Introduction A cas e s tudy the le

Introduction A cas e s tudy, the le gal and ge ne ral is s ue of PS B in Thailand, illus trate s how the law has be e n us e d as an ins trume nt for the s tate age ncie s to manipulate the broadcas ting indus try for about 50 ye ars. It als o s pe lls o ut ho w the c o ns titutio n a nd its o rg a nic

Introduction la ws ha ve be e na c te d to libe ra liz e the national broadcas ting policie s as we ll as to re s h a p e th e w h o le b ro a d c a s tin g a n d te le communication s tructure in orde r to s e rve the "public inte re s t" a t na tio na l a nd lo c a l l e v e l s.

Introduction U nde r the pre s e nt Co ns titutio n a nd its o rg a n ic la w s , a n e w in d e p e n d e n t broadcas ting re gulator is to be s e t up to re allocate and manage all e xis ting radio fre que ncie s for public inte re s t, re s ulting in the e me rge nce of an ide al PS B in the c ountry. Unfortunate ly, owing to s ome

Introduction le gal loophole s and conflict of inte re s ts , the e s tablis hme nt of a broadcas ting re gulator, the Na tio na l Bro a dc a s ting Co mmis s io n (NBC), has be e n long de laye d toge the r with the e nactme nt of the s e cond organic law, th u s p lu n g in g th e re v o lu tio n o f th e broadcas ting indus try into chaotic s ituations.

Legal Basis for the PSB T hailand has only one law to re gulate the whole broadcas ting indus try. This law is q u ite o ld ( a b o u t 5 0 y e a rs o ld ) a n d obs ole te. The e xis ting Broadcas ting Act 1955 (with fourth ame ndme nt in 1987) has made all the broadcas ting indus try unde r c o ntro l o f s ta te a g e nc ie s , no ta bly the De fe ns e Minis try, the P ublic Re la tio ns De partme nt, the Mas s Communications Org a niz a tio n o f Tha ila nd, the Na tio na l P o l i c e B u r e a u e t c.

Legal Basis for the PSB The Pos t and Te le graph De partme nt unde r the Minis try o f Co mmunic a tio ns ha s be e ntrus te d with the re s po ns ibility fo r a s s ig ning ra dio fre que nc ie s to a ll s ta te a g e nc ie s c o nc e rne d, while the National Broadcas ting Committe e unde r the P ublic Re la tio ns De pa rtme nt ha s b e e n in c h a rg e o f o v e rs e e in g th e ope ration of the broadcas ting indus try, p a rt i c u l a rl y i t s p ro g ra m m i n g.

Legal Basis for the PSB T hus , th e fre q u e n c y a llo c a tio n a n d bro a dc a s ting ma na g e me nt in Tha ila nd h a v e b e e n s o fa r c e n tra liz e d a n d m a n ip u la te d b y a s m a ll n u m b e r o f high-ranking officials. It has ofte n be e n criticize d whe the r s uch proce dure s have be e n carrie d out for public inte re s t or for s o m e o t h e r i n t e re s t g ro u p s.

Legal Basis for the PSB S inc e all radio and te le vis ion s tations are owne d by the s tate and finance d in part by the gove rnme nt budge t, the y naturally have s ome obligations to provide "public s e rvice " pro g ra ms to the a udie nc e s. The Army's broadcas ting ne twork is cons ide re d e s s e ntial fo r na tio na l s e c urity while the MCOT's ne two rk, a s ta te e nte rpris e , is s a id to provide a knowle dge -bas e d program for the p u b l i c.

