(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an 8 March 2002 ARTICLE 19 letter to the chairwoman of the Constitutional Committee, Dagmar Lastovecka: 8 March 2002 Mrs. Dagmar Lastovecka Chairwoman of the Constitutional Committee Dear Mrs. Dagmar Lastovecka ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, calls upon you and your fellow colleagues to abolish art.154 […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an 8 March 2002 ARTICLE 19 letter to the chairwoman of the Constitutional Committee, Dagmar Lastovecka:
8 March 2002
Mrs. Dagmar Lastovecka
Chairwoman of the Constitutional Committee
Dear Mrs. Dagmar Lastovecka
ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, calls upon you and your fellow colleagues to abolish art.154 (2) and art.206 of the Penal Code of the Czech Republic which we understand will be discussed at a plenary session of the Senate on March 8 2002.
We urge you to follow up the proposal, made by the MPs from the Freedom Union, to strike down art.154 (2) and art.206 which continue to restrict free speech, by imposing custodial sentences for gross insults or defamation of an organ of state administration in the exercise of its function or in political life and dissemination of false and discrediting information about another person.
These provisions also infringe international standards on freedom of expression. In the interest of public debate and government accountability, public bodies of all kinds should be prohibited from bringing defamation actions. This is elaborated in ARTICLE 19’s publication: Defining Defamation: Principles on Freedom of Expression and Protection of Reputation, which has been endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE Representative on Free Media and the OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. It states:
Principle 3
Public bodies of all kinds – including all bodies which form part of the legislative, executive or judicial branches of government or which otherwise perform public functions – should be prohibited altogether from bringing defamation actions.”
It has also been accepted in a number of national courts and official human rights bodies around the world that false news provisions breach international and constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression. They inhibit the ability of the media to report on matters of concern in the public interest and they limit the scope of public debate. They therefore cannot be justified as restrictions on freedom of expression.
In addition to this, the imposition of a custodial sentence provided by these provisions is also contrary to international standards on freedom of expression which state that prison sentences for free speech offences are almost always disproportionate and unnecessary. Such penalties may only be sanctioned in the most extreme situations, for example where speech may directly incite violence. This is also elaborated in Defining Defamation which states:
Principle 4(b)iv
Prison sentences, suspended prison sentences, suspension of the right to express oneself through any particular form of media, or to practise journalism or any other profession, excessive fines and other harsh penalties should never be available as a sanction for breach of defamation laws, no matter how egregious or blatant the defamatory statement.
The threat of prosecution for defamation under criminal defamation laws inevitably fosters self-censorship amongst journalists, particularly when those defamation laws go beyond internationally-accepted standards and themselves restrict public debate. There is no state interest in protecting the honour or reputation of the individual. We urge you, therefore, to continue your campaign to abrogate the Czech Republic’s criminal defamation provisions entirely by getting Articles 154(2) and 206 removed from the Penal Code, leaving defamation as a civil offence only.
If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Puddephatt
Executive Director
