Abstract

The freedom of the media principle, included in Article 14 of the Constitution, is further developed in Article 54. The latter stipulates that everyone has the right to express their views as well as to obtain and distribute information, while preemptive censorship of the mass-media as well as licensing of the press are forbidden. An act may introduce an obligation to obtain a prior license to run a radio or TV station. In connection with Article 14, the freedom of speech stops being just a freedom of an individual, but it also becomes a state founding rule. The constitutional freedom of the media should be perceived in the light of its three fundamental elements: 1) the freedom to establish mass-media, 2) the freedom to run the mass media, 3) the freedom to shape their ownership structure. Obviously, the second element is the most important in the sphere of executing the freedom of speech. According to Article 123 of the Constitution, the National Broadcasting Council safeguards the freedom of speech in the radio and TV. This agency, independent of the government, is at the same time a regulator of the electronic media market. Both the freedom of speech and the resulting from it freedom of the media constitute a foundation of a democratic rule of law. However, they do not have an absolute character and have prescribed limits. The scope of permissible limits is defined by Article 31 Section 3 of the Constitution.