5 February 2002
COURT SUSPENDS CRIMINAL CODE'S DEFAMATION PROVISIONS
Slovakia's Constitutional Court has temporarily suspended two sections of the country's Criminal Code until it examines them further, due to concerns that they may threaten freedom of speech, report ARTICLE 19 and Radio Free Europe. The 10 January decision came partly due to pressure from several members of parliament who sent a petition raising their concerns about Articles 102 and 103, says ARTICLE 19. Under Article 103, anyone found guilty of "publicly defaming the president for the performance of his duties or his activities in his public life" can be imprisoned for up to two years. Article 102 penalises those who "publicly defame the country and its officials."
The International Press Institute (IPI) says concern over the potential effects of Articles 102 and 103 on journalists surfaced last June when "Novy Cas" journalist Ales Kratky was charged for slandering President Rudolf Schuster. An article he had written and published on 26 May criticised the president's state of the nation speech. In March 2001, another journalist, Vladimir Mohorita, was issued a four-month prison sentence for violating Article 102, adds IPI.
ARTICLE 19 says an additional two provisions in the existing Criminal Code need to be removed, since they also "infringe on international standards on freedom of expression." It calls for the elimination of Articles 154(2) and 206, which impose jail sentences on those guilty of insulting or defaming government bodies, or spreading false information about another person. Only in instances where "speech may directly incite violence" should prison sentences be issued, argues ARTICLE 19. "Government bodies of all kinds should be prohibited from bringing defamation actions, since the use of criminal defamation laws carry with them the threat of prosecution," it says. This "inevitably promotes self-censorship amongst journalists."
For more information, see ARTICLE 19's publication "Defining Defamation: Principles on Freedom of Expression and Protection of Reputation" at www.Article19.org and www.freemedia.at.
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