Criminalizing libel in publishing
Article 25 (amended by Law 330 18/5/1994 ) If a publication published something that contained insulting one of the recognized religions in the country, or that would stir sectarian or racial strife, disturb public peace, or endanger the state’s integrity, sovereignty, unity, borders, or Lebanon’s external relationship, the Appeals Public Prosecutor has the right to confiscate its publications. And to refer it to the competent court. In this case, the court may order imprisonment from one to three years and a fine of (50/ fifty million to / 100/ one hundred million Lebanese pounds, or one of these two penalties. In no case may the prison sentence be less than two months and the fine less than its minimum. He was sentenced to a final judgment based on this article and committed the same offense or another offense under the same article before the passage of seven years from the expiry of the penalty or the passage of time, the penalty stipulated in the previous paragraph shall be doubled, with the publication suspended for a period of at least six months.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
The legal rules that limit the exercise of freedom of expression and other human rights must be clear, for the flexible phrases used in the text of the article to restrict freedom of expression, although it aims to protect the alleged legitimate interest of the state related to public order, it lacks of limited and clear standards that determine the nature of harming the prestige and scope of the state or harming its financial position. This would create a wide discretion for the authorities to use these flexible terms to restrict freedom of expression and circulation of information in a way that affects the essence of these two freedoms, making these restrictions do not truly meet the objectives of achieving the intended public interest. The Human Rights Committee, in Comment No. 34 on Article 19, held that “For the purposes of paragraph 3, the rule to be regarded as a 'law' must be formulated with sufficient precision in order for an individual to control his or her conduct in accordance with it, and must be made available to the general public. The persons responsible for its implementation have absolute discretion to restrict freedom of expression.” Nor shall these restrictions jeopardize the right itself. The restrictions stipulated in Article 292 of the Penal Code absolutely prohibit the right to criticize heads of state and their political representatives, and the principle of acquittal is not applied if an act of defamation is proven against them, without any legitimate legal justification or necessity. In addition, the penalty of imprisonment prescribed for demeaning these personalities is considered disproportionate to the act prescribed in a democratic society and in violation of the provisions of Article 19 of the Covenant. (Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 34, Article 19 of 2011). Also, the penalty is imprisonment of up to six months, which is prescribed for the acts. Those that fall within the broad criminalization circle of this article are disproportionate to the actions that this article may affect.
Recommendations
Abolishing the loose phrases and defining the acts that are considered to be the dissemination of false news with the intent of clearly harming public peace and security, provided that all texts related to the subject and also stipulated in the Publications Law are unified and the unjustified imprisonment penalty is abolished.
Defamation sanctions
Article 20 The person who committed the crime through publications shall be punished by imprisonment from three months to one year and a fine of three thousand to five thousand Lebanese pounds, or one of these two penalties, and in the case of repetition, neither of the two penalties may be less than its minimum.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
When a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights imposes certain restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression, those restrictions may not jeopardize the right itself. The restrictions stipulated in Article 292 of the Penal Code absolutely prohibit the right to criticize heads of states and their political representatives, and the principle of acquittal is not applied in the event that an act of defamation is proven against them, without any legitimate legal justification or necessity. Also, the imprisonment penalty prescribed for demeaning these personalities is considered disproportionate to the act prescribed in a democratic society and in violation of the provisions of Article 19 of the Covenant. (Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 34, Article 19 of 2011)
Recommendations
Abolishing the loose phrases and defining the acts that are considered to be the dissemination of false news with the intent of clearly harming public peace and security, provided that all texts related to the subject and also stipulated in the Publications Law are unified and the unjustified imprisonment penalty is abolished.
