An Assessment of the Consistency of Hungary's Media Laws with ...

18 • Hungarian Media Laws in Europe
1/Media authority: independence
provision in the Media Act 2008 omits the second sentence. Instead, the Act merely notes that “the
Framework Act Autonomous Administrative Authorities applies to the Media Authority.” 105 The
Framework Act stipulates that members of an autonomous administrative authority are appointed,
recalled and dismissed by the relevant Government minister. 106 Therefore the main element of the
Hungarian Government’s statement is correct: that the Minister for Education, Culture and Science
is responsible for selecting the chairperson and other members of the Dutch Media Authority.
Whether this by itself substantiates the Hungarian Government’s claim that “authorities with a
much smaller degree of independence from government” than Hungary’s Media Authority is
a separate question. While some concerns have been expressed over the potential for political
influence over the Dutch Media Authority, the body generally has a large degree of formal and de
facto autonomy from the Government, both as specified in the law and with regards to how Media
Authority members are currently appointed in practice.
The Dutch Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media) was established in 1988 by the Dutch
Media Act, which was amended several times. 107 This law was replaced by the Media Act 2008,
which re-established the structure and implementation of Dutch media policy and incorporated
the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive. 108 The Media Authority is responsible for overseeing
commercial and public broadcasting and audiovisual media for compliance with the Media Act
2008, as well as the Media Decree (Mediabesluit) and the Media Regulation (Mediaregeling), which
further specifies the procedures and implementation of the Media Act’s provisions. 109 The Media
Authority exercises some authority over audiovisual online services, including those of public
service broadcasters but has no competency over traditional print or their online content.
The Media Authority currently consists of a chairman and two members, appointed by the
Minister for Education, Culture and Science for five-year terms, for a maximum of two terms. 110
Members are accountable to the minister, and can be dismissed by the minister if found to be unfit
for violating conflict-of-interest rules.
The Media Authority is a so-called “ZBO,” a formally autonomous administrative authority of
the central Government. The Authority’s formal independence is secured by a number of legal
provisions, including conflict-of-interest rules that exclude members who are employed by a
ministry or an affiliated institution, by Parliament or provincial or local government, or by public
or private broadcasters, newspapers and/or magazines. 111
However, a recent study of sustainable government indicators concluded that while the Media
Mediawet.htm. In fact, the English-language FAQ on the Media Authority website still says that “the members of the Media
Authority [..] are being appointed by Royal Decree, upon the recommendation of the Minister of Education, Culture and
Science,” which indicates that the current law has not been updated on the Media Authority’s website.
105 Per Article 7(2) of the Act of 29 December 2008 to establish a new Media Act (hereafter: the “Media Act 2008”),
available in Dutch at: http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0025028/volledig/geldigheidsdatum_12-09-2011; translation by
author.
106 Framework Act Autonomous Administrative Authorities (Kaderwet zelfstandige bestuursorganen), Article 12.1, available
in Dutch at: http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0020495/geldigheidsdatum_12-09-2011; translation by author.
107 Commissariaat voor de Media website, English-language section: http://www.cvdm.nl/content.jsp?objectid=7264.
108 Joost Gerritsen, “Netherlands Media Act 2008,” IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory,
2009-3:18/29, http://merlin.obs.coe.int/iris/2009/3/article29.en.html.
109 Commissariaat voor de Media website, English-language section: http://www.cvdm.nl/content.jsp?objectid=7264, and
Commissariaat voor de Media website, http://www.cvdm.nl/content.jsp?objectid=7294.
For legislation, see: Media Act 2008: http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0025028/volledig/geldigheidsdatum_12-09-2011;
Mediabesluit 2008, http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0025036/geldigheidsdatum_12-09-2011; Mediaregeling 2008, http://
wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0025040/geldigheidsdatum_12-09-2011.
110 Media Act 2008, available in Dutch at: http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0025028/volledig/
geldigheidsdatum_12-09-2011; translation by author.
111 “Is the Media Authority independent from the government?” Commissariaat voor de Media,
http://www.cvdm.nl/content.jsp?objectid=5850.