Communications Law Commons^™

The Pursuit Of Television Broadcasting Activities In The European Community, Timothy M. Lupinacci

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In October 1989, the foreign ministers of the European Community (EC or Community) approved a Directive governing the "pursuit" of trans-European television broadcasting beginning in 1992. Controversial article 4 of the Directive requires Member States to devote a majority of their television air time to European-produced programs. Although the Community Council maintains that the quota is merely "a political commitment" intended to preserve Europe's cultural heritage, the United States challenges the legality of the quota as economic protectionism under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and section 301 of the United States Trade Act, as amended by the …

The Northern Ireland Broadcasting Ban: Some Reflections On Judicial Review, Russell L. Weaver, Geoffrey Bennett

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Essay initially examines the British government's ban on its broadcasting networks that restricts coverage of Northern Ireland organizations, and concludes by making some reflections on the system of judicial review in the United States. Professors Weaver and Bennett note that a comparable ban in the United States probably would be held unconstitutional. In Great Britain, however, the courts lack a similar power of judicial review, leaving the question of the Ban's legitimacy to the political process. While Great Britain enjoys a relatively free society, the authors conclude that government control over the British media poses troubling problems and suggests …

The Recent Decline And Fall Of Freedom Of The Press In English Law, Vaughan T. Bevan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A television company broadcasts a program criticizing a nationalized corporation and disclosing documents passed to it secretly by one of the corporation's employees. The corporation asks the television company to reveal the identity of the employee. The television company refuses and eight of nine judges ultimately decide that the refusal is unjustified.

That, in essence, is the story of British Steel Corp. v. Granada Television, Ltd. If this situation had arisen in the United States, legal consequences probably would be unremarkable in view of the law's considerable experience with such matters. The novelty posed for English law, however, and the …