Related Themes
Defamation
The right to criticize a public figure
Article 22- Humiliation, slander, or slander directed at an employee because of his position or capacity is punishable by imprisonment from one to six months and a fine of three thousand to five thousand Lebanese pounds, or one of these two penalties, and in the case of repetition, neither of the two penalties can be less than its minimum. If the employee who was subjected to contempt, slander, or slander was among those exercising public authority, the penalty was from three months to one year, and if he was a judge in the judiciary, from one to two years, and a fine of five thousand to ten thousand Lebanese pounds, or one of these two penalties, and in the case of repetition, no Any of the two penalties can be less than the minimum. In all the cases stipulated in Articles 20, 21 and 22, the court, in determining personal rights, must take into consideration the material and moral damages, whether direct or indirect, provided that they result from the commission of the offence. A contempt lawsuit is instituted based on the victim's complaint.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
When a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights imposes certain restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression, those restrictions may not jeopardize the right itself. The restrictions stipulated in Article 292 of the Penal Code absolutely prohibit the right to criticize heads of states and their political representatives, and the principle of acquittal is not applied in the event that an act of defamation is proven against them, without any legitimate legal justification or necessity. Also, the imprisonment penalty prescribed for demeaning these personalities is considered disproportionate to the act prescribed in a democratic society and in violation of the provisions of Article 19 of the Covenant. (Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 34, Article 19 of 2011)
Related Themes
Defamation
The right to criticize a public figure
Article 23 (amended by Law 330 on 18/5/1994 ) If one of the publications attacks the person of the head of state in what is considered an insult to his dignity, or if it publishes something that includes slander, slander, or contempt against him or the head of a foreign state, a public right lawsuit is initiated without the victim’s complaint. The Appeals Public Prosecutor has the right to confiscate the publication’s numbers and refer it to the competent court, which has the right to rule on the outcome of the trial by imprisonment from two months to two years and a fine of /50/fifty million to/100/one hundred million Lebanese pounds, or one of these two penalties. It is not permissible in any case to The penalty of imprisonment is less than one month and the fine is less than its minimum. Whoever was sentenced to a final judgment based on this article and then committed the same offense or another offense under the same article before the passage of three years from the expiry of the penalty or the passage of time on it, the penalty stipulated in the second paragraph shall be doubled, with the publication suspended for two months.”
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
When a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights imposes certain restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression, those restrictions may not jeopardize the right itself. The restrictions stipulated in Article 292 of the Penal Code absolutely prohibit the right to criticize heads of states and their political representatives, and the principle of acquittal is not applied in the event that an act of defamation is proven against them, without any legitimate legal justification or necessity. Also, the imprisonment penalty prescribed for demeaning these personalities is considered disproportionate to the act prescribed in a democratic society and in violation of the provisions of Article 19 of the Covenant. (Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 34, Article 19 of 2011)
Related Themes
Defamation
Conditions met by the journalist and the responsible manager
Article 22 - The journalist known for him in Articles 10 and 11 of this law must fulfill the following conditions: 1 - He must be a Lebanese man who has completed twenty-one years of age. 2 - He must have at least a Lebanese baccalaureate certificate (Section Two) or its equivalent, and he must have practiced an actual continuous practice of journalistic work for a period of four years following the acceptance of his application to belong to journalism as an apprentice, or he must have a bachelor’s degree in journalism from an institute affiliated with the Lebanese University or A Bachelor's degree in Journalism is accepted by this university. The holder of this license is exempted from internship. As for holders of other bachelor's degrees, they are subject to internship for a period of one year. 3- That he enjoys his civil and political rights and has not been convicted of one of the heinous crimes. 4 - To actually practice the profession without any other profession. According to the rules set by the bylaws.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
Journalism is a profession shared by a wide range of actors, including professional and full-time reporters and analysts as well as bloggers and others who engage in forms of self-publishing in print, on the Internet, or on other mediums, and here, general government systems of registration or licensing of journalists are inconsistent with paragraph 3, Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects freedom of expression (United Nations Human Rights Committee, Comment No. 34 of 12 September 2011).
Related Themes
Freedom to Publish
All foreign printings should comply to Lebanese standards
Article 5 - The obligator specified in the article 4 is imposed on every foreign publication distributed in Lebanon. If it does not comply with the order, it is prevented from entering Lebanese territory by a decision of the Minister of Information.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
Article 4 requires the director in charge of a publishing house or digital bulletin to publish what the Minister of Information requests of correcting or refuting false or fake news related to a public interest under penalty of imprisonment for up to three months for each refusal or abstention. The penalty can be doubled and the publication suspended for a period of two months. The penalty of imprisonment and disruption of the publication is not commensurate with the act or refusal to publish the news of the correction or falsification as long as there are available means to publish the correction or denial.
