engleski

Criminal defamation and press freedom in jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

Press freedom is considered a cornerstone of democracy in every civilized society. Free and independent press reporting on suspicious or illegal activities of government officials informs public and prevents further damage to the society. In that sense, the press plays a role of a societies “watchdog” and a keeper of modern democracy. Therefore, it is important that states do not enact laws that would have deterring effect on freedom of the press. Harsh criminal defamation laws have such effects. To avoid such legislative practice, European Court of Human Rights has developed certain criteria that each member state should keep up to when criminalizing defamation or insult. In this paper, author describes the relevant jurisprudence of ECHR in this sensitive area of law and articulates guiding principles that are established by this jurisprudence.

defamation ; insult ; honor and reputation ; freedom of speech ; media ; democracy

nije evidentirano