of 17 May 2001
Amendment: 309/2002 Amendment: 274/2003 Amendment: 341/2004 Amendment: 501/2004 Amendment: 626/2004 Amendment: 82/2005 Amendment: 127/2005
The Parliament has adopted the following Act of the Czech Republic:
PART ONE
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Subject of regulation
This Act regulates the rights and obligations of juristic and natural persons in radio and television broadcasting operation.
Article 2
Basic terminology
(1) For the purposes of this Act the following terminology shall apply: a) radio and television broadcasting means primary dissemination of original radio and television programmes and teletext, both intended to be received by the public in encoded or unencoded form, through terrestrial transmitting radio equipment (hereinafter referred to as “transmitter”), cable systems and satellites, both in analogue and digital mode, b) radio and television retransmission means receiving the broadcasting of original radio and television programmes or of their substantial parts and their simultaneous, complete and unchanged dissemination for the public by means of transmitters, cable systems and satellites or other technical means; unchanged dissemination shall also mean the dissemination of the Czech version of a television programme, which was primarily broadcast in a foreign language, c) nation-wide broadcasting means radio and television broadcasting, which can be received by at least 70% of the population of the Czech Republic, according to the data resulting from the last census,1) unless otherwise provided in a special legal regulation1a), d) programme network means joint preparation of programmes or of their substantial
parts or mutual exchange of programmes or of their substantial parts and their simultaneous dissemination by several operators,
Article 12(2) of Act No. 89/1995, on the State Statistical Service. 1a) Article 3(3) of Act No. 483/1991, as amended.
e) local broadcasting means broadcasting of radio or television programmes intended, due to its reach, for a locally defined area and prepared for that area,
f) radio and television broadcaster means a juristic or natural person that prepares the programme, bears responsibility for its content and uses a unique audio or visual identification, which guarantees no confusion, to disseminate the programme through own means or through third persons (hereinafter referred to as “broadcaster”),
g) retransmission broadcaster means a juristic or a natural person that makes decisions on the composition of the programmes taken over from other sources and that disseminates such programmes through own means or through third persons completely and without any change (hereinafter referred to as “retransmission broadcaster”) on the basis of authorisation for the operation of retransmission (hereinafter referred to as “registration”) under this Act,
h) basic programme specification means the definition of prevailing genres in the over-all composition of the programme,
i) programme means an intentional time-based arrangement of individual units of radio or television programmes and other parts of broadcasting, including the flow of programme elements in radio broadcasting, within the framework of one broadcast programme,
j) programme unit means a part of radio or television broadcasting, which is consistent and coherent in terms of content and structure and which is limited in time; in radio broadcasting programme unit shall also mean a programme element,
k) teletext means a system of broadcasting of text or graphical information concurrently with the broadcasting of the television signal, while the aforementioned information can be only displayed on the screen of a television set equipped with appropriate decoding device,
l) advertising means any public announcement broadcast in return for payment or another consideration or broadcast for the purpose of the broadcaster’s own promotion, intended to support the sale, purchase or lease of products or services, including real property, rights and obligations,
m) surreptitious advertising means verbal or visual presentation of goods, services, trade name, trademark or activities of a manufacturer of goods or provider of services included by the broadcaster in a programme unit which is not of the nature of advertising or teleshopping, if such a presentation intentionally follows an advertising objective and if it may mislead the customer as to the nature of the presentation; such a presentation is considered as intentional when it is provided in return for payment or another form of consideration,
n) teleshopping means a direct offer of goods, including real property, rights and duties, or services, which offer is meant for the public and which is included in radio or television broadcasting in return for payment or another form of consideration,
(o) sponsoring means any contribution provided by a natural or juristic person who/which does not operate television broadcasting or production of audiovisual works, for the purpose of directly or indirectly financing radio or television programme units, in order to promote the name and surname of the natural person or name of the juristic person, the company name, pictorial symbol (logo) or trade mark, the sponsor or his services, products or other outputs,
p) subliminal communication means audio, visual or audiovisual information, which is intentionally prepared to produce an influence on the subconscious of the listener or viewer, without leaving a possibility to perceive it consciously,
r) basic programme offer means a set of programmes, which is provided by a cable system operator at the lowest price,
s) cable system means a set of telecommunication equipment, which serves the broadcaster or the retransmission broadcaster for dissemination of programmes to subscribers at an agreed price; cable system includes television cable wiring, microwave systems of dissemination of programmes through transmitters or other technical means,
t) set of technical parameters means in the case of terrestrial transmission the frequency, radiated power and site of transmission,
u) repeated violation of duty means such violation as was penalised more than once during two consecutive calendar years.
(2) Radio and television broadcasting shall not mean a) provision of communication services focused on delivery of information or other messages on the basis of individual requirements, b) operation of telecommunication equipment and provision of telecommunication services pursuant to a specific legal regulation, 2)
c) broadcasting radio and television programmes via satellite, if such programmes are disseminated by a broadcaster on the basis of authorisation to operate radio and television broadcasting (hereinafter referred to as “licence”), granted pursuant to Article 12, or if the broadcaster is as defined in Article 3(1)(a) and such broadcasting serves solely for the purpose of transmission of code signal to transmitters,
d) communication of information related to the operation of technical means used for carrying out radio and television broadcasting.
(3) Retransmission shall not mean concurrent, complete and unchanged dissemination of radio and television programmes taken over from other sources, which are intended to be received by the public through a cable system, which covers a maximum of 100 participants with receiving sets subject to mandatory reporting; this number may be exceeded if the participants in a system of joint reception are located in a single building or in a complex of buildings belonging together in terms of space and function, provided that the signal transmission is led so that it does not cross a road and provided that such joint reception is not utilised commercially.
(4) Pursuant to this Act, network shall not mean
a) an agreement of broadcasters on joint broadcasting of advertisements and teleshopping; or jointly preparing, or taking over from each other, such programme parts as are not significant from the point of view of their share in the total duration of broadcasting per day within the programme,
b) broadcasting of programmes by two or more broadcasters on shared frequencies.
