On December 21, 2021, the Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruled on the motion of 47 legislators on the legality of banning the broadcast of movies and TV shows starring actors who are believed to pose a threat to national security.
That’s according to Ukraine’s public broadcaster UA:PBC, referring to the CCU press service.
A number of MPs with the Opposition Bloc faction and their non-factional colleagues attempted to challenge the provisions of the Law on Television and Radio Broadcasting and Law on Cinematography prohibiting the use and broadcasting in Ukraine of certain Russian movies and TV shows involving actors who pose a threat to national security.
Also, MPs who are loyal to the aggressor power, the Russian Federation, demanded a review of the provisions concerning the ban on the broadcast of films produced in Russia after January 1, 2014, including those promoting Russian authorities.
These provisions were “recognized by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine as being in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine.” The full text of the CCU judgment will be published in the coming days.
Amendments to the Law on Television and Radio Broadcasting and the Law on Cinematography, which came into force in June 2015 sparking outrage among pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, prohibit the following:
- Broadcast in Ukraine of films or television programs containing promotion or propaganda of the aggressor power (Russian Federation) or the occupation of the territory of Ukraine, produced after August 1, 1991;
- Broadcast of any films produced in the Russian Federation after January 1, 2014;
- Broadcast of films and TV programs with participation of persons put in the list of those posing a threat to national security. The list is compiled by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy at the motions of the National Security and Defense Council, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting.