All foreign printings should comply to Lebanese standards
Article 50 - By a decision of the Minister of Guidance, News and Tourism, it is prohibited to enter any foreign publication into Lebanon, and its copies will be confiscated if it is found that the publication is likely to disturb security, affect national sentiment, conflict with public morals, or incite sectarian strife.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
Administrative control over freedom of expression, writing and circulation of information is illegal. Any prohibition of a publication from entering the country and its confiscation must be in accordance with a reasoned judicial decision and be notified by the stakeholder to express its defense.
Criminalizing Fake News that harms public peace
Article 3 (amended by Law 330 on 18/5/1994 ) Paragraph 1- Subject to the provisions of Article 25 of this Legislative Decree, if a publication publishes false news that may disturb public peace, the officials shall be punished by imprisonment from six months to one and a half years and a fine of five thousand to fifteen thousand Lebanese pounds, or one of these two penalties.
Partially Compliant with Standards
Analysis
Paragraph 1 of Article 3 includes vague and elastic phrases that make the aspects of a false news crime not based on credible material or moral criteria. The article penalizes the publication of any false news that would disturb public peace. How can it be ascertained that a news item would disturb the public peace without this being accompanied by other realistic and tangible elements that can be verified? That is why this article leaves great discretion to the public prosecutions and judicial authorities in pursuing information circulating and classifying news as threatening or non-threatening to public peace without any clear criteria for that.
Recommendations
Amending, reformulating and defining the acts considered to be spreading false news with the intent of clearly harming security and public peace, provided that all texts related to the subject and also stipulated in the Penal Code are unified and the unjustified imprisonment penalty is abolished.
Related Themes
Fake news
Criminalizing Fake News that harms public peace
Article 4 (amended by Law 330 on 18/5/1994 ) - If a publication publishes false or false articles or news related to a public interest, the Minister of Information may request the responsible director to publish a correction or a denial that he sends to him. It contains the article or the news in response to it and with the same letters. If the publication refuses to publish the correction or denial, the director in charge shall be punished with a fine of five million to twenty million Lebanese pounds and imprisonment from fifteen days to three months, or one of these two penalties, and the obligation to publish the correction or denial. .
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
Article 4 requires the director in charge of a publishing house or digital bulletin to publish what the Minister of Information requests of correcting or refuting false or fake news related to a public interest under penalty of imprisonment for up to three months for each refusal or abstention. The penalty can be doubled and the publication suspended for a period of two months. The penalty of imprisonment and disruption of the publication is not commensurate with the act or refusal to publish the news of the correction or falsification as long as there are available means to publish the correction or denial.
Related Themes
Fake news
Disciplinary council to punish journalists
Article 99- A body affiliated with the Lebanese Press Association shall be established called the Disciplinary Council, whose mission is to look into press cases arising from behavioral violations that require punishment.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
The Disciplinary Council deals with disciplinary issues of journalists, and among its powers is a ban from practicing the profession for a limited period and final removal from the press schedule. Practicing the profession of journalism is fundamentally linked to the freedom guaranteed in Article 19 of the Declaration and Covenant and enshrined in various international constitutions and charters. This freedom is related to personal freedoms that cannot be waived or deprived of. Thus, preventing a person from expressing or expelling him from a professional syndicate of journalists does not prevent this person from continuing his journalistic work or affiliation with another professional syndicate in accordance with the principle of freedom of syndicate assembly.
Recommendations
Cancellation of the text as it contradicts the principles of freedom of expression and union assembly. The solution is to open a serious discussion about the possibility of implementing self-regulatory mechanisms that can start with primary initiatives within each media organization to add internal policies that provide greater protection for journalists and their work.