Legal Basis for the PSB O f all, the PRD's broadcas ting ne twork, the olde s t in the country, has be e n we ll dis ting uis he d a s the public s e rvic e broadcas ting s ys te m, e ve n though it has be e n s ubje cte d to political inte rfe re nce from time to time and ofte n labe le d as a "gove rnme nt s poke s man". But that is a c o m m o n c h a ra c te ris tic o f a ll s ta te bro a dc a s te rs a c ro s s As ia a nd P a c ific.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB T he ne w c o nc e pt o f P S B ha s be c o me populariz e d in Thailand in re c e nt ye ars as a re s ult of the promulgation of the ne w Cons titution in the ye ar 1997. The 1997 Cons titution was aime d at bringing about po litic a l re fo rms in the c o untry thro ug h d e c e n t ra l i z a t i o n p ro c e s s.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB O f p a rtic u la r im p o rta n c e to th e c o m m u n ic a tio n m e d ia s e c to r, th e Cons titution guarante e s a wide range of pre s s fre e do m, pro mo te s a n e thic a l s tandard of me dia profe s s ionalis m and libe raliz e s a re gulatory s ys te m of the bro a dc a s ting a nd te le c o mmunic a tio n i n d u s t r y.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB O f pa rtic ula r re le va nc e to P S B, the ne w Cons titution calls for a re allocation of all e xis ting radio fre que ncie s in orde r to s e rve the "public inte re s t" at all le ve ls. Article 4 0 o f the Co ns titutio n s tipula te s tha t: "All ra d io fre q u e n c ie s u s e d fo r broadcas ting and te le vis ion s e rvice s are national re s ource s to be utilize d for public i n t e r e s t.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB An inde pe nde nt re gulatory body mus t be s e t up to allocate the radio fre que ncie s as we ll a s to s upe rvis e the ma na g e me nt o f bo th b ro a d c a s tin g a n d te le c o m m u n ic a tio n s e rvice s. S uch unde rtakings as s aid above mus t ta ke into c o ns ide ra tio n the utmo s t be ne fits of pe ople at national and local le ve ls in the are as of e ducation, culture , national s e c u rity , a n d o th e r p u b lic s e rv ic e s , in c lu d in g fre e a n d fa ir c o m p e titio n. "

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB T hus , Article 40 provide s a le gal frame work fo r e s ta b lis h m e n t o f a n id e a l P S B in Tha ila nd. Unde r this a rtic le , two o rg a nic la ws a re re quire d to be e na c te d by the Parliame nt. The firs t organic law, name ly the Organization for Fre que ncy Allocation and Manage me nt Act, had be e n pas s e d by the P a rlia me nt in 2 0 0 0. It pro vide s a g uide line fo r s e tting up two s e pa ra te re gulators ; one for broadcas ting, and the o th e r fo r te le c o m m u n ic a tio n.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB Both the National Broadcas ting Commis s ion ( N B C ) a n d th e N a tio n a l Te le communications Commis s ion (NTC) are to be compos e d of 7 me mbe rs e ach for a s ix ye ar te rm. The y are e ntrus te d with a ma jo r re s po ns ibility fo r dra wing up a "mas te r plan", allocating radio fre que ncie s a nd s upe rvis ing a ll bro a dc a s ting a nd te le c o m m u n ic a tio n o p e ra tio n s e tc.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB T he s e cond organic law, the Broadcas ting Ope ra tio n Ac t, is be ing s c re e ne d by the g o ve rnme nt a g e nc ie s c o nc e rne d a nd is e xpe cte d to be approve d by the Parliame nt in the ne a r future. Onc e pa s s e d, the Broadcas ting Ope ration Act will lay down g uide line s fo r s e tting up a nd o pe ra ting a PS B as we ll as comme rcial and community b ro a d c a s tin g s y s te m s in Th a ila n d.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB Mos t importantly, this s e cond organic law is inte nde d to re place the long-e xis ting Bro a dc a s ting Ac t 1 9 5 5 , thus bre a king d o w n a ll tra d itio n a l a d m in is tra tiv e p ro c e d u re s o f Th a i b ro a d c a s tin g o p e r a t i o n s.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB T he firs t o rg a nic la w c le a rly s ta te s tha t a "ma s te r pla n" is dra wn up by NBC to c o ve r c o nte nt in the fo llo wing a re a s : 1. Education, re ligion, arts , and culture 2. S cie nce , te chnology, and e nvironme nt 3. Agriculture and promotion of othe r o c c u p a t i o n s 4. N a tio n a l s e c u rity

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB 5. Re dis tributio n o f info rma tio n to p ro m o te a n u n d e rs ta n d in g b e tw e e n g o v e rn m e n t a n d c itiz e n s 6. Re dis tribution of information for the Parliame nt to promote a good unde rs tanding be twe e n the public a nd the P a rlia me nt 7. Re dis tributio n o f info rma tio n to public iz e a nd e duc a te the public a bo ut a de mo c ra tic fo rm o f g o ve rnme nt unde r a m o n a rc h y a s h e a d o f s ta te.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB T o fulfill the s e obje ctive s , the organic law re quire s tha t le a s t 2 0 pe rc e nt o f the ra d io fre q u e n c ie s a re re s e rv e d fo r c o mmunity ra dio , while the re s t (8 0 pe rc e nt) is s ha re d be twe e n na tio na l p u b lic s e rv ic e b ro a d c a s tin g a n d c o m m e rc i a l b ro a d c a s t i n g.