Article 3
Scope of the Act
(1) This Act shall apply to:
a) broadcasters that operate on the basis of specific legal regulations,3),4) (hereinafter referred to as “statutory broadcaster”),
2) Act No. 151/2000 on telecommunications and on change to other acts.
3) Act No. 483/1991 on the Czech Television, as amended.
4) Act No. 484/1991 on the Czech Radio, as amended.
b) broadcasters that operate on the basis of licence granted pursuant to this Act (hereinafter referred to as “licensed broadcaster”),
c) retransmission broadcasters that operate on the basis of registration pursuant to this Act.
b) it has its seat or site of business activities in the Czech Republic and makes decisions on the composition of the television programme in another Member State of the European Communities, or conversely, if
c) it has its seat or site of business activities in the Czech Republic and makes decisions on the composition of the television programme in a state which is not a Member State of the European Communities, or conversely, if a significant part of the employees of such a person carry out the activities related to the operation of television broadcasting in the Czech Republic.
(4) If it is impossible to consider a juristic or natural person as established in the Czech Republic or in another Member State of the European Communities according to Paragraph 3 above, this Act shall apply to such a juristic or natural person provided that such a juristic or natural person uses for its television broadcasting or retransmission:
a) a frequency allocated by the Czech Republic, or
b) a satellite, whose position on the orbit belongs to the Czech Republic, unless such a juristic or natural person uses a frequency allocated by the Czech Republic or another Member State of the European Communities, or
c) an ascending signal transmitted to the satellite from the territory of the Czech Republic, unless such a juristic or natural person uses either a frequency allocated by the Czech Republic or another Member State of the European Communities, or a satellite, whose position on the orbit belongs to the Czech Republic or another Member State of the European Communities.
4a) Article 2(3) of the Commercial Code
(5) As to juristic or natural persons who operate television broadcasting or television retransmission without being among those that can be considered as established in the Czech Republic or in another Member State of the European Communities on the basis of Paragraph 3 above and without meeting in the Czech Republic or another Member State of the European Communities any of the conditions set out in Paragraph 4 above, this Act shall apply to such a juristic or natural person, provided that such a person is considered as being established in the Czech Republic in accordance with the Treaty Establishing the European Community4b).
Article 3a
Prerequisites for participation in the procedure for the granting of the broadcasting licence and
in the procedure for the registration of retransmission broadcasting
PART TWO
COUNCIL FOR RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING
Article 4
Status of the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting
Article 5
4b) Article 43 et seq. of the Treaty Establishing the European Community, OJ C 340 of 10 November 1997 4c) Commercial Code 4d) Article 21 (1, 2, 4 and 5), Article 22 et seq. of Commercial Code
Powers and duties of the Council
The Council shall have the following powers and duties:
a) supervise compliance with legal regulations in the area of radio and television broadcasting and the conditions stipulated in the decision on granting the licence or in the decision on registration,
b) grant, change and withdraw licences for the operation of radio and television broadcasting,
c) grant, change and cancel decisions on registration to operate retransmission,
d) maintain records on broadcasters and retransmission broadcasters,
e) publish on a regular basis – doing so in a manner allowing remote access – a list of licence and registration applications, list of licences granted and changes thereto, list of registrations granted and changes thereto, as well as overviews of the utilisation of frequencies within the range dedicated to radio and television broadcasting,
f) impose sanctions pursuant to this Act,
g) monitor the broadcasting,
h) grant approval for the Czech Telecommunication Office to issue permits for the operation of transmitters for other radio communication services within the part of frequency range dedicated to radio and television broadcasting,
i) prepare, in co-operation with the Czech Telecommunication Office, the part of allocation plan for the frequency range dedicated to radio and television broadcasting,
j) determine the set of technical parameters which are included in the operating authorisations for broadcasters pursuant to Article 3(1)(a) and (b),
k) prepare opinions and proposals, thus contributing to the development of principles of the government policy of the Czech Republic with regard to broadcasting and to the concepts of its future development,
l) issue Statutes and Rules of Procedure of the Council and Organisation Rules of the Council Office,
m) submit its draft budget and final financial statement to the Ministry of Finance and to the appropriate body of the House of Deputies,
n) publish Council resolutions, Council annual report, minutes of Council meetings, if not in contradiction with specific legal regulations, and other information as the case may be; the mode of publishing must allow remote access to the published items,
o) publish court decisions on judicial remedies and on law suits against Council decisions; this shall not preclude the provisions of specific legal regulations5),
p) fulfil other tasks as laid down by this Act.
Article 6
Obligations of the Council
(1) Every year the Council shall submit to the House of Deputies an annual report on its activities and on the status of radio and television broadcasting (hereinafter referred to as the “Annual Report”), which shall contain in particular the following information: a) updated list of broadcasters and retransmission broadcasters, b) information on the situation in the area of radio and television broadcasting and in the
area of radio and television retransmission,
5) For instance Act No. 101/2000 on the protection of personal data and on the change to some acts, as amended; Act No. 513/1991, Commercial Code, as amended.
c) information on the state of compliance with legal regulations in the area of radio and television broadcasting and on the sanctions that have been imposed,
d) information on the results of audits dealing with the fulfilment of the obligations laid down by this Act and of the conditions stipulated for broadcasters and retransmission broadcasters,
e) information on the licences that have been granted and on the criteria that have been used as the basis for granting the licences to the applicants and for rejecting the applications of all other participants in the procedure,
f) information on changes of licence conditions for licensed broadcasters,
g) information on support to European production and European independent production in television broadcasting, on securing the prescribed proportion of European production (Article 42) and independent production (Article 43) and on the reasons for not attaining the prescribed proportions, as the case may be,
h) information on the utilisation of the frequency range dedicated to radio and television broadcasting,
i) proposals for measures reflecting new technologies in the area of radio and television broadcasting.
a) full legal capacity,
b) permanent residence in the Czech Republic,
c) minimum age of 25 years,
d) integrity; this requirement is not considered as being fulfilled if the candidate has been effectively sentenced for an offence committed in direct relation to the operation of radio or television broadcasting or retransmission or in direct relation to publishing periodical press, or for any other wilful offence, unless such a sentence has been annulled or unless there is any other reason to consider such a person as if not sentenced; furthermore, the person fails to fulfil the requirement of integrity if he/she does not comply with the conditions laid down by a specific act.6)
the Prime Minister,
c) as at the date that immediately follows after the delivery of written decision of the Prime Minister on removal of the Council Member from his/her capacity, or alternatively as at the date indicated in the written decision on removal of the Council Member from his/her capacity,
d) as at the date of finality of any judgment depriving the Council Member of his/her legal capacity or limiting his/her legal capacity, e) as at the date of finality of any judgment whereby the Council Member was convicted of any of the offences listed in Article 7(3)(d), f) with the death or declaration of death of the Council Member.
6) Act No. 451/1991 whereby some additional prerequisites are laid down for eligibility to assume certain capacities in government authorities and organisations of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, as amended.
National Bank, Member of the Council of the Czech Press Agency, Member of the Council of the Czech Television and Member of the Council of the Czech Radio.
PART THREE
LICENCES
CHAPTER I
PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING THE LICENCE FOR OPERATING RADIO AND
TELEVISION BROADCASTING DISSEMINATED THROUGH TRANSMITTERS
Article 12
Licences
7) Act No. 236/1995 on salary and benefits related to the discharge of function of representatives of
government powers and certain government bodies and judges, as amended. 8) Act No. 218/2000 on budget rules and on change to some related acts (Budget Rules), as amended. 8a) Act No. 218/2002 on the service of civil servants in administrative offices and on the remuneration of
such employees and other employees in administrative offices Civil Service Act).
the 36th month and the end of the 30th month remaining to the expiration of validity of the existing licence,
b) in case of nation-wide television broadcasting: within the period between the beginning of the 48th month and the end of the 42nd month remaining to the expiration of validity of the existing licence,
c) in case of local radio or television broadcasting: within the period between the beginning of the 36th month and the end of the 30th month remaining to the expiration of validity of the existing licence.
inhumane conduct through of its trivialisation, apology or approval,
b) broadcasting of programme units inciting to hatred relating to race, sex, religion, ethnic origin or association with a certain group of population,
c) broadcasting of programme units that gratuitously show persons dying or exposed to severe physical or mental suffering in a way that affects human dignity,
d) broadcasting of subliminal communications,
e) broadcasting of programme units that may seriously affect physical, mental or moral
development of minors by means of displaying gratuitous pornography or brutal violence, f) transfer of share in the broadcaster’s company to third persons without prior consent by the Council, thus violating the obligation laid down in Articles 21(6) and 21(7).
Article 13
Participants in licensing procedure
procedure was started with regard to the applicant's property; no liquidation was
initiated,
b) evidence that no unpaid tax is registered in taxation records,
c) evidence that no unpaid premiums for public medical insurance, social security or contributions for the government employment policy are outstanding,
d) the applicant’s licence or registration has not been cancelled during the period of the last 5 years; this requirement does not apply to the cases where the licence or the registration was cancelled upon the request of the operator,
e) no final sentence for wilful offence was declared with regard to the applicant; if a juristic person requests granting the licence, this prerequisite shall also apply to the natural persons who are appointed as statutory body of the applicant or who are members of the applicant’s statutory or supervisory bodies,
f) the applicant shall not be a partner of any statutory broadcaster or a partner in commercial companies established by a statutory broadcaster.
(4) The participant in the licensing procedure shall not be entitled to inspect the parts of the files concerning any other participant. The Council shall undertake appropriate measures ensuring that the participant in the licensing procedure may not get acquainted with the data on the technical, organisational and financial background for broadcasting of other participants.
Article 14
Licence application
(1) The licence application shall contain the following essential information:
a) for juristic persons: registered company name, seat, legal form, identification number (if applicable), name, surname and birth identification number of the person authorised to act on behalf of the juristic person; if the licence applicant is a foreign juristic person, the information shall also contain data on the location and identification of the subsidiary in the territory of the Czech Republic, the name, surname and birth identification number or the date of birth of subsidiary manager and his/her residential address; if a deputy was appointed the information shall also contain the deputy’s name, surname and place of residence,
b) for natural persons: name, surname, birth identification number (if applicable); if not applicable, then the date of birth; the residence address, proof of permanent residence in the territory of the Czech Republic; furthermore the company name, identification number (if applicable); if not applicable, then the date of start of business activities; and residence address. If the licence applicant is a foreign person the residence address outside the territory of the Czech Republic shall be specified together with residence address in the Czech Republic if the residence has been permitted; furthermore information must be given on the location and identification of the subsidiary entered in the Commercial Register on the basis of a specific legal regulation,9a), and the name, surname and birth identification number or the date of birth of subsidiary manager and his/her residential address; if a deputy is appointed, the name, surname and residential address of such a deputy must also be indicated,
c) information pursuant to Articles 14(1)(a) and 14(1)(b) on all partners and persons who are statutory bodies or members of statutory or supervisory bodies in case the licence applicant is a juristic person,
d) if the licence applicant is a juristic person, it is required to present data on the amount of equity capital, shares of voting rights and capital contributions of the partners, if they are mandatory, including the specification of type and financial valuation of in-kind capital contributions,
e) identification (name) of the programme,
f) time frame and geographical area of broadcasting,
g) basic specification of the programme, including the information on the part of the programme take over from another broadcaster,
h) in case of applicant for operating television broadcasting it is required that the applicant presents a specification of the proposed proportion of total broadcasting time to be reserved for broadcasting European works and European works produced by independent producers,
i) data and proof of the amount of financial resources that are available to the applicant for spending in the operation of radio and television broadcasting.
