Responsibility of media in reporting on court proceedings theme of OSCE seminar in Montenegro

Responsibility of media when reporting on court proceedings was the topic of a seminar organized by the OSCE Mission on 15 October 2013 in Podgorica. The focus of the debate was the balance journalists and editors need to strike between exercising the right to freedom of expression, on the one hand, and respecting presumption of innocence and the right to privacy during court cases, on the other hand.

Opening the seminar Waldemar Figaj, Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro said: “While the OSCE respects freedom of media and supports the rights of journalists, at the same time we always emphasize the responsibility of respecting professional ethics on the part of media professionals.”

The seminar brought together Montenegrin journalists, editors, human rights lawyers and civil society representatives. They discussed the findings of the OSCE Mission’s Court Monitoring Report compiled in 2013 that concluded that media coverage of court cases was contributing to the violation of the principle of presumption of innocence. They also debated how to ensure that journalists reporting from the courtroom do not undermine international standards or local legislation that guarantees respect for a fair trial.