DELEGATION EU IN BIH: CRIMINALIZATION OF DEFAMATION WORSE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA

SARAJEVO, MARCH 4 (ONASA) – The European Union Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina believes that the criminalization of defamation would represent a setback in terms of guarantees of freedom of expression as a fundamental human right – said Ferdinand Koenig, the spokesperson of the EU Delegation and the Office of the EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Commenting on the draft amendments to the Criminal Code of the RS, which introduces new criminal offenses against honor and reputation, i.e. the criminal offense of insult and defamation, the EU Office in BiH emphasizes that the qualification of defamation as a criminal offense is considered an outdated approach, and the decriminalization of defamation in BiH in 2002 was a significant achievement for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Freedom of expression is a fundamental right. In key priority no. 12 from the Opinion of the European Commission on BiH’s request for membership in the European Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina is called upon to take concrete steps to guarantee freedom of expression and freedom of the media and protect journalists – said Koenig.
Moreover, he underlines, when the European Commission made a recommendation for granting candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2022, it was done with the expectation that certain reforms would be implemented without further delay. One of them is the strengthening of freedom of expression and media freedom.
As noted by the EU Office in BiH, the recently published Report of the European Commission for BiH highlights the tendency of politicians and public officials in BiH to persistently use the possibility of lawsuits in order to intimidate journalists and force them to self-censor.
In this context, they warn, the criminalization of defamation has the potential to worsen, rather than strengthen, freedom of expression and freedom of the media.
The Government of the Republic of RS, through recently established amendments and additions to the Criminal Code, introduces new criminal offenses against honor and reputation, criminal offenses of insult, defamation, as well as disclosure of personal and family circumstances. With these legal changes, they announce fines for the above-mentioned criminal offenses ranging from 5,000 to even 50,000 BAM.