The role, duties and obligations of the public service broadcaster in Malta

Abstract

This work covers the role, duties and obligations of the public service broadcaster in Malta. It explores the subject through different perspectives, including the historical context, a comparative analysis with the situation in the United Kingdom and Italy, and then by focusing on the main elements that define the remit of the public service broadcaster. Those elements consist of the duty of impartiality, that of imparting information and ensuring objectivity, and the cultural role to safeguard and enhance a country’s sense of national identity and offering citizens a sense of belonging thereto. The thesis covers the legislation relating to the subject matter at a national level – in particular the Constitution of Malta, the Broadcasting Act and relevant subsidiary legislation, as well as Broadcasting Authority regulations and guidelines. At the European level, the thesis covers relevant instruments, such as Council Directives of the European Union, recommendations and decisions of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. The thesis includes a critical analysis of judgments of Malta’s Courts of Justice and the evolution of thought that has taken place in particular with regard to the concept of ‘due impartiality’. The judgments are examined in a chronological order as well as on a thematic basis to assess better this evolutionarly process. Moreover judgments are critically analysed from the point of view of substantive principles that have been established with regard to the subject matter, as well as, and separately so, from the point of view of jurisdictional and procedural issues that have had to be dealt with. These issues are of importance and relevance to practitioners in this field as well as to any person who could be a claimaint with regard to an infringement on the part of the public service broadcaster. The thesis concludes with a number of key recommendations that relate to public service broadcasting in Malta. These recommendations include how best to guarantee the independence of the public service broadcaster that cannot remain owned and licensed by Government, how to ensure a more independent Broadcasting Authority, the need to introduce the concept of a single convergent regulator, and how within the context of a broader reform relating to the entire broadcasting landscape in Malta, we need to bring about the closure of broadcasting stations owned by the political parties.