(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 27 March 2002 IAPA press release: IAPA criticizes judicial harassment against the media and journalists and demands access to public records Miami (March 27, 2002)- The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed in a resolution approved during its Midyear Meeting that the lack of independence of the judiciary branch […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 27 March 2002 IAPA press release:
IAPA criticizes judicial harassment against the media and journalists and demands access to public records
Miami (March 27, 2002)- The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed in a resolution approved during its Midyear Meeting that the lack of independence of the judiciary branch is leading to a serious limitation of freedom of the press that has resulted in a rise in judicial harassment and intimidation of the press in many countries of the Western Hemisphere.
According to the IAPA, this situation “is attributable to a concentration of power in the executive branch of governments, heavily influencing judiciary branches and seriously jeopardizing the constitutional duty of judges to fairly, impartially and autonomously administer justice under the rule of law.” Furthermore, “such court proceedings against the press are manipulated by the executive branch, often resulting in censorship and steep monetary fines and awards for damages that threaten a newspaper’s existence, or in criminal sentences and prison terms for journalists and newspapers.”
In another resolution presented to the governments of the region, the IAPA stressed the denial by governments to provide access to public records. With the exception of Panama, which passed a law in January 2002 that supported this right, the IAPA believes, “that the right of access to public records is not fully guaranteed in any Latin American country, despite the fact that it is a fundamental protection in the majority of their constitutions.”
The hemispheric organization, which held its meeting on March 15-19, in La Romana, Dominican Republic, also approved 16 other resolutions, covering the issues of murder and violence against journalists and the media, the existence of restrictive laws and regulations, and the unconstitutionality of the licensing of journalists. These resolutions will be sent to the respective authorities signed by the IAPA President, Robert J. Cox.
Following the meeting, on March 20, the IAPA participated in a meeting in the Dominican Republic of the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations that approved similar resolutions on access to information and the judiciary branches. Besides the IAPA, the international organization is comprised of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Commonwealth Press Union, International Broadcasting Association, International Federation of the Periodical Press, International Press Institute, North American Association of Broadcasters, World Association of Newspapers, and World Press Freedom Committee.
The resolutions, conclusions and press freedom reports in Spanish, English and Portuguese will be available on the IAPA website at www.sipiapa.org.