(2) The essential data specified in Article 14(1) shall be documented by the applicant by presenting the memorandum of association or memorandum of foundation, the statutes, list of shareholders, extract from the Commercial Register dated not earlier than 3 months
9a) Article 21 (4 and 5) of the Commercial Code
ago, and residence permit. Simultaneously the applicant shall append to the licence application the letters of the relevant authorities dated not earlier than 3 months ago confirming that the licence applicant has no unpaid taxes registered in taxation records and that he/she is not liable to pay any overdue premiums for public medical insurance, social security or contributions for the government policy of employment; furthermore a proof of no criminal record dated not earlier than 30 days ago of the licence applicant and of the members of applicant's statutory and supervisory bodies shall be submitted as well.
the broadcasting, including the results hitherto achieved by the applicant in the area of radio and television broadcasting, if the applicant has developed business in such an area,
b) transparency of ownership relations in the company of the applicant,
c) benefits of the programme structure as proposed by the applicant for licence with regard to the existing variety in the offer of programmes of radio or television broadcasting in the territory to be covered by radio or television broadcasting,
d) in case that the licence for television broadcasting is involved: the representation of European production (Article 42), production of independent European producers and contemporary production (Article 43) in the programme structure of television broadcasting,
e) benefits provided by the applicant for the development of original production,
f) in case of television broadcasting: the readiness of the applicant to provide surreptitious or open subtitles in a certain percentage of broadcast programme units intended for persons with impaired hearing,
g) benefits provided by the applicant for the development of the culture of ethnic and other minorities in the Czech Republic.
Article 19
Decision on rejecting the licence application
Action may be brought within 30 days from the delivery of the decision on the basis of a specific legal regulation9b) against the statement contained in the decision of the Council to reject an application for licence.
Article 20
Restriction and change of the geographical area of broadcasting
(1) The Council may limit the geographical area of broadcasting for a licensed broadcaster and a statutory broadcaster if such a broadcaster, upon the start of the broadcasting, has failed to carry out broadcasting activities in the given part of the territory for more than 90 days during the calendar year or who has not been using the allocated frequency effectively; the period when justified technical obstacles prevented the operator from broadcasting or from effective utilize of the frequency shall not be included into the aforementioned time frame of 90 days.
9b) Article 65 et seq. of Act No. 150/2002, Rules of Administrative Procedure.
(5) The geographical area of broadcasting shall not be changed by any other means.
Article 21
Changes in certain parameters and changes to licence conditions
(1) Licensed broadcaster shall ask the Council in advance for written consent with any change of the following facts specified in the licence application: a) identification of programme name, b) change in the time frame and geographical area of broadcasting and in the set of
technical parameters,
c) change in the geographical area of broadcasting in cable systems,
d) change in licence conditions,
e) change in the amount of equity capital, in the manner of distribution of voting rights,
capital contributions of the partners (including the specification of the type and financial valuation of in-kind contributions) or of the members, and in the amount of their business share, memoranda of association or foundation, statutes and lists of partners or shareholders.
9) Articles 29 and 40 of Act No. 71/1967 on administrative procedure (Code of Administrative Procedure).
Commercial Register the period shall be 30 days from the date of their entry in the Commercial Register.
Article 24
Expiration of licence validity
The licence shall lose validity:
a) with expiration of the period for which it was granted,
b) as at the date of dissolution of the juristic person to which the licence was granted,
c) with the death of the natural person to whom the licence was granted,
d) as of the date of finality of the Council decision on withdrawal of the licence due to the reasons specified in Article 63,
e) as of the date of finality of a sentence whereby the licensed broadcaster, who is a physical person, was convicted of a particularly serious criminal offence or of an economic offence or of an offence against property,
f) on the date as at which the licensed broadcaster requested for termination of broadcasting.
Article 24a
CHAPTER II
LICENSING PROCEDURE FOR THE OPERATION OF RADIO OR TELEVISION
BROADCASTING DISSEMINATED THROUGH SATELLITES AND CABLE SYSTEMS
Article 25
a specific legal regulation, with placing the licence applicant’s programme in the cable network, if the programme is planned to be broadcast through the cable network and if the participant in the procedure has no authorisation to build and operate a cable network,
b) information on the countries where it is possible to receive the programme and the specification of the satellite, if the programme is planned to be broadcast via satellite.
PART FOUR
REGISTRATION
Article 26
Registration of retransmission
c) it results from the application that through the retransmission, legal regulations would be infringed.
Article 29
Change in registration
(1) The retransmission broadcaster shall report to the Council in advance any changes in the following facts, specified in the application for registration: a) capital contributions of individual partners, amounts of their business shares and the
system of distribution of voting rights, b) list of shareholders (partners), c) change in programme offer, d) geographical area of broadcasting.
(2) A change may only be carried out after its registration by the Council.
(3) Changes in other facts specified in the application for registration shall be announced by the retransmission broadcaster to the Council within 15 days from the date when the changes occurred.
(4) The provisions of Articles 28(1) to 28(3) shall apply in a similar way.
Article 30
Expiry of registration validity
The registration shall expire:
a) as at the day of dissolution of the juristic person which was registered,
b) with to the death of the natural person who was registered,
c) with the Council’s decision on cancellation of registration due to the reasons specified in Article 64,
d) by cancellation of registration upon the request of the retransmission broadcaster,
e) as at the effective date of the sentence, whereby the retransmission broadcaster was effectively convicted of a particularly serious criminal offence or of an economic offence or of an offence against property.