Related Themes
Protection of journalism profession
License to issue a press publication
Article 27-It is absolutely prohibited to issue any press publication before obtaining a license from the Minister of Guidance, News and Tourism after consulting the Press Syndicate.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
Restrictions on freedom of the press must be necessary, adequate and proportionate. Subjecting press publications to the licensing system is an unnecessary restriction and does not aim to protect any legitimate objective in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Related Themes
Freedom to Publish
Mandatory membership to the Lebanese Press Association
Article 10 Paragraph 2- As for the one who impersonates a journalist for any reason, he shall be punished by imprisonment from six months to one year and a fine from 1,000 to 5,000 liras.
Media Censorhip during emergencies
Article 39- In exceptional cases, as if the country or part of it is exposed to danger resulting from an external war, armed revolution, disturbances, situations or actions that threaten order, security or public safety, or when events take the nature of a disaster, the government may be empowered by a decree taken in the Council of Ministers based on a proposal The Minister of Information shall subject all publications and mass media to prior censorship, provided that this decree defines the organization and method of this censorship and appoints the authority who undertakes it. Censorship is lifted by a decree issued by the Council of Ministers based on the proposal of the Minister of Information, and these rules are also applied to the lifting of censorship currently in place under Legislative Decree No. 1 dated 1/1/1977. The decree subjecting censorship to publications and mass media, or raising them, shall not be subject to any method of review, including an action for annulment before the State Consultative Council.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
Although the text of the article speaks of exceptional cases that enable the government to impose a prior censorship on the media, these cases are not clearly defined and are left open to the government’s discretion, and this is contrary to the principles of restricting freedoms. Article 39 also includes elastic and unclear phrases such as disturbances, acts that threaten the regime and others. . This article contradicts the principle that any restriction on basic freedoms must be clearly stipulated in a law, and that these restrictions must be necessary and proportionate. Contrary to this principle, the government was assigned to organize this Censorship, how to conduct it, and to designate the authority that would undertake it without any guarantees or conditions specified in the text of the law.
Related Themes
Freedom to Publish
Media Market license
Article 74- Anyone who wants to sell newspapers, books, magazines, photographs, drawings and other publications must obtain a license from the Ministry of Guidance, News and Tourism.
Printing ownership and organization
Article 12- No one may own or run a printing press without submitting a permit to the Ministry of Information.
Printing ownership and organization
Article 71 - Anyone wishing to establish a publishing house must submit to the Ministry of Information a signed permit. Article 72 - In the case of granting or refusing a license, the provisions for refunding the license applicable to press publications shall apply.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
Subjecting the establishment of publishing houses to a license by the Ministry of Information constitutes a violation of the freedom of publishing and information circulation, and it also allows the authority to exercise prior censorship over books and literature without any justified legal basis.
Related Themes
Freedom to Publish
Prohibit printing in case of media violation
Article 40 - If a publication is issued in violation of the decree of subjecting publications to prior censorship, its preparation in the administrative manner is confiscated and its issuance is suspended, and the suspension decision remains in effect until the publications court decides on the merits of the case. Article 41 (Amended By Law 330 on 18/5/1994 ) The official, the perpetrator, interfering, accomplice or instigator shall be punished with imprisonment from one to three years and a fine of five thousand to fifteen thousand Lebanese pounds, and the penalty may not be less than imprisonment for a period of one month. Including the period of detention in implementation of the administrative decision that preceded the case. Whoever was sentenced by a final judgment based on the previous Article 40 or this Article 41 and committed the same offense or another offense under the same penalty before the passage of two years from the expiry of the first penalty, the penalty stipulated in the previous paragraph shall be doubled, with the publication suspended for a period of six months. One hundred times the amount of the fine shall be increased according to Article 89 T. 7/9/91, and twenty times the amount of the same fine shall be increased according to Article 330 T. 5/18/94 Article 42 The decisions of the Publications Court in the matter of censorship of publications do not accept any of the ordinary or extraordinary methods of review, and the court must decide the case within a maximum period of twenty Article 43 The administrative decision to suspend or confiscate the publication is not subject to any review method, including the annulment lawsuit or the comprehensive court case before the State Consultative Council.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
The mere publication of the newspaper or the broadcast of the program in contravention of the provisions of prior censorship exposes the person responsible for it to a prison sentence of up to three years. This punishment is disproportionate to the act and puts personal freedoms at risk. Also, banning the convict from a custodial penalty of up to three years and depriving the person of a remedy and appealing the decision issued against him before an appellate or discriminatory judicial reference would constitute a violation of the rights of defense and fair trials. Especially Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which requires that every person has the necessary guarantees for his defense.
