Media Freedom and protection of citizens – where is the limit?
(Source: Danas) When the dominant role in the media is played by the so-called yellow press, prone to sensationalism and exaggeration, it is especially important to know what the limits of freedom of reporting are, that is, how far the media can penetrate the personal sphere of individuals.
There is no question that in a democratic society, one should strive for journalistic freedom and the idea of hearing other people’s opinions and attitudes, but that freedom is not unlimited.
Basic human rights such as the right toreputation, honor, piety, privacy and the right to the presumption of innocence cannot be violated for the sake of media freedom.
Both international and domestic sources of law give priority to inalienable, basic human rights, to the detriment of media freedom.
However, despite the obligation of the media to respect these rights and to act with due journalistic attention during their reporting, in the world of the so-called yellow press, the situation is often completely different.
Of course, it is not only the yellow newspapers that often do not follow the rules of journalism, but they still take the lead. Among them, the printed editions of newspapers and internet editions – portals stand out.
The rules governing the matter of media law are prescribed by the Law on Public Information and Media and the Journalist’s Code of Ethics.
These acts seek to find a balance between the right of citizens to be informed and the freedom of journalistic expression, while on the other hand they protect the personal rights of individuals.
In addition to the traditional judicial protection, the Press Council has been established in our system as a supervisory body.
The Press Council is an independent, self-regulatory body that monitors the application and compliance with the Journalist’s Code of Ethics of Serbia in print and online media.
The competence of the council is to conduct mediation between the injured party and the editorial office, as well as to issue public warnings to the editorial office for violating the standards set by the code.
When an individual, ie an institution considers that the publication of the text violates the Journalists’ Code, it may file a complaint to the Council.
The complaint shall be filed within 90 days from the day when the disputed content was published in the printed edition, and for online editions it can be submitted as long as such content is still publicly available.
Upon receipt of the complaint, it is first submitted to the editor-in-chief of the media for a statement.
If the complainant has proposed a settlement, the media (editor-in-chief) should comment on such a proposal.
In case the media does not declare itself, or does not agree to a settlement, the final decision on the appeal will be made by the Appeals Commission-body within the Press Council.
If the complaint is founded, the Commission shall issue a decision approving the complaint or issue a public reprimand to the media for which it has determined that it has violated the rules of the Code.
A media outlet that has acted contrary to the rules of the Code is obliged to publish a decision to accept the appeal.
As can be noticed, the sanctions of the Press Council can be assessed as mild and corrective in nature.
The idea is to send a public reprimand to the media that did not respect the Code, in the same way as the violation of rights was committed (through the media).
The protection of rights and interests before the court is initiated by filing a lawsuit with the Higher Court in Belgrade, which has exclusive jurisdiction in these proceedings.
The plaintiff may request that it be established that the publication of the information violated his right or interest, the prohibition of re-publishing the information, and the obligation to publish the response to the information or its correction.
Compensation for material and non-material damage may also be claimed.
The defendant is the editor-in-chief, and in the event that a lawsuit is filed for damages, the media publisher, the editor-in-chief and the journalist-author of the disputed information can be sued.
The procedure is urgent, so the deadlines for undertaking procedural work are shorter than in the usual civil disputes.
In order to be urgent, the Law also proposes that all actions – hearing of the parties, examination of witnesses, etc. undertaken at one hearing.
In these disputes, informally called “printing houses”, the yellow press media are most often sued, as publishers of daily newspapers and internet portals, and the plaintiffs mostly demand compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
The basis for compensation for non-pecuniary damage is the violation of reputation and parts – when false information is published, ie violation of the right to privacy – in the event that without the consent of the plaintiff, information from his private life is published.
Also, a frequent ground is a violation of the presumption of innocence, since the media often convict – blame the potential perpetrator of the crime even before the criminal proceedings have been initiated or completed.
So, when the media publish information that portrays someone in a false light or if they interfere too much in the personal sphere of an individual (for example, they publish photos of a person without his consent and information from family life), as well as when citizens are labeled as perpetrators, may claim non-pecuniary damage.
In the practice of our courts, the awarded compensation ranges from 30,000 dinars to one hundred or two thousand dinars.
The most numerous adoption judgments are closer to the lower limit of the amount.
…
The author is a lawyer and associate of the Center for Judicial Research CEPRIS
Sloboda medija i zaštita građana – gde je granica?