PART FIVE
RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF BROADCASTERS AND RETRANSMISSION
BROADCASTERS
CHAPTER I
RIGHTS AND DUTIES IN PROGRAMME BROADCASTING
Article 31
Programme contents
b) ensure that the broadcast programme units do not promote war or show brutal or otherwise inhumane behaviour in a manner which would involve its trivialisation, apology or approval,
c) ensure that the broadcast programme units do not arouse hatred for reasons relating to
race, gender, religion, nationality or membership of a certain group of the population, d) ensure that the broadcast programme units do not contain subliminal communications, e) not include in the broadcasting any programme units that may seriously affect the
physical, mental or moral development of minors by, in particular, involving pornography and gross violence as an end itself, f) avoid showing, without justification, dying people or people exposed to heavy physical or mental torture, doing so in a manner detrimental to human dignity,
g) avoid including in the programme during the period of 06,00 h to 22,00 h any programme units and announcements which might endanger the physical, mental or moral development of minors,
h) ensure that the radio and television broadcasting of any programme unit to which the restriction referred to under letter g) above applies is immediately preceded by a verbal warning of the unsuitability of the programme unit for minors and that any programme unit that might endanger the physical, mental or moral development of minors should be labelled, in the case of television broadcasting, with a pictorial symbol warning of the unsuitability of the programme unit for minors; such a symbol shall remain on the screen throughout the time of broadcasting,
i) in urgent public interest, if so requested by the State authorities and the local public administration authorities, provide such authorities with the broadcasting time needed for important and urgent announcements to promulgate the state of emergency or state of threat to the State, or to proclaim the state of war, or announce measures to protect public health; responsibility for the contents shall be borne by those who requested the broadcasting time to be provided,
j) maintain records of all programme units for a period not shorter than 30 days from the date of broadcasting and make them available to the Council; the broadcaster shall be entitled to compensation, by the Council, for the necessary costs incurred to meet this duty,
k) if as a result of the broadcasting of a certain programme unit the Council or any other body of the State initiated administrative procedure for the imposition of a penalty in compliance herewith or with a specific legal regulation, or initiated criminal procedure or civil procedure, the broadcaster shall, if so requested by an appropriate State body, maintain the record to which the procedure applies, the record being so maintained at a good technical quality until such a procedure is terminated by an effective decision,
l) indicate the mark of the television programme (logo) in television broadcasting, except for the broadcasting of advertising and teleshopping,
m) identify the radio programme at least once in an hour, provided that such identification does not affect the coherence of the programme unit being broadcast,
n) notify the Council of any technical obstacles which hinder the broadcasting,
o) ask the Council in advance to provide its consent to any interruption of broadcasting for any reason other than shown under in Article 31(1)(n).
31 (1)(b,c,e,f) above, b) any programme units as might endanger the physical, mental or moral development of minors, if broadcast in contradiction with the provisions of Article 32(1)(g,h) above.
Article 33
Obligations of the broadcaster
in respect of the broadcasting of events of major importance for society
Article 34
The Broadcasting of Brief Information
(1) The television broadcaster possesses the right to broadcast - as part of a regular news programme unit - brief topical information on any event of increased public interest though exclusive broadcasting rights in relation to such an event may be held by another television broadcaster, provided, however, that such an event is publicly accessible. The total time of broadcasting of such brief information on any such event shall not exceed 3 minutes daily.
(2) The television broadcaster which exercises, in the Czech Republic, exclusive rights in respect of any event referred to in Section 34(1) shall provide a recording of such an event to the television broadcasters who were not allowed to be present at the site of the event for reasons of danger to public security or public order or to undisturbed course of the event, or for technical reasons or for reasons of lack of space on the organiser’s side, and shall do so without undue delay against reimbursement for the costs relating to the copying of the record of the event.
CHAPTER II
PROTECTION OF PERSONS AFFECTED BY THE CONTENTS OF RADIO OR
TELEVISION BROADCASTING
Article 35 The Right of Reply
Article 36 Additional announcement
and if that is not possible, then in a broadcasting time of the same value as that at which the challenged announcement was made public. In terms of form the new announcement shall be on a par with, and in terms of extent it should be adequate to,
the challenged announcement,
b) with express indication of “Response” or “Additional Announcement”,
c) at the broadcaster’s own expenses,
d) in the same language in which the challenged announcement was transmitted,
e) with indication of the name and surname of the natural person or name of the juristic person who or which applied for the reply or additional announcement to be transmitted, if such a person so requests.
CHAPTER III
PROMOTION OF EUROPEAN PRODUCTION
AND INDEPENDENT EUROPEAN PRODUCTION
Article 42
The television broadcaster shall, where possible, reserve more than a half of the total broadcasting time of each channel to European production. The total broadcasting time on the basis of which the proportion of European works is determined shall not be deemed to include the time of broadcasting news and reporting programme units, sports events, contests, teletext, advertising and teleshopping.
Article 43
b) works originating from European states which are not Member States of the European Communities but are parties to Council of Europe’s European Transborder Television Convention, and meeting the conditions specified in Article 46(2) below,
c) works originating from European states not referred to in Articles 46(1)(a) and (b) above, meeting the conditions specified in Article 46(3) below,
d) works originating from the Czech Republic.
Provisions in Articles 47(1)(b) and (c) may only be applied unless measures discriminating against works originating from the Member States of the European Communities are in force in the European states concerned.
(2) Works referred to in Article 46(1)(a) or (b) shall be deemed to include works mainly made with authors and workers having permanent residence in one or more States indicated in Article 46(1)(a) or (b), provided that a) such works were created by one or more producers established in one or more such
States,
b) the production of the works is supervised and actually controlled by the producer or several producers established in one or more such States, or
c) the contribution of co-producers from such States to the total co-production costs prevails and the co-production is not controlled by one or more producers established outside the territory of such States.
the Council a) information on the number and length of the European works being broadcast, including identification thereof and their producers,
b) information on the number and length of the broadcast European works created by independent producers, including identification of such works and their producers, and/or documents to prove that such a television broadcaster spent at least 10% of its programming budget on the production or purchase of European works created by independent producers, including identification of the producers of such works,
c) lists of the broadcast European works created by independent producers which were produced 5 years ago or sooner.
