BA says Iva cannot be equated with a political party

The Broadcasting Authority yesterday filed written submissions in the case instituted against it in the Civil Court by the Iva movement.

The movement is claiming that the authority's refusal to allow it to broadcast its spots on Public Broadcasting Services Limited's national television station, TVM, was discriminatory in its regard, for the authority had given such facilities to the Malta Labour Party.

The movement was also aggrieved by the authority's ruling that it did not benefit from the same guarantees of balance in broadcasting as the MLP, as the authority claimed that the movement was not a political party.

In its reply to earlier written submissions filed by the movement, the authority submitted that the Iva movement was not entitled to be authorised to broadcast spots free of charge on the national television station (PBS) as it was not a political party.

The authority yesterday claimed that the MLP had protested to the authority about the spots being broadcast by MIC on PBS on the grounds that the spots were not broadcasting the facts regarding an alternative to EU membership.

The authority had upheld the MLP's complaint and had authorised that political party to broadcast its spots on PBS.

The Nationalist Party had requested to be given the same opportunity as the MLP to broadcast its facts on EU membership, but the authority had dismissed this request on October 1.

However, the Civil Court had upheld the PN's complaint and had ordered the authority to afford the same facilities to the PN as those given to the MLP.

The authority yesterday declared that it had appealed from this judgment and that its appeal, together with that filed by PBS from another judgment of the Civil Court which had upheld the MLP's right to broadcast, were to be heard together by the Court of Appeal.

As a result, the authority was faced with two conflicting judgments of the Civil Court.

One judgment upheld the arguments raised by the authority when it had authorised the MLP to broadcast its spots free of charge on PBS.

The other judgment had, on the other hand, upheld the request of the PN, and had ordered the authority to provide the PN with the same facilities as the MLP.

The present case filed by the movement further complicated the situation, for the movement was a referendum movement, and the authority claimed that it could not be equated with a political party.

In terms of the Constitution, the authority was bound to maintain suitable impartiality on matters of political or industrial controversy or on matters that referred to current public policy.

The authority was also bound to allocate broadcasting times and facilities between persons from different political parties on a suitable basis.

It was therefore clear that the authority had to maintain impartiality in broadcasting without favouring one position over another, and that the authority had to make sure that different opinions on the same subject matter were made public.

It was for this reason that it had authorised the MLP to broadcast its spots free of charge on PBS.

The authority explained that there existed two camps on the subject of EU membership. One camp was giving facts about EU membership, as in the case of MIC.

The other camp was to give facts on alternatives to EU membership, as was the case with the MLP.

If the Iva Movement were to be allocated spots too, there would be duplication of the work already being done by MIC, and there would also be created an imbalance against the other two referendum movements, namely CNI and Front Maltin Inqumu.

The authority said it had organised a number of schedules in which the political parties and the referendum movements had participated.

The Iva movement had participated in 10 programmes, each of one hour, which were broadcast between March and July.

The movement was also invited to take part in another schedule of four programmes to be broadcast next January and February.

The court was therefore requested to dismiss the movement's writ.

Prof. Ian Refalo was counsel to the authority.