Ukranian Journalists Encourage Serbia to Get Rid of Communist Attitude to Press

Criminal liability for insult and defamation was decriminalized in Ukraine in 2001, when the old Soviet Criminal Code of USSR from was changed. Since then the liability for defamation is a issue of Civil Law: Civil Code of Ukraine from 2003 provides recovery for non-pecuniary and pecuniary damages, the recognition that certain information is inaccurate, refutation of such information and publication of victims' answers.

 

Different members of Ukrainian Parliament have repeatedly tried to introduce Bills on returning of the articles on insult and defamation to the Criminal Code and all of them, but one, didn't find any support in the Parliament. Only once in Spring, 2012, the Parliament adopted in the first reading the Bill on recriminalization of defamation. After the protests of Ukrainian journalists in many cities, the voting on the adoption of the law was abolished on October, 2, 2012.

 

NGO Institute of Mass Information (Kyiv, Ukraine) supports the desire of Serbian journalists to get rid of the criminal liability for defamation, which is an excessive restriction of freedom of expression, and we encourage the Government of Serbia decriminalize defamation.