Broadcasting (Jurisdiction And European Co-Operation)

L.N. 323 of 2010

BROADCASTING ACT

(CAP. 350)

Broadcasting (Jurisdiction And European Co-Operation)

(Amendment) Regulations, 2010

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 37 of the

Broadcasting Act, the Prime Minister, has made the following

regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Broadcasting

(Jurisdiction And Co-Operation) (Amendment) Regulations, 2010

and shall be read and construed as one with the Broadcasting

(Jurisdiction And European Co-Operation) Regulations, hereinafter

referred to as “the principal regulations”.

(2)

These regulations shall come into force on 1st

June, 2010.

The definition of the expression “scheduled State” shall

be deleted.

Regulations 3 and 4 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following

3. All audiovisual media services transmitted

by media service providers in Malta shall comply with

the rules of the system of law applicable to audiovisual

media services intended for the public in Malta as

contained in the Broadcasting Act and in subsidiary

legislation made thereunder.

(1) Media service providers under the jurisdiction of

Malta are those

(a) established in Malta in accordance with sub-

regulation (2); or

(b)

to whom subregulation (3) applies.

(2) A media service provider shall be deemed to be

established in Malta in the following cases

(a) the media service provider has its head office in

Malta and the editorial decisions about the audiovisual media

service are taken in another Member State,

(b) if a media service provider has its head office in

Malta but editorial decisions on the audiovisual media service

are taken in another Member State, it shall be deemed to

be established in the Member State where a significant part

of the workforce involved in the pursuit of the audiovisual

media service activity operates. If a significant part of the

workforce involved in the pursuit of the audiovisual media

service activity operates in each of those Member States, the

media service provider shall be deemed to be established

in the Member State where it has its head office. If a

significant part of the workforce involved in the pursuit of the

audiovisual media service activity operates in neither of those

Member States, the media service provider shall be deemed

to be established in the Member State where it first began

its activity in accordance with the law of that Member State,

provided that it maintains a stable and effective link with the

economy of that Member State.

(c) if a media service provider has its head office in

Malta but decisions on the audiovisual media service are

taken in a third country, or vice-versa, it shall be deemed to

be established in the Member State concerned, provided that

a significant part of the workforce involved in pursuit of the

audiovisual media service acvtivity operates in that Member

State.

(3) Media service providers to whom the provisions

of subregulation (2) are not applicable shall be deemed to be under

the jurisdiction of Malta in the following cases

(a)

they use a satellite up-link situated in that Member

State;

(b) although they do not use a satellite up-link situated

in Malta, they use satellite capacity appertaining to Malta;

(4) If the question as to which Member State

has jurisdiction cannot be determined in accordance with

subregulations (2) and (3), the competent Member State shall be

that in which the media service provider is established within the

meaning of Articles 43 to 48 of the Treaty.

(5) These regulations do not apply to audiovisual

media services intended exclusively for reception in third countries

and which are not received with standard consumer equipment

directly or indirectly by the public in one or more Member States.”.

4. Regulation 5 of the principal regulations shall be

amended as follows

(a) Sub-regulations (3) to (5) thereof shall be

substituted by the following:-

“(3) For the purposes of this regulation,

“European works” means

(a) works originating in Member States

of the European Union, hereinafter referred to as

“Member States”;

(b) works originating in European third

States party to the European Convention on

Transfrontier Television of the Council of Europe

and fulfilling the conditions in sub-regulation (4);

(c) works co-produced within the

framework of agreements related to the audiovisual

sector concluded between the Community and third

countries and fulfilling the conditions defined in

each of those agreements;

Provided that the application of the provisions

of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this sub-regulation shall

be conditional on works originating in Member

States not being the subject of discriminatory

measures in the third country concerned.

(4) The works referred to in paragraphs (a) and

(b) of sub-regulation (3) are works mainly made with

authors and workers residing in one or more of the

States referred to in the said paragraphs, provided that

they comply with one of the following three conditions

(a) they are made by one or more producers

established in one or more of those States; or

(b) production of the works is supervised

and actually controlled by one or more producers

established in one or more of those States, or

(c) the contribution of co-producers of

those States to the total co-production costs

is preponderant and the co-production is not

controlled by one or more producers established

outside those States.

(5) Works that are not European works within

the meaning of sub-regulation (3) but that are produced

within the framework of bilateral co-production treaties

concluded between Member States and third countries

shall be deemed to be European rorks provided that the

co-producers from the Community supply a majority

share of the total cost of production and that the

production is not controlled by one or more producers

established outside the territory of the Member States.”;

(b) Sub-regulations (6) and (7) thereof shall

be deleted; and

(c) Sub-regulation (8) shall be renumbered

as sub-regulation (6) thereof.

Regulation 6 of the principal regulations shall be

amended as follows

(a) the words “in due and effective time” in

subregulation (1) thereof shall be substituted by the words “in

due time”;

(b) subregulation (2) thereof shall be substituted by the

following:-

“(2) It shall not be lawful for broadcasters to

exercise the exclusive rights purchased from the 19th of

December 2007 onwards in such a way that a substantial

proportion of the public in another Member State is

deprived of the possibility of following events which

are designated by that other Member State in accordance

with provisions in their legislation transposing paragraph

3 of Article 3j of the Directive by whole or partial

live coverage or, where necessary or appropriate for

objective reasons in the public interest, whole or partial

deferred coverage on free television as determined by

that other Member State in accordance with legislation

transposing the said provision of the Directive.”.

The Schedule to the principal regulations shall be

repealed.

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