France

[FR] Workings of the Comités Techniques Radiophoniques (CTR) (Radiophonic Technical Committees)

IRIS 1995-7:1/24

Théo Hassler

Lawyer, Strasbourg

The decisions of the Conseil d'Etat (State Council) of 17 March 1995 include the statement that "the fact that some elements of the enquiry have been entrusted to a rapporteur does not deprive the enquiry of its collegiate nature once all these elements have been submitted to the Radiophonic Technical Committee"; this is eminently sensible as if it were the other way round, it would turn the CTR into a kind of Kafka-like bureaucracy. These decisions give other useful details as to the manner in which the CTR's work; they show on the one hand that the enquiry should not be carried out within the framework of a hearing and, on the other hand, that the fact that no local commercial radio has been given a frequency in the zone under consideration does not render the CSA's decision voidable.