The Fundamental of Laws,

Rules and Codes of Ethics

Concerning Media
Practices
Bambang Harymurti

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Enabling Environment:

1. Legal infrastructure
2. Social Infrastructure
3. Economic Infrastructure
4. Professional/Technical Competence
5. Big Bang vs. Muddling Through

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Roumeen Islam:
on Legal Infrastructure
• When libel is a criminal rather than a civil case, journalists
lean toward self-censorship.
• When truth is not a defence for libel, journalists have
incentives to limit their investigations
• When laws provide protection against libelious statements
about matter of public interest and require that individuals
to show that defamatory statements are knowingly or
recklessly false and made with malicious intent, these
favour journalistic freedom.
(World Bank Institute, “The Right to Tell: The Role of Mass
Media in Economic Development, page 13-14)

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From Feudalism to Modernity

• Feudal Society: intolerant toward difference of

opinion and very tolerant toward acts of physical
violence
• Modern Society: very tolerant toward different of
opinion and intolerant toward physical violence
• Transition problem: How to broaden tolerance
toward different of opinion and lessen the
propensity toward acts of physical violence.
• Insult is the extreme form of difference in opinion
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 Economic Development and Media Freedom

Source: World Bank Institute: “The Right to Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development.” page 228

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Economic Health vs Freedom of the Press

Sumber: World Bank Institute: “The Right to Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development.” Halaman 230

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Freedom from Criminal
Defamation
• Members of European Council (due to adherence
to European Human Rights Court in Strassbourg).
• Members of Inter-American States (due to
adherence to Inter-American States Human Rights
Court)
• USA (due to First Amendment)
• Members of African Regional Human rights Court
• Countries with media laws that comply with
International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights,
ie: Ukrainia, Srilanka etc.

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ICCPR Principles:

• Freedom of Expression and the press is

basic Human Rights
• The limit is only other basic Human Rights
(Article 20)
• Any regulation should be based on
democratic principles.

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Principles of Media Law in
Democratic Society
• Maximum protection of media freedom

• Minimal exceptions specified by law and deemed necessary

• Legal protection of sources

• No criminal defamation and short statute of limitation

• No “chilling effect” fines in civil defamation

• Burden of prove is in litigant

• Truth is a defense

• Maximum self regulation

• Based on restorative justice principles

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Principles of Self Regulation
• Oversight by an independent institution (media council or ombudsman) to
ensure ethical conducts

• No government involvement and statute of limitation

• Represents journalist associations, publisher association and public

(consumers)

• Run by highly respected public figures

• Supported by independent fund

• Tasked to protect media freedom, enhancing quality of journalism, promoting

media literacy to the public, mediating disputes between the press and the
public and facilitating the formation of professional rules and regulations

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Principles of Media Ethics

• Tell the truth

• Be independent
• Minimize harms
• (Periodic reviews)

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 Pro and Cons of Media Council

• Inverse relation with quality of existing court

• Balance of interest: Journalists-Owners-Public
• Protecting public access to press freedom
• Free, quick and respected
• What about public fund?
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Questions and Answers

• Please share your opinions and

questions
• Thank you

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