01 August 2024
Liberty of the Press Forever?
Constitutions are linked both to the past and to the future. A central constitutional mechanism in the attempt to mark a dividing line between the past and the future, to represent a new era are unamendable provisions. Unamendable provisions, in this sense, play a “negative” role, serving as a lasting reminder of recent past devastations and as a constitutional/institutional attempt to transform and never return to past injustices. It is within this framework of ‘never again constitutionalism’ I wish to examine one of the most unique and interesting unamendable provisions in the world: the protection of ‘Liberty of the press’ in the Mexican Constitution of 1824. Continue reading >>
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14 April 2023
Up Close and Personal
The Private and the Public in the Doepfner Affair Continue reading >>
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15 August 2021
The Lex TVN and the End of Free Media in Poland
Law & Justice, the ruling party in Poland, plans to reform the media by introducing restrictions on ownership of TV and radio broadcast companies. Entities from outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) may not, under the proposed law, control more than 49% of shares in such companies. This pertains both to holding shares directly and indirectly, via companies established in the EEA. If the law will ultimately enter into force is still uncertain. If it does, though, it will deliver a serious blow to, already weakened, free media in Poland. Continue reading >>
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28 November 2020
The Rise of a Dissuasive Democracy in France
On November 24, 2020 the French National Assembly adopted the Global Security Act by a wide margin. The bill entrenches the cooperation between public and private security forces, broadly regulates the use of surveillance drones, and strengthens the legal protection offered to security officers identified on videos that circulate on social media. The GSA is a perfect illustration of what I call a dissuasive democracy, meaning a regime where civil liberties are facially guaranteed by the constitution, but where laws and regulations are designed to dissuade individuals from exercising their civil liberties. Continue reading >>22 June 2020
The Conviction of Maria Ressa and the Unequal Enforcement of the Truth
The cyber libel conviction of Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr. by a regional trial court in Manila last week threw into sharp relief the manifestly different standards of accuracy enforced against citizens and the government. In a country presently governed by an administration that has allegedly been the source of widespread disinformation, private media and citizen reporters are subjected to ever stricter anti-falsehood laws. The case provokes to rethink private and state accountability for the spreading of falsehoods. Continue reading >>
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13 February 2020
Paving the Way for Undermining the Independence of UK’s Media
Two stories made the headlines in the United Kingdom last week. One concerns the exclusion of reporters from a briefing at Downing Street, the other a potential review of the BBC's funding model. Both raise concerns over a declining culture of respect of media independence in the United Kingdom. Continue reading >>
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30 November 2019
Why We Have Sued the Hungarian Parliament
The President of the Hungarian Parliament has restricted journalistic reporting on the premises of the Parliament to a point where it has become virtually impossible for journalists to do their job. Bea Bakó, chief editor of the news site azonnali.hu, on the limitations journalists have to face in Hungary, and why they are taking the President of Parliament to court. Continue reading >>04 May 2019
Independent Journalism v. Political Courts: The Cumhuriyet Trial in Turkey and Strasbourg
Shortly after Turkey’s ruling AK party lost control of metropolitan cities in the local elections of April 2019, a crucial verdict of the regional appellate court in a major case of journalism was brought forth in the national judicial network system. This case is known as the Cumhuriyet trial. Through silence, delay, or selective responsiveness, not only the Turkish Constitutional Court but also the European Court of Human Rights are playing their part in the ongoing demise of Turkey’s freedom of the press. Continue reading >>29 March 2016
Pressefreiheit im Strafprozess und ihre Grenzen
Die heutige Entscheidung Bédat v. Schweiz des Europäischen Gerichtshofs für Menschenrechte lässt sich für Journalisten, die ein waches Gefühl für liberale Freiheitsrechte und ein noch wacheres für ihre eigenen professionellen Interessen besitzen, leicht skandalisieren: "Straßburg lässt die Pressefreiheit im Stich!" wäre eine mögliche Überschrift. "Straßburg billigt Kriminalisierung von Justizberichterstattern!" eine andere. Ich bin auch ein professioneller Journalist, und in punkto Sorge um liberale Freiheitsrechte lasse ich mich für gewöhnlich ungern von irgendwem übertreffen. Trotzdem, oder gerade deswegen, komme ich zu einem anderen Schluss: Ich halte das heutige Urteil der Großen Kammer für richtig. Continue reading >>29 October 2015