web counter
LEXO PA REKLAMA!

SHKARKO APP

App Store
Google Play

E fundit!

x

The law that makes defamation a criminal offense in Republika Srpska comes into force

2023-08-25 10:01:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The law that makes defamation a criminal offense in Republika Srpska comes into

Amendments to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska, which officially entered into force on August 25 in this entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, making defamation a criminal offense.

On August 25, the legal deadline of eight days after the publication of the changes in the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska expired and those provisions entered into force.

According to the legal amendments approved at the session of the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska on July 20, defamation became a criminal offense.

Making malicious or untrue statements about a person is defined as defamation and fines from 1,000 to 3,000 euros are provided for this offense.

Greater penalties are provided if the defamation appears in the media (including social networks) or in a public meeting.

The legal changes were opposed by international organizations and foreign embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the US Embassy and the Delegation of the European Union to the country.

On July 21, international institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a joint statement, where they said that the criminalization of defamation is contrary to Bosnia and Herzegovina's international obligations in the field of human rights and that it is not in line with the path of European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina or with the 14 key priorities defined by the European Commission.

The representatives of the media community also spoke against the law, warning that this change was an attack on the freedom of the media in the Republic of Serbia and warned of submitting a request for the evaluation of the constitutionality of the legal changes to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia. Such a thing has not happened yet.

Previously, the Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska rejected a request to determine whether the amendment of this law constitutes a violation of vital national interest.

Vital national interest is the mechanism that gives Bosniak, Croat and Serb groups the ability to declare a law "harmful" to the people they represent and prevent the laws from being passed.

The fines were reduced compared to the initial bill, in which they reached up to 60,000 euros. However, defamation still became part of the Criminal Code, 22 years after the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Law on Protection from Defamation and transferred the offense from the Civil Code to the Criminal Code./ Rel





Lajmet e fundit nga