The Association of Journalists of Macedonia is unsatisfied with the way the Civil Court and the Appellate Court in Skopje apply the Law on Civil Liability for Insult and Defamation, said the president of the AJM, Naser Selmani at a press conference.
He added that “despite the clear specifications in the law, which regulates the responsibility of electronic publications, the courts continue to reject defamation lawsuits against online media outlets with complete unseriousness and with the biased claim that they were not real media groups, and the people who work there were not real journalists. ”
“The irresponsible and unprofessional conduct of certain judges is an attempt to license the media and journalists, which is an extremely undemocratic practice present in authoritarian countries. We must point out that the work of the courts is not to interpret the law, but to consistently and indiscriminately implement them. We suspect that behind this practice by the Skopje Civil Court and the Appellate Court, there is a political background, with the aim to discredit the online media and to deliver a false alibi, so the government introduce tougher regulation, contrary to European standards for freedom of the Internet”, expained Selmani.
He warned that “attempts by certain circles within political parties, who seek a so called legal registration of these media outlets, is a dangerous political game, whose aim is for the state to control media content.”
“Furthermore, it is the court’s intention to prevent the online media and journalists working there from using the benefits offered by the Law on Civil Liability for Insult and Defamation, such as the limitation of non-pecuniary damage and the grounds for their exclusion from liability. We are convinced that this unusual law practice, which fortunately does not exist in other appellate courts in the country, endangers freedom of speech and discredits the journalistic profession and the role of the media in a democratic society”, added Selmani.
