Freedom of Speech Under Attack

Civil society and media representatives appeal to the parliament chairperson saying the draft laws passed by the first hearing endangers the freedom of expression.

The draft law toughens slander and libel clauses of the criminal code. Slander i.e. deliberate dissemination of the false information, insulting the dignity of the person, will be punished by fine or community service of one to two hundred working hours or correctional labor for a year or by jail sentence for 2 months. The punishment increases if the offence was done via printed or electronic media. (Section 1 of article 1)

The draft law also regulates the case of insult and defines it as “the violation of one’s honor and dignity”. The punishment is the same here as in the case of slander (Section 2 of article 1).

As author of the draft law, Revaz Arveladze, states the situation in the parliament and generally in the country is dramatic and requires certain regulations. “Insult and slander is frequent in the Parliament and in mass media. All of us should have a fear that every such offence it will be legally punishable.” -he added.

Interestingly, the draft was submitted by the head of the parliamentary Committee on Energy. Arveladze says this was done to protect the rights of insulted “energy bosses”, who are frequently “offended” by the journalists and then acquitted by the court. These people “lose the respect and trust of the society” Arveladze says. 

At the same time it is worth to note, that parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs gave the negative conclusion on this draft.  Zakaria Kutsnashvili, first deputy head of the committee, in his letter to the parliamentary bureau wrote that these amendments are “copied” from the 1960 criminal code of Georgian Soviet Social Republic, “which were neglected by the new criminal code for due reason.”  “We consider criminalization of slander and insult is indirect limitation of the freedom of expression and freedom of speech.”- reads the letter.

Despite this conclusion the draft was supported by the prosecutor general’s office and the Ministry of Justice. As the deputy general prosecutor Venedi Benidze said “the law regulating slander and insult is vital and I consider the parliament should adopt these changes to the criminal code”. 

The draft law was adopted by the parliament on June 6, 2003 when the opposition boycotted the hearings.

On June 26, 2003 a group of civil society and media representatives arranged a meeting to discuss the draft and express their position. David Usupashvili, legal expert, said there is no need to enact the new regulations on slander and libel when there are the provisions in force, contained both in the criminal and civil codes of Georgia. 

The clause # 148 of the current criminal code provides punishment of slander or libel when the person is unduly accused of criminal offense. The rest of cases are regulated by the civil code.

As the draft law lacks of the mechanisms of distinguishing deliberate and accidental lie from each other, Usupashvili considers “in best case the law will not work and in worst way this will be a possibility for pressure and blackmailing [of the journalists], which means that we’d be protecting ourselves from slander by blackmailing”.  

The group filed an appeal to the chairperson of the parliament asking to protect the provisions of the freedom of speech and expression. The letter is supported by independent media companies as well as many national civil society organizations.

The second hearing of the draft law is planned to be held at the ongoing special parliamentary session. CSO representatives hope the chairperson will take their position into consideration.  

Advocacy.ge will keep you updated about the development of the story.