster requests for the right of reply with regard to ARD programmes should be made.

The Rundfunkfinanzierungsstaatsvertrag (Agreement between Federal States on the Funding of Broadcasting) was revised in accordance with the plans adopted by the ARD to review the way in which funds are distributed between broadcasters.