OSCE media freedom representative welcomes Irish government move to decriminalize libel

VIENNA, 19 March 2008 - Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, welcomed today a decision by the Irish Justice Minister, Brian Lenihan, to fully abolish criminal libel.

"This development is of utmost importance not only for Ireland, but also for the entire OSCE community, which includes many countries where journalists are regularly put in jail as a result of the criminalization of defamation," said Haraszti.

Earlier this month Minister Brian Lenihan proposed deleting the sections on criminal libel contained in a Bill that was being discussed in the Irish Senate, calling it 'a substantial intrusion on freedom of speech'.

"I congratulate the Minister and the unanimous support of his proposal by the Senate", said Haraszti. "This is a very important move, and could be a model for many emerging democracies."

The Seanad Bill, after approval by the Dáil (lower chamber), is likely to be voted into law before summer. After its passage, libel and defamation will only be handled in civil courts.

Haraszti said: "The case law of the European Court of Human Rights rejects imprisonment for defamation as damaging to free debate in society. This is why seven OSCE participating States - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the United States - have already decriminalized libel, while Western European participating States refrain from using criminal legislation to punish defamation offences.

"However, Ireland is the first Western European country to initiate the complete abolition of these obsolete and impractical provisions. I encourage Ireland to carry through this much-needed reform as soon as it is legally possible."