Code of conduct for print media in Kosovo
PRISTINA, 18 September 2000 - The United Nations Special Representative, Dr Bernard Kouchner, has signed the Print Code of Conduct into law. The Code, which is issued by the Temporary Media Commissioner, is a temporary measure that will remain in place until 1 January 2001. After that date, the Special Representative of the Secretary General may decide to renew the Code at 90-day intervals until there is effective self-regulation within the print media sector.
United Nations Mission in Kosovo Regulation 2000/37, On the Conduct of the Print Media in Kosovo, authorizes the Temporary Media Commissioner, in special circumstances, to issue such a code. It applies to anyone with ultimate and final editorial control of publications published or distributed within Kosovo, such as owners, operators, publishers or editors-in-chief.
The Code of Conduct establishes both the rights and the obligations of the print media and includes comprehensive reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including Article 19, the right to freedom of expression. It also cites the European Convention on Human Rights, including Article 10, which defines the reasonable limitations that may be imposed on this right.
Under the Kosovo Print Code, publishers are prohibited from writing, printing, publishing or distributing any material that encourages criminal activity or violence. In addition:
- they must refrain from circulating material that denigrates an ethnic or religious group or implies that an ethnic or religious group is responsible for criminal activity;
- they are prohibited from attributing criminal responsibility to anyone before that person has been found guilty in a court of law;
- specific information about an individual alleged to have committed a crime, including their name or a picture, cannot be published unless authorization has been given by authorities responsible for the administration of justice (this includes the police and the judiciary), or unless the individual has been indicted or found guilty of the crime in a court of law.
The Code calls on the print media to respect the laws in Kosovo which apply to media-related activities, including electoral rules. It spells out generally accepted norms and responsibilities similar to those contained in other European codes applicable to the print media. These include requiring the print media to distinguish clearly between fact and opinion, and make every effort to establish that the material they print is true. They are also required to extend the right to reply, publish corrections and to allow the public to make complaints.
The Media Advisory Policy Board as well as senior newspaper editors were consulted on the wording of the Code. It is now up to the print media to develop a satisfactory and sustainable self-regulatory mechanism.