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On 9 March 2012, following the publication of a consultation document on film and stage classification (see IRIS 2012-3/29), the Minister responsible for Culture published a Bill to amend various laws relating to the classification of films and of dramatic and other stage productions. In actual fact, the Bill aims to ‘facilitate the establishment of a system of cinema and dramatic and other stage productions, and to transfer the laws regulating the classification of cinema and dramatic and other stage productions from the competence of the Ministry responsible for the Police to the competence of...

In April 2012, the Maltese public service broadcaster - Public Broadcasting Services Limited - issued a set of Guidelines on the Obligation of Due Impartiality addressed at news, current affairs programmes and programmes dealing with controversial issues. According to these Guidelines, “due impartiality is the presentation of divergent views on any issue that is objectively presented by the producer and presenter”. Responsibility in law vests in the Head of News for decisions concerning the content of news bulletins and current affairs programmes transmitted by the public service broadcaster. These...

On 7 February 2012, In Smash Communications Limited vs. Broadcasting Authority et, decided by the Civil Court, First Hall, the court concluded that the present system established in the Broadcasting Act regulating the imposition of administrative sanctions by the Broadcasting Authority was in breach of the principle of natural justice nemo iudex in causa propria - no person may be a judge in his/her own cause. In brief, the facts of the case were as follows. The Broadcasting Authority’s Chief Executive Officer had issued a charge against Smash Television alleging that in a particular programme...

The Broadcasting Authority has launched a scheme for local council election broadcasts. Although local councils have been established in Malta since 1993, this is the first time in the history of political broadcasting that the Broadcasting Authority is organising a political broadcasting scheme for local councils. In the past, local council election broadcasts used to form part of the scheme of political broadcasts that would normally be running during the year including during the campaign period for local council elections. The new round of local council elections was held on Saturday 10 March...

The Ministry for Tourism, Culture and the Environment launched on 18 January 2012 a public consultation process relating to amendments to the Stage and Film Classification framework for Malta. A draft Legal Notice setting out the proposed new law has been published for feedback purposes. The consultation process was open until 7 February 2012. The regulations are inspired by the Television Programmes (Classification Certificates) Regulations, which apply to television broadcasts and allow broadcasters to appoint their own person who is responsible for classifying television programmes. In so far...