October 2003 III. REGULATION 9) Regulation of the broadcast media must be in conformity with the general principles enumerated in these Guidelines, including freedom of expression, the protection of cultural and linguistic diversity through minority language broadcasting, and the protection of linguistic identity, without discrimination. Regulations that interfere with the right to freedom of expression are subject to the requirements of Article 19(3) of the ICCPR and Article 10(2) of the ECHR, the latter of which stipulates in part that no restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these freedoms other than such “as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary”. In accordance with Article 10(1) of the ECHR, licensing constitutes a possible avenue for media regulation. Article 9(2) of the Framework Convention states that with regard to freedom of expression and access by national minorities to the media, States Parties may require “licensing, without discrimination and based on objective criteria, of sound radio and television broadcasting, or cinema enterprises.” Within the OSCE, in both the Cracow Document (para. 6.1) and the report of the Geneva Document (Chapter VII), participating States have committed to regulating the broadcast media only as prescribed by law and consistent with international standards. 10) The OSCE participating States recognize the right of persons belonging to national minorities to “disseminate, have access to and exchange information in their mother tongue” (Vienna Document, Cooperation in Humanitarian and Other Fields, Human Contacts, para. 45; Copenhagen Document, para. 32.5). This right should not be impaired through licensing or other types of regulation. The European Commission of Human Rights in its decision on admissibility in the Case of Verein Alternatives Lokalradio Bern v. Switzerland (16 October 1986, App. No. 10746/84), citing the Handyside judgment, stated that a licensing system must respect the requirements of pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness. The Commission explained that this includes the language of the broadcast: […] Refusal to grant a broadcasting licence may raise a problem under Article 10, in conjunction with Article 14 of the [European] 20