The laws on the mass media and on protection of professional activities of journalists require systemic revisions. The Ministry of Justice admitted, agreeing with experts.
Participants of today’s discussion presented assessments of these laws, which were prepared by independent experts based on the methodology of the inventory of laws approved by the Ministry of Justice.
The experts, pointing out the problematic aspects of the laws under consideration, voiced a number of recommendations for their finalization and improvement, in particular, that the law on the mass media is outdated (adopted in 1992), the law on protection of the professional activities of journalists — in 1997, and they need systemic changes.
The participants of the event expressed their ideas and suggestions, noting that the laws should be finalized taking into account modern trends and realities, so that the laws work in practice and meet modern requirements.
The experts stressed that the process of laws inventory in the Kyrgyz Republic is being carried out in a hurry and this causes certain concerns. Each law and proposed amendments and additions require detailed consideration and discussion.
During the discussions, some participants suggested combining two laws — on the mass media and on protection of professional activities of journalists — into one common document. Other participants spoke out against this idea, giving their arguments.
The participants agreed that the laws should be detailed, professional, clearly setting the goals and objectives, rights and responsibilities of journalists, citizens engaged in journalistic activities, bloggers and others.
All recommendations and suggestions will be taken into account when developing a new version of the draft laws.
