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On 18 February 2003, the regulatory authority for electronic media, the Consiliul Na tional al Audiovizualului (National Audiovisual Council - CNA), imposed a fine of ROL 250 million (EUR 6956) on private TV broadcaster B1 TV for breaches of Articles 2, 3, 4 and 10 of Decision No. 78/2002 on the protection of minors (see IRIS 2002-10: 11). The programme "Ma sina adevarului"("Lie detector"), shown on 13 February 2003, contained video footage of a minor being asked by his mother to recount in great detail how he had supposedly been sexually abused by his father. "Recording this material caused extremely...

Decision No. 38/2003 of 18 February 2003 of the regulatory authority for electronic media, the Consiliul National al Audiovizualului (National Audiovisual Council - CNA), sets out new advertising restrictions for the broadcasting sector. For example, political advertising on radio or television is banned, except during election campaigns. The decision also prohibits advertising for lawyers and solicitors' firms in the audio-visual media. Active lawyers (so-called "pleading lawyers") may no longer present or take part in programmes dealing with pending cases and proceedings until a definitive court...

Government Decree No. 18 of 30 January 2003 amends Article 40 of Act No. 41/1994 on the organisation and functioning of public service broadcasting in Romania. According to the new rule, all natural and legal persons living or operating in Romania are obliged to pay broadcasting licence fees. Previously, licence fees in Romania only had to be paid by persons who declared ownership of a radio or television set and were therefore potential users of public service channels. Under the new provision, every family is obliged to pay the licence fee as part of their monthly electricity bill. The public...

The fourth Codul Penal (Romanian Criminal Code), currently in draft form, will be the subject of a public debate in the next few weeks. The draft has been criticised because, amongst other things, it puts slander, an offence usually committed by the media, on an equal footing with libel, even though libel is a more serious crime. The Romanian Minister of Justice explained that the Justice Ministry was not trying to restrict media freedoms or to punish journalists more severely by amending the Criminal Code in this way. Therefore, as an amendment to the current draft, fines for libel will be fixed...

On 27 November 2002, Legea cinematografiei Nr. 630 din 27 noiembrie 2002, a new Film Act, was adopted. The Act aims "to regulate the organisation, financing and implementation of activities in the cinematographic sector and in the management of related cultural assets" (Art. 1 of the Act). The term "cinematography" refers in the Act to the preparation, production, financing, marketing and screening of films as well as to the cinema sector. The Act's objectives include: to support Romanian film producers, to encourage private initiative in the field of domestic film production and co-productions...