Article 89.6 of the Draft law establishes the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine (NTRBC) as one of the authorities (in addition to the executive authority implementing the state policy in the information and publishing spheres) responsible for exercising control over the mass media and news agencies with respect to observance of the referendum law. This may create an overlapping jurisdiction which can lead to ineffective enforcement and should therefore be avoided. Past ODIHR election observation reports have recommended that the NTRBC’s status as an independent regulatory body be reinforced and that it be granted an exclusive remit and effective sanctioning powers, enabling it to effectively oversee the broadcast media’s compliance with the legislation and take timely and effective measures to enforce compliance and address media-related complaints, making such decisions public. In addition, the Draft law does not sufficiently establish effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions for media-related violations, with either too strict or too lenient penalties (Article 99(17-19), which has been the subject of previous ODIHR recommendations. It is recommended that the Draft law provide for dissuasive and effective sanctions on media-related violations.