Social aspects of harmonization of media laws in the Republic of Serbia with the European standards

Abstract

The transformation of Serbian media system, as social subsystem, has started in the first years of this century as part of the overall transition. The main process was change of legal framework that was supposed to bring discontinuity from previous periods and the implementation of experiences and principles that are seen as democratic standards. The modification of media legislation in Serbia was supposed to adjust the democratic capacities of public sphere, as citizen's sphere, to insure the guarantee the freedom of expression and free flow of information as well as to enable the higher participation of citizens in public debate while at the same time diminish unwanted influences by political, economic and other centers of power. This article deals with theoretical analysis of documents that regulate media in Serbia, comparing articles on certain issues with European regulatory framework. It shows the overall social ambience in which changes happen and than influence the behavior of political acters as well as institutions responsible for legal initiative, but also to the law enforcement in such an important social area - media.

Keywords

• mass media
• media law
• European standard
• public sphere
• democracy