Emergence of an "Ideal" PSB M e anwhile , the s e cond organic law has laid do wn c e rta in c rite ria fo r c la s s ifying the na tio na l bro a dc a s ting s ys te m into : 1 ) p u b lic s e rv ic e b ro a d c a s tin g , 2 ) c o m m e rc i a l b ro a d c a s ti n g , 3 ) C o m m u n ity b ro a d c a s tin g.

Crucial Legal Issues A ma jo r o bs ta c le lie s in the s e le c tio n p ro c e s s o f th e 7 m e m b e rs fo r th e b ro a d c a s t i n g re g u l a t o r, N B C. According to the Cons titution, the two broadc as ting and te le c ommunic ation re g u la to rs w e re s c h e d u le d to b e e s tablis he d by the ye ar 2000, but the s e le ction proce s s e s are s till now far from f i n i s h e d.

Crucial Legal Issues T he s e le ction of the re gulator's me mbe rs ha d be e n c a rrie d o ut by a 1 7 -me mbe r committe e drawn from re pre s e ntative s of a c a de mic , pro fe s s io na l, o ffic ia l, a nd c o n s u m e r g ro u p s. Th e s e le c tio n c o mmitte e wa s re quire d to s ubmit a s hort-lis t of 14 candidate s to the Hous e of S e nate who will the n choos e 7 finalis ts by m a j o r i t y v o t e.

Crucial Legal Issues T he s e le ction of NBC came to a s tands till afte r a lis t of 14 finalis ts had be e n made and was to be s ubmitte d to the S e nate for f u rt h e r s c ru t i n y. O n e o f t h e 1 0 3 c a ndida te s who mis s e d o ut in the firs t round of s e le ction lodge d a pe tition to the Ad m in is tra tiv e C o u rt, a c c u s in g th e

Crucial Legal Issues s e l e c t i o n p a n e l o f b re a c h i n g t h e Adminis trative Proce dure Act which s tate s that s e le ctions mus t be fre e of cronyis m. He als o claime d that the 14 finalis ts we re picke d in vio la tio n o f the c o nflic t-o f-inte re s t principle as s ome we re alre ady involve d in bro a dc a s ting bus ine s s e s the ms e lve s.

Crucial Legal Issues T he ne wly e s ta blis he d Adminis tra tive Court found the pe tition to have grounds and is s ue d an orde r on Augus t 22, 2001 to s to p the pa ne l fro m fo rwa rding its s hort-lis t of finalis ts to the s e nate. The Adminis tra tive Co urt la te r re a c he d a ve rdic t in fa vo r o f the pla intiff a nd the cas e was appe ale d by the s e le ction pane l to the Adminis trative Court's S upre me O rd e r fo r fi n a l d e c i s i o n.

Crucial Legal Issues T he s e le c tio n o f the Na tio na l Te le communication Commis s ion's me mbe rs ra n into e ve n wo rs e s itua tio ns whe n the s hort-lis t of 14 candidate s was re fus e d by the S e nate for cons ide ration and the cas e was brought to the Adminis trative Court by a faile d candidate. The Court als o rule d in fa vo r o f the pla intiff a nd it is no w le ft to the S upre me Co urt to re a c h the fina l v e r d i c t.

The Adminis trative Court's ve rdicts came as a s urpris e to many pe ople and affe cte d the e nfo rc e me nt o f the Co ns titutio n a nd its organic laws. The de ve lopme nt of many bro a dc a s ting a nd te le c o mmunic a tio n proje cts , including an ide al-type PS B, has b e e n fu rth e r d e la y e d.

Crucial Legal Issues In vie w of curre nt political polarization and globalization pre s s ure in Thailand, no one kno ws wha t is g o ing to ha ppe n ne xt. It s e e ms that a le gal (and political) battle for radio fre que ncie s is looming ahe ad. In this conte xt, it is inte re s ting to s e e whe the r the PS B will e ve ntually e me rge on Thai s oil to serve the public interest as envisioned in the C o n s t i t u t i o n.