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PRESS FREEDOM LIMITED, SAYS SURVEY ON LAW AND MEDIA

Laws in Poland limit freedom of expression, reports the Press Freedom Monitoring Center (CMWP) of the Polish Journalists' Association in a survey on law and media. Many restrictions on freedom of expression are contained in the penal code, which came into force in September 1998, says the CMWP. The Center adds that the code of criminal procedure and civil code also "threaten the proper fulfillment of the principle of freedom of the press." Among possible "crimes" in the penal code is insulting the president, which incurs a penalty of up to three years in jail. Insulting or "abas[ing] a constitutional body" is subject to a fine or up to two years in jail, and insulting a public functionary will net up to one year in jail, says the report. The CMWP notes with alarm that these provisions "were transferred, with some modifications only, from the old penal code to the new one." Under the old penal code, "the ban on insulting the supreme authorities was used to limit freedom of expression and to victimise critics of state policies."

The CMWP continues, "the ban on 'insult' is potentially more dangerous to freedom of the press than bans on defamation," since defamation is easier to define. The CMWP says rather than an action occurring, "for an 'insult' to take place, it is sufficient that words are spoken which the court finds to be insulting. Any further social effects related to perception of the pronouncement and its objective results are of no relevance." For more information, contact the CMWP at Pogonowskiego 30 Street, 01-564 Warsaw, Poland, Tel/Fax: +48 22 39 40 69, E-mail: cmwp@ikp.pl, Website: www.freepress.org.pl.