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Act No 457/2004 on the Advertising of Tobacco Products (Legea privind publicitatea şi sponsorizarea pentru produsele din tutun),published in parliamentary gazette No 1067 of 17 November 2004, introduces new rules on the advertising of tobacco products and sponsorship by tobacco companies. The Act is modelled on relevant EU texts including Directive 2003/33/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products, and certain provisions of Council Recommendation No 2003/54/EC on the prevention...

On 25 January 2005 the Rechtbank Utrecht (District Court of Utrecht) concluded in summary judgment that two regional television broadcasters were not obliged to broadcast a television commercial. The plaintiff in the case was the author of a book entitled “Judas”, which he described as an erotic thriller. The book contains three stories that all address the relationship between Christianity and homosexuality. The plaintiff developed a television commercial to promote his book. The commercial shows images of Jesus and Judas while a voice-over poses a number of questions on the relationship between...

The German Press Council, meeting in plenary session on 2 March 2005, voted to incorporate into the Press Code a ban on discrimination on grounds of disability. Thus Article 12 of the Press Code now reads: "There must be no discrimination against anyone on grounds of sex, disability, race, ethnic background, religion, social group or nationality.“ The Press Council decision came in response to pressure from associations representing people with disabilities and concerned individuals who had mounted a campaign entitled "Initiative 12" to have the Press Code amended. The stipulation on equal treatment...

On 24 February, the European Parliament approved in second reading, subject to a number of amendments, the proposed Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices, which was put forward by the Commission in June 2003 (see IRIS 2003-8: 5 and IRIS 2004-7: 3). Parliament's amendments have been endorsed by both the Commission and the Council and the Directive should now be formally adopted at the Competitiveness Council in June 2005. The aim of the Directive is to ensure a high level of consumer protection across Europe while contributing to the proper functioning of the internal market facilitating cross-border...

The National Broadcasting Council of Latvia is participating in a joint project with a NGO to monitor surreptitious political advertising in connection with the forthcoming Municipal Elections on 12 March 2005. The Council has set up a special commission to monitor radio and television broadcasts for hidden political advertising. Although political advertising is permitted in Latvia, it must be clearly identified and indicate who has paid for it. The experience of previous elections raised doubts as to whether broadcasters were always observing this rule. During this round, programmes will be monitored...