Activity Details (ID# 7560)

Activity Synopsis

The Conference was organised as a follow-up to the Regional Conference on defamation and freedom of expression held in Strasbourg on 17-18 October 2002. The objectives of the conference were:
- to present European standards concerning defamation and freedom of expression to the participants;
- to discuss the responsibility of journalists and the possible solutions for improving Serbian legislation concerning the media;
- to have an exchange of views with two neighbouring countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia).
 

The Conference was well organised. Representatives of the Serbian Government and Parliament, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, journalists and representatives of international organisations were invited to the conference.

Unfortunately, (and this was one of the conclusions of the conference) most of the representatives of the Government were present only at the beginning of the conference.

The participants were very satisfied with the participation and presentation of the two persons from Bosnia and Herzegovina and from Croatia. They were very interested to learn about the situation in these two neighbouring countries and their progress in implementing legislation concerning defamation and freedom of expression.

The discussion showed that the situation in Serbia concerning the media is far from good. The existing legislation is restrictive and a new draft Penal Code which is in the Parliament for adoption includes no major changes (for example: prison sentences will remain for the most severe form of criminal acts of libel, in cases where defamation had serious consequences for the affected party).

The journalists complained that there were many cases of defamation at the courts and that some judges (especially in the regional courts) did not know of the existence of Article 10 of the ECHR.
On the other hand, some judges complained that many journalists were not professional and in many cases did not act in good faith. One of the judges also said that it was normal that the journalists lacked confidence in the judiciary because it is not always professional and independent. It was interesting to see that even some lawyers criticised the lack of professionalism among journalists.
 

The general conclusion was that the very lively and sometimes emotional discussions reflected the complexity of the Serbian situation concerning defamation, freedom of expression and the related legislation in general.

All participants agreed that prison sentences should be removed from the Penal Code (in the last 10 years, just one prison sentence has been pronounced so there is no reason to keep it in the Penal Code) and that defamation should be decriminalised. The representative of the Ministry of Culture said that they will try to follow these recommendations concerning the decriminalisation of defamation.

The participants also stressed that:
- there should be a parallel process for the education of judges, journalists and lawyers concerning European standards;
- they need more opportunities for constructive discussion concerning freedom of expression and information;
- there should be more public debate on draft laws and more consultation with representatives of the judiciary before their adoption.

The conclusions were adopted at the end of the conference.
 

Representatives of the Serbian Government and Parliament, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, journalists, representatives of international organisations and NGOs 

Mr Pär-Arne Jigenius, Member of the Swedish Broadcasting Commission, former Press Ombudsmen of Sweden
Mr Albrecht Haller, Attorney-at-Law (Austria)
Ms Vesna Alaburic, Attorney-at-Law (Croatia)
Ms Senka Nozica, Attorney-at-Law (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
 

Ms Vladan Joksimovic, Council of Europe Office in Belgrade
Ms Lejla Dervisagic, Media Division, Directorate General of Human Rights