CHAPTER IV
ADVERTISING, TELESHOPPING AND SPONSORING OF PROGRAMME UNITS
Article 48
The duties of broadcasters in respect of the broadcasting of advertising and teleshopping
(1) Broadcasters may not include in the broadcasting a) advertising and teleshopping that encourage conduct which endangers morality, customer interests or interests relating to health, safety or environment protection, b) advertising and teleshopping which are intended for minors or in which minors appear, insofar as such advertising and teleshopping encourage conduct which endangers minors’ physical, mental or moral development, c) advertising and teleshopping in which newscasters, moderators or editors of news and political programme units appear, d) religious and atheist advertisements and teleshopping and political parties’ and movements’ advertisements and teleshopping, including those of independent candidates standing for the posts of deputies, senators or members of a city or local council or council of a higher-level self-government unit, unless otherwise provided in a special act, e) advertising and teleshopping concerning therapeutic preparations and medical products the issue of which is bound to medical prescription in the Czech Republic, f) advertising and teleshopping in respect of tobacco and the products thereof, g) surreptitious, deceptive and subliminal advertising and deceptive teleshopping,
h) advertising and teleshopping containing subliminal communication, i) advertising and teleshopping affecting the respect to human dignity,
j) advertising and teleshopping which challenges faith and religion, or political or other convictions,
k) advertising and teleshopping, which involves discrimination with respect to gender, race, colour of the skin, language, national or social origin, or membership of a national or ethnic minority.
(4) The television broadcaster shall ensure that
a) advertising and teleshopping are recognisable from any other parts of the programme structure and are clearly separated therefrom by acoustic means in the case of a radio broadcaster and by acoustic or combined acoustic/optical means in the case of a television broadcaster,
b) advertising and teleshopping spots are always broadcast in blocks between individual programme units; isolated advertising and teleshopping spots may be included in broadcasting only exceptionally; this shall not apply to radio broadcasting,
c) advertising and teleshopping in respect of erotic services and products are not included in broadcasting during the period of 06,00 h and 22,00 h, d) advertising and teleshopping do not immediately precede or follow the broadcasting of liturgical services.
Article 52
Special provisions on advertising and teleshopping
in respect of alcoholic beverages
Advertising and teleshopping in respect of alcoholic beverages shall not
a) be specially focused on minors or depict minors drinking alcohol beverages,
b) link the consumption of alcohol to enhanced physical performance or to driving,
c) create the impression that the consumption of alcohol contributes to social or sexual success,
d) assert that alcohol has therapeutic qualities or a stimulating or sedative action or is a means to resolve personal conflicts,
e) encourage immoderate consumption of alcoholic beverages or present abstinence or moderation in an unfavourable light,
f) emphasise a high content of alcohol as a positive quality of the beverage.
Article 53
Obligations of broadcasters
in respect of the broadcasting of sponsored programme units
CHAPTER V
SPECIAL AUTHORISATIONS AND DUTIES OF BROADCASTERS AND
RETRANSMISSION BROADCASTERS IN THE CABLE SYSTEM
Article 54 Provision of local broadcasting and the compulsory minimum programme offer
(1) The licensed broadcaster in the cable system and the retransmission broadcaster in the cable system shall - if so requested by the municipality or voluntary association of municipalities - reserve one channel for an unpaid local information system serving
11) Article 2(v) of Act No. 110/1997, on foodstuffs and tobacco products and on amendment to certain related acts, as amended in Act No. 166/1999, Act No. 119/2000, Act No. 306/2000 and Act No. 146/2002.
exclusively for the purposes of the local community; without the consent of the licensed broadcaster and the retransmission broadcaster, such a channel must not be used for advertising and teleshopping purposes.
Article 55
The securing of plurality of information
in nation-wide radio and television broadcasting
Article 57
Formation of programme networks
No programme network may cover by radio or TV broadcasting more than 70% of the total population of the Czech Republic, counted on the basis of the information from the last population census.
Article 58
Consolidation of broadcasters or retransmission broadcasters
(1) The broadcaster or retransmission broadcaster shall notify the Council about any of the following circumstances:
a) radio broadcasters consolidated and television broadcasters consolidated, such a consolidation taking the form of merger of two juristic persons or sale of the undertaking or a substantial part thereof;
b) a consolidation occurred between radio broadcasters and between television broadcasters wherein
3. are related parties; c) a consolidation of radio broadcasters occurred whereby one juristic person or one natural person exerts a substantial influence on two or more radio broadcasters;
d) a consolidation of television broadcasters occurred whereby one juristic person or one natural person exerts a substantial influence on two or more television broadcasters.
(2) A juristic person or natural person shall be regarded as having a substantial influence on a broadcaster insofar as a) it possesses, directly or indirectly, a share of voting rights greater than 34%; indirect
holding means holding through a controlled party,
b) it makes decisions regarding the majority of employees of the broadcaster who are under the direct managing authority of the statutory body or a member thereof, or makes decisions on the persons that provide, on the basis of a mandate agreement or any other agreement, significant administrative, managing or trading activities for the broadcaster,
c) it has opportunities to exercise controlling influence on the management of the broadcaster upon the basis of a contract, a special provision in the Statutes, Articles of Partnership or Founder’s Deed or agreement with persons who are partners to or shareholders of the broadcaster regardless of the validity or non-validity of such an agreement.
(3) Duties specified in Articles 56 and 57 shall not apply to statutory broadcasters or broadcasters possessing a short-term licence.
