Towards a European Media Law?
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X9400100103 |
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Eric Barendt *
Towards a European Media Law?
§
1.
Introduction
Traditionally the regulation
of
the press and broadcasting media has been the responsi-
bility
of
nation states. That is not surprising, bearing in mind the crucial role the media
have played, and continue to play' in the formation
of
attitudes within largely national
communities. Indeed, the famous nineteenth century English essayist and historian,
Thomas Carlyle, characterized the Press
as
the 'Fourth Estate', regarding its contribu-
tion to the shape
of
contemporary politics
as
even more important than that
of
the three
branches
of
government. 1 These days politicians in democratic countries regard their
access to, and treatment by, television
as
crucial to their chances
of
electoral success.
It
is small wonder, therefore, that regulation
of
the broadcasting media has often been
a matter
of
intense political and constitutional controversy in European countries. In
France, for example, the debates on the 1984 Press law and the 1986 Broadcasting law
have been among the most bitter in the history
of
the Fifth Republic, while the rulings
of
the Conseil constitutionnel on these measures were the longest in its history. The
regulation
of
private broadcasting in Italy was
so
contentious that governments found
it impossible to secure the passage
of
legislation for nearly fifteen years after the Corte
costituzionale had first called on the legislature to act. 2
Against this background it may seem surprising to speculate about the prospects
of
a
genuinely European media law. One cannot expect states lightly
to
surrender their legal
powers over the press and broadcasting media. That does not preclude, however, the
emergence
of
common solutions to problems which have appeared in many European
jurisdictions in the last decade. For example, many countries, such
as
the United King-
* Goodman Professor
of
Media Law, University College London.
1. T. Carlyle, Heroes and Hero Worship, 'The Hero as Man
of
Letters' quoted by Stewart J. in
'Or
of
the Press', 26 Hastings U (1976), 631, 634.
2. Decision 202/1976, [1976] Giur. cost. 1267.
For
a short constitutional history ofltalian broadcasting
law since
the
war until 1988, see E.M. Barendt, 'The Influence
of
the German and Italian Constitu-
tional Courts on their National Broadcasting Systems', Public Law (1991), 93, 105-13.
MJ
1
(1994)
41
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