OSCE media freedom representative, on a visit to Moscow, welcomes Russian Supreme Court's resolution on media law
MOSCOW, 16 June 2010 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, who is on a two-day visit to Moscow, welcomed today the Russian Supreme Court's adoption of a resolution instructing lower courts how to interpret and implement the 1991 Media Law.
"This landmark resolution is a commendable effort to bring Russian court practice in line with international media freedom standards," Mijatovic said.
The "Resolution on the Practical Judicial Implementation of the Law of the Russian Federation on Mass Media" was adopted on 15 June at a plenary session of the Supreme Court. All 78 Supreme Court judges in attendance voted in support of it. Mijatovic attended the session as a guest.
Among other instructions, the Supreme Court resolution refers Russian courts to the basic principles of the European Convention of Human Rights on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media, and to the principles of the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (now OSCE).
One of the provisions of the Supreme Court resolution says that only courts can request journalists to reveal their sources of information, and only when all other ways to obtain the relevant information have been exhausted and "when the disclosure of these sources presents an overriding public interest."
Another provision says that the federal regulation agency can only issue warnings to online media outlets over unlawful readers' comments if they fail to comply with official requests to delete or edit the comments. Prior to the adoption of the resolution, authorities had the option of closing online media outlets for comments on their forums, even if the comments were not endorsed by the outlet.
"I hope that the Russian courts will fully implement the Supreme Court's resolution, which offers journalists and online media outlets enhanced judicial protection," Mijatovic said.
Noted Russian media experts - among them Mikhail Fedotov, the secretary of the Russian Union of Journalists and co-author of the 1991 Media Law, and Andrei Richter, the director of the Moscow-based Media Law and Policy Centre - helped draft the Supreme Court resolution.
Today Mijatovic addressed an international conference co-organized by the Russian Union of Journalists and the Moscow-based Centre for Extreme Journalism to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1991 Media Law. Yesterday, she held talks with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Yakovenko and Deputy Communications and Mass Communications Minister Aleksei Malinin.
During the meetings, Mijatovic urged the Russian government to take pro-active and resolute measures to curb violent attacks on journalists and prosecute those responsible for the violence. She encouraged authorities to initiate a process towards decriminalizing defamation and discussed Russia's plans to switch to digital terrestrial broadcasting by 2015.
"I am encouraged by the Russian government's responsiveness and interest in working with my Office and I look forward to our future co-operation," Mijatovic said.