Related Themes
Freedom to Publish
Reclaiming the license to issue a press publication
Article 29 - The Minister of Guidance, News and Tourism shall recover the license by issuing a press publication after two weeks’ warning in one of the following cases: -First: If it was not issued within six full months from the date of granting the license or from the date it was waived, or part of it to others, or from the date of restoring the right to issue it by virtue of a court ruling Or an administrative measure. -Second: If it stopped after its issuance for a period of three consecutive months, but the Minister of Guidance, News and Tourism may extend this period by a reasoned decision that he takes after consulting the Press Syndicate. -Third: If she transgresses the wording of her license contrary to the definition set in Articles 5, 6 and 7 of this law. -Fourth: If it appears that the owner no longer fulfills the conditions imposed on him under Articles 30, 33 and 34 of this law. The owner of a publication whose license has been recovered under this Article shall not be given a new license before the expiration of a full year from the date of the license recovery.
Reporting copies of publications to the Public Prosecution office and other references
Article 46- The director of the press publication shall send a copy of each issue immediately upon its issuance to the Public Prosecution of Appeal, which issues the publication in its region, and two copies to each of the Ministry of Guidance, News and Tourism, the National Library and the Press Syndicate. Every violation of the provisions of this article shall be punished by a penalty of 50 (fifty) to 250 (two hundred and fifty) Lebanese pounds
Restriction of information
Article 12 - It is prohibited for all publications to publish: 1 - the facts of criminal and misdemeanor investigations before they are recited in a public session, secret trials, trials related to divorce, dissolution of marriage, immigration and filiation, proceedings of Cabinet sessions and secret sessions held by Parliament or its committees. The decisions of these committees as well as their reports may be published after they are deposited Council office unless the committee decides otherwise. 2 - Facts of investigations by the Central Inspection and Forensic Inspection Department, with the exception of decisions and notifications issued by the aforementioned department. 3- Letters, papers, files, or any of the files belonging to one of the public administrations marked with the phrase “secret” and if persons or organizations are harmed as a result of publication, they have the right to prosecute the publication before the courts. 4 - The facts of human rights cases that the court prohibits from publishing. 5 - Reports, books, letters, articles, photos and news that are contrary to morals and public morals. Every violation of the provisions of this article shall be punished by imprisonment from three months to a year and a fine of five thousand to fifteen thousand Lebanese pounds, or by one of these two penalties for the minimum fine. In determining personal rights, the court must take into account the material and moral damages, whether direct or indirect. Provided that it results from the commission of the offense.
Partially Compliant with Standards
Analysis
Prohibiting the publishing and circulation of information is an exception and a restriction on freedom of expression and access to information, and these exceptions must be specific and clear on the one hand and necessary to protect a legitimate goal on the other hand. Some of the restrictions contained in Article 12 apply to the justifications for the prohibition mentioned above, but some restrictions, such as preventing the publication of any official document belonging to a public administration and marked with the phrase “secret” does not conflict with the criteria mentioned for restriction, and makes any document by simply marking it with the phrase “secret” restricted from circulation. This is against the law on the right to access information.
Structural organization of journalism profession
Article 77- Journalists are affiliated with two independent bodies: the Lebanese Press Syndicate and the Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate. These two unions consist of a supreme body called the Lebanese Press Union, which is headed by the head of the Press Syndicate, and whose secretariat is held by the Editors Syndicate.
Not Compliant with Standards
Analysis
The principle of freedom of syndicat assembly is a fundamental principle related to freedom of the press, and the freedom of journalistic work related to freedom of opinion and expression in its broadest sense cannot be limited to an exclusive and obligatory body (Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Advisory Opinion No. OC-5/85 of November 13 1985)
Related Themes
Protection of journalism profession