Article 59
Corrective measures
a) includes in broadcasting any programme unit which gratuitously shows dying people or people exposed to heavy physical or mental suffering, doing so in a manner detrimental to human dignity,
b) fails to fulfil the duties specified in Article 31(2) and (3),
c) fails to provide broadcasting time as may be needed for important notices in urgent public interest as referred to in Article 32(1)(i),
d) destroys the records of the programme units that have been broadcast and does so before expiry of the period referred to in Article 32(1)(j),
e) fails to provide the Council with the record of any requested programme unit within 15 days of the date of delivery of the request under Article 32(1)(j),
f) breaches the obligations relating to the marking of the programmes in accordance with Article 32(1)(l, m),
g) fails to provide scope in the cable network for a nation-wide broadcaster, as required by Article 54(2),
h) fails to notify the Council, as required by Article 32(1)(n), of any technical obstacles which hinder the broadcasting,
i) breaches the duties or fails to meet the conditions for the broadcasting of events of major importance for society under Article 33(1) and 33(2),
j) fails to provide record of the broadcasting of an event which is a subject of major importance for society if there is a simultaneous live coverage of another event of major importance for society in accordance with Article 33(2),
k) breaches the ban on the sponsoring of news programme units and political programme units, as referred to in Article 53(2).
l) fails to meet the duties prescribed for the broadcasting of advertising, teleshopping and sponsored programme units,
m) fails to provide the Council with the information needed for inspection of the proportion of European production and independent production as referred to in Article 47(1),
n) fails to state the reasons of not fulfilling the duty as to the required proportions of European production and independent production as referred to in Article 47(2), o) fails to comply with the provisions of Article 32(2).
(2) The Council shall impose a fine of CZK 10,000.- to CZK 5,000,000.- upon any
broadcaster and retransmission broadcaster in the event that such a broadcaster
a) fails to reserve the required proportion of broadcasting time for European works and for European works created by independent producers in accordance with Articles 42 to 44,
b) fails to notify the Council of any change in the information contained in the licence application in accordance with Article 21(2),
c) fails to apply in advance for the Council’s consent to any change in the scheduling and territorial coverage of broadcasting and change in the set of technical parameters according to Article21(1)(b),
d) fails to apply in advance for the Council’s consent to any change in the technical parameters and fails to apply in advance for the Council’s consent to any change in the territorial coverage of broadcasting in the cable systems,
e) fails to maintain the schedule or territorial coverage of broadcasting and the set of technical parameters,
f) fails to maintain the basic programme specification,
g) fails to meet the licence conditions,
h) fails to inform the Council in advance about any changes in the information indicated in the application for registration as referred to in Article 29(1),
i) fails to reserve one channel for the broadcasting of programmes for meeting the needs of the delineated local area covered by the cable network, as referred to in Article 54(1),
j) fails to maintain the territorial coverage of broadcasting in the cable systems.
(3) The Council shall impose a fine of CZK 20,000.- to CZK 10,000,000.- upon any broadcaster or retransmission broadcaster, if such a broadcaster
a) includes in its broadcasting structure any programme units that promote war or show brutal or otherwise inhumane behaviour in a manner involving its trivialisation, apology or approval,
b) includes in its broadcasting structure any programme units that contain subliminal communication,
c) includes in its broadcasting structure any programme units that may seriously affect the physical, mental or moral development of minors, especially where such programme units contain pornography and gross gratuitous violence,
d) includes in its broadcasting structure in the period of 06,00 to 22,00 hours programme units and captions that might affect the physical, mental or moral development of minors,
e) breaches duties as stipulated in Article 32(1)(a), f) breaches duties as stipulated in Article 32(1)(c), g) breaches duties as stipulated in Article 32(1)(o).
21(7), b) breaches the notification duty as referred to in Article 58, c) commits a gross breach of the licence conditions.
Article 61
Joint provisions on the imposition of fines
application or such a broadcaster breached the duty specified in Articles 55 and 56,
b) repeatedly commits a particularly serious breach of the obligation set out in Article 32(1)(a,c,d,e) hereof and a fine has repeatedly been imposed upon the broadcaster for such breaches,
c) repeatedly commits a particularly serious breach of the licence conditions.
(2) The Council may withdraw the licence of a licensed broadcaster if such a licensed broadcaster a) failed to start radio broadcasting within 180 days of the date of finality of the decision
to grant the licence or the broadcaster failed to start television broadcasting within 360 days of the date of finality of the decision to grant the licence,
b) the broadcaster failed for 30 days in total to do any broadcasting within the calendar year following the start of broadcasting; the time of failure to broadcast shall not be deemed to include the time for which the broadcasting was impeded by justified technical hindrances,
c) bankruptcy proceedings were adjudged in respect of the assets of the broadcaster.
Article 64
Cancellation of registration
Czech Republic, b) bankruptcy proceedings were adjudged in respect of the assets of the broadcaster.
Article 65 Joint provisions on the withdrawal of the licence and cancellation of registration
Joint provisions
Article 66
Unless otherwise provided herein, any proceedings shall be as stipulated in the Rules of Administrative Procedure, except the provisions concerning appellate procedure, remonstrance procedure, review procedure, retrial procedure and new decision procedure9c. Action may be brought on the basis of a specific legal regulation9b) against the award of the decision to reject an application for licence, decision on a change in licence, decision on the withdrawal of licence, decision not to extend licence, decision to reject registration, decision on cancellation of registration and decision on penalty. The filing of the action has a suspensive effect. The court must make a decision in respect of the action within 90 days.
Article 66a
Unless otherwise provided herein, the procedure in the regulation of advertising shall be as provided in Act No. 19/1995 on the regulation of advertising and on amendment to Act No. 468/1991 on radio and television broadcasting operation, as amended.
