29. 06. 2012

E-Guide for reporting on court proceedings

Working on building the capacity of its members and education of their journalists, ANEM created, in cooperation with its team of lawyers, an E-Guide for reporting on court proceedings for journalists of ANEM stations. The Guide was designed in such a manner as to acquaint journalists with their rights in this field and point to potential problems they could run into in their work. The Guide includes instructions based on existing valid legislation that directly regulates this area, but also on legislation and regulations that indirectly affect the reporting on court proceedings. The Guide was prepared by lawyers Mr. Vesna Zivkovic and Kruna Savovic.

The starting point of the Guide is the fact that reporting on court proceedings is a sensitive issue governed by specific rules and which implies certain risks. Also, education of journalists in this area, on one hand, is very important for avoiding consequences deriving from lack of knowledge or understanding of this field, and for truthful, complete and timely informing of the public on the work of judiciary and court proceedings being led, on the other. The Guide will thus be an useful source of information to journalists as it provides information as to how they should report on court proceedings and what they should try to avoid, not to end up being fined or punished.

The E-Guide for reporting on court proceedings is available only to ANEM members on ANEM Intranet.

The creation of the E-Guide was preceded by a panel discussion of journalists, representatives of electronic and print media, prosecutors and judges, authors of laws, lawyers who represent media, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, as well as representatives of competent bodies, on existing regulations, court practice and problems the media experienced while reporting on court proceedings. Representatives of judges, prosecutors, media and experts in this field voiced their opinions and shared their experiences with reporting on court proceedings. It was concluded that an adequate communication was lacking between media on one side and judiciary and prosecution on the other. However, both sides expressed their desire and readiness to improve their mutual cooperation, and with that, to improve this aspect of journalistic work. More information on this event is available here.