IMI appeals to National council due to threat of monopolizing competition to Supervisory board of Public broadcaster from NUJU

The NGO "Institute of Mass Information" appeals to the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting with a request to consider and halt the threat of monopolization of the competition to the Supervisory Board of PJSC "National Public Television and Radio Company of Ukraine (NPTU) by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU).

On its website the National Council made public the list of organizations that applied for participation in the conference of public NGOs and associations for the purpose to delegate its representative to the Supervisory Board of PJSC "NPTU" in the field of journalism.

According to this list, more than 20 regional organizations of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, which are, in fact, its structural divisions, have applied for participation in the competition as separate organizations.

"According to the Article 8 of the Law of Ukraine" On Public Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine ", separate organizations should be delegated to the Supervisory Board. According to the official website of the National Council, as of February 19, 2007, the applications of the kind have been submitted by 21 the regional organizations of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), as well as the NUJU directly, " as the media lawyer of IMI Ali Safarov said.

According to clause 5.1 of the NUJU Statute:

"The NUJU is founded by representatives of the regional NUJU organizations, which are its local creative centers and are formed on the grounds of administrative and territorial division. Regional organizations shall register the NUJU primary organizations which have been formed by the principle of administrative and territorial division and in mass media, and approve its statutes (regulations).  Regional organizations shall acquire legal status in accordance with the procedure established by law and shall be guided by this Charter and by the statutes adopted by their governing bodies and approved by the NUJU Secretariat. "

Thus, according to the lawyer with IMI, the regional organizations of NUJU operate within its general organization and do not meet the requirements set out in the Article 8, paragraph 2 of the Law of Ukraine "On Public Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine" regarding public associations and associations that are entitled to delegate its representatives to the Supervisory Board.

"Otherwise, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine would, in fact, automatically be granted the monopoly right to appoint the representative to the Supervisory Board of PJSC" NPTU " in journalism," the media lawyer said.

In view of the above, we ask the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting and the Public Panel for election of the Supervisory Board of PJSC "NPTU" to decide whether the organizations, which are not separate entities but are structural units, may be allowed to participate in the relevant journalism conference (in this precise case, structural units of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine).