Search results : 978

Belgian television viewers cannot look forward to seeing "Meurtre aux Champs" ("Murder in the Fields"), a film made for the famous "Strip-tease" programme, in the near future. The film is about the trial of a farmer who, in 1993, had killed the landlord of one of his fields. The farmer and his family had already managed to get the film suspended by a summary order injunction, which was then confirmed following an appeal. The District Court of Brussels, deciding on the merits of the case, banned the RTBF from broadcasting the film as long as the plaintiffs refused to give their permission. The...

The conciliation procedure begun between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union has made it possible to reach an agreement concerning the Directive on the processing of data of a personal nature and the protection of privacy. The two stumbling blocks, concerning the right to not be included in the telephone directory and financial transactions made by telephone, appear to have been overcome. The aim pursued by the Community institutions is to institute protection of the privacy of Community nationals at a very high level to deal with the constant developments in telecommunications...

On 2 September 1997, in the wake of the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, members of the 40-nation Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly called for the drafting of a European Convention on Privacy. A motion tabled by David Atkinson (UK-EDG) was signed by members of the Political Affairs Committee from all political groups across Europe. The MPs voiced their alarm at the continued intrusion into personal privacy in member states - in violation of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The Assembly's Bureau has referred the matter to its Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee...

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that replaced the previous Criminal Code of 1962 and entered into force in January 1997, introduces criminal liability and more severe penalties in a number of offences that relate to the audio-visual and new media sectors. Article 146 of the Code says that if an abuse of copyright or neighbouring rights, as well as plagiarism inflicts substantial damages, violators are subject to fines from 200 to 400 minimum monthly wages (at present: from approximately USD 2,800 to 5,600), or to forced labour of 180 to 240 hours, or to a jail term of up to two years....

On 15 July 1997, the European Commission published on Internet a report on the results of the consultations on the Green Paper on `The protection of minors and human dignity in audio-visual and information services' of 16 October 1996 (see IRIS 1996-10: 4). Having analysed the findings, the Commission suggests that the problems raised in the Green Paper can best be solved by co-ordinating the efforts made by individual states to protect minors and human dignity. It also suggests various ways of stepping up co-operation and the exchange of information and ideas at European and international level....