Legal analysis of articles published in various newspapers within the framework of monitoring of Azerbaijani press
December 2007
Lawyer Alesker Mamedli,
Mass media rights expert
Legal analysis of hundreds of articles selected from dozens of dailies and weeklies as well as magazines published in December 2007 has been made. Presence or absence of perspective of court examination from the viewpoint of defamation has been studied. Considering a wide sense of freedom of speech and press, many articles have been strictly analyzed from the viewpoint of the currently in force legislation and violations of Civil and Criminal Codes considering judiciary law of European Human Rights Court have been established. 25 articles with probability of violation of Azerbaijani legislation have been selected from the following newspapers:
Experts have come to a conclusion that 9 of 25 analyzed articles contain direct defamation. They could be interpreted as violation of clauses 147.1 and 147.2 (libel) and 148 (insult) of currently in force Azerbaijan Criminal Code (CC). The remaining 16 articles contain expressions, which do not envisage criminal responsibility, but are contrary to the Civil Law, Law on Mass Media and interests of some people, cause damage to their business reputation and interfere into their private life.
From viewpoint of Criminal Law
In 9 of 25 examined newspaper articles probable violations of Criminal Code could be interpreted as a blatant violation of clauses 147.1 and 147.2 (libel) and 148 (insult) of the currently in force Azerbaijan CC. In these articles authors knew that their goal is to insult honor and dignity and discredit the person they are writing about, they also knew that their information is not true, slanderous and insulting, but they blackened and caused damage to these people’s reputation. Such articles have been published in the following newspapers:
16 of 25 articles contain expressions, which do not envisage criminal responsibility, but are contrary to the Civil Law, Law on Media and interests of some people, cause damage to their business reputation and interfere into their private life. These articles were published in the following newspapers:
10. Ideal -1 article
These articles contain biased, partial, ill-intentioned, non-objective, non-balanced, humiliating and false expressions. Journalism ethics has been violated and insulting expressions have been used.
This is a blatant violation of Constitutional clause 32 on citizens’ right to security and non-interference into private life, principle “none of circumstances gives grounds for humiliation of person’s dignity” guaranteed by clause 46 of the Constitution and provision “nobody could be regarded as guilty without court decision” envisaged by clause 63 of the Constitution.
This is also a blatant violation of the provision “Mass media cannot be used to publish rumors insulting citizens’ honor and dignity, ill-intentioned, false and slanderous articles, as well as for illegal actions and abuses” envisaged by clause No 10 of the law on mass media.
According to the article 60 of law on mass media, civil, administrative, criminal and other responsibility is instituted in case of infringement on citizens’ private life and violation of legislation.
In this case the victim has the right to use possibility to protect his or her own honor, dignity and business reputation provided by the clause 23 of Civil Code. Clause 23 of Civil Code enables “natural persons to judicially demand refutation of information defaming their dignity or business reputation and violating secret of their private life or security. This rule is also applied in case if during incomplete publishing, the facts insult honor, dignity and business reputation of a person. Honor and dignity of natural person could be protected by the interested persons after his or her death.”
If information defaming honor, dignity or business reputation of a natural person and infringes on private life is disseminated in mass media, they must be refuted in the same mass media.
According to decision of Constitutional Court, which contains comments to the clause 23 CC, this clause also envisages protection of legal entities.
In 25 of 25 newspaper articles analyzed from the viewpoint of Criminal Law, including facts of violation of Criminal Law (9 facts), victims have possibility to take legal actions to protect their honor, dignity or business reputation provided by the Clause 23 of Civil Code.
From viewpoint of Professional Ethics
Each of 25 analyzed articles violated 3 of 4 principles envisaged by the “Rules of Professional Ethics of Azerbaijani Journalists” adopted at the constituent congress of Press Council established on March 15, 2003.
Rule “To serve to truth, reliability and objectivity” envisaged by the 1st principle of “Rules of Professional Ethics of Azerbaijani Journalists”, rule “respectful attitude towards source of information” envisaged by 2nd principle, rule “protection of honor and dignity and inviolability of private life” envisaged by the 3rd principle have been violated.