Article 67
Revoking provisions
Article 69
This is to revoke:
PART NINE
Amendment to Act No. 236/1995, on salaries and other items related to the discharge of
the office of representatives of state power and certain state bodies, and of judges
Article 70
Act No. 236/1995, on salaries and other items related to the discharge of the office of representatives of state power and certain state bodies and if judges, as amended in Act No. 138/1996, Act No. 287/1997 and Act No. 155/2000, shall be amended as follows:
“CHAPTER FIVE A
DETAILS RELATED TO MEMBER, VICE-CHAIRPERSON AND CHAIRPERSON
OF THE COUNCIL FOR RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING
Salary and Additional Salary
Article 24a
Amendment to Act No. 99/1963, Law of Civil Procedure, as later amended
Article 71
Act No. 99/1963, Law of Civil Procedure, as amended in Act No. 36/1967, Act No. 158/1969, Act No. 49/1973, Act No. 20/1975, Act No. 133/1982, Act No. 180/1990, Act No. 328/1991, Act No. 519/1991, Act No. 263/1992, Act No. 24/1993, Act No. 171/1993, Act No. 117/1994, Act No. 152/1994, Act No. 216/1994, Act No. 84/1995, Act No. 118/1995, Act No. 160/1995, Act No. 238/1995, Act No. 247/1995, Constitutional Court award No. 31/1996, Act No. 142/1996, Constitutional Court award No. 269/1996, Act No. 202/1997, Act No. 227/1997, Act No. 15/1998, Act No. 91/1998, Act No. 165/1998, Act No. 326/1999, Act No. 360/1999, Constitutional Court award No. 2/2000, Act No. 27/2000, Act No. 30/2000, Act No. 46/2000, Act No. 105/2000, Act No. 130/2000, Act No. 155/2000, Act No. 204/2000, Act No. 220/2000, Act No. 227/2000, Act No. 367/2000, Act No. 370/2000, Act No. 120/2001 and Act No. 137/2001, shall be amended as follows:
1. In Article 9 the full stop at the end of Paragraph 2 shall be replaced by a coma and a letter j)
shall be added, which, including footnote No. 1a shall read:
“j) in proceedings against a decision of the Council for Radio and Television
Broadcasting based on a special Act.1a)
1a)
Article 66 of Act No. 231/2001, on the Operation of Radio and Television Broadcasting and on Amendment to Other Acts of Law.”.
2. In Article 250m, a Paragraph 4 shall be added at the end, which, including footnote No. 57b, shall read:
“(4) Decision on a proposal submitted on the basis of a special Act57b) shall be made by the court not later than 60 days of the date of submission.
57b)
Article 19 and Article 5(1) of Act No. 231/2001”.
PART ELEVEN
Amendment to the Act on regulation of advertising
Article 72
Act No. 40/1995 on regulation of advertising and on amendment to Act No. 468/1991 on radio and television broadcasting operation, as later amended, as amended in Act No. 258/2000, shall be amended as follows:
1. In Article 3, Paragraph 1, including footnote No. 3, shall read as follows:
“(3) Advertising of tobacco and the products thereof in television and radio broadcasting is prohibited.3)
3)
Article 48(1)(f) of Act No. 231/2001, on radio and television broadcasting operation and on amendment to other acts.”.
7)
“Act No. 231/2001.”.
PART TWELVE
Amendment to Act No. 483/1991, on Czech Television,
as later amended
Article 73
Act No. 483/1991, on Czech Television, as amended in Act No. 36/1993, Act No. 253/1994, Act No. 301/1995 and Act No. 39/2001, shall be amended as follows:
In Article 3, Paragraph 2 shall read:
“(2) The State body responsible for the management of the frequency spectrum on the basis of a special legal regulation1a) shall, with prior consent of the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting, reserve frequencies for the Czech Television, which frequencies shall allow for the operation of television broadcasting within the range defined in Article 3(1)(a).”.
PART THIRTEEN Amendment to the Act on administrative charges
Article 74
The Schedule of Administrative Charges, contained in the Annex to Act No. 368/1992 on Administrative Charges, as amended in Act No. 10/1993, Act No.85/1994, Act No.273/1994, Act No.36/1995, Act No.301/1995, Act No.305/1997, Act No.149/1998, Act No.157/1998, Act No.167/1998, Act No.63/1999, Act No.166/1999, Act No.167/1999, Act No.326/1999, Act No.352/1999, Act No.357/1999, Act No.360/1999, Act No.363/1999, Act No.46/2000, Act No.62/2000, Act No.117/2000, Act No.133/2000, Act No.151/2000, Act No.153/2000, Act No.154/2000, Act No.156/2000, Act No.158/2000, Act No.227/2000, Act No.242/2000, Act No.307/2000, Act No.365/2000, and Act No. 140/2001, shall be amended as follows:
a) | Submission of application - for authorisation to operate television broadcasting - for extension of validity of the authorisation to operate television broadcasting | CZK 50,000.- CZK 50,000.- |
b) | Submission of application - for authorisation to operate radio broadcasting | CZK 15,000.- |
- for extension of validity of the authorisation to operate radio broadcasting CZK 15,000.-
c) Submission of application to operate retransmission broadcasting in a cable system or through satellites CZK 50,000.-
d) Submission of application to change the information indicated
e) Decision of the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting to extend the period of validity of the authorisation to operate nation-wide television broadcasting CZK 200,000,000.-
Note:
The charge as indicated under letter d) of this Item shall not be collected by the administrative body for changes that are also performed in the form of entry in the Commercial Register [Article 14(1)(a) to 14(1)(d) of Act No. 231/2001, on radio and television broadcasting operation and on Amendments to Other Acts].”.
PART FOURTEEN Change to Act No. 252/1994, on Radio and Television Licence Fees, as amended in Act No. 135/1997
Article 75
Act No. 252/1994, on Radio and Television Licence Fees, as amended in Act No. 135/1997, shall be amended as follows:
“(2) The payer shall pay the radio licence fee directly to the Czech Radio and the television licence fee directly to the Czech Television if so requested by the statutory broadcaster.”.
The hitherto existing Paragraphs 2 to 4 shall be designated as Paragraphs 3 to 5.
“(1) Records of the payers shall be maintained by the Czech Mail in its Post Offices appropriate to the permanent residence or seat of the payer, or by the statutory broadcaster.”.
PART FIFTEEN
EFFECT
Article 76
Klaus
Zeman