Qualifying defamation as a criminal act is an outdated approach, and institutions should, instead, take measures to create a safe environment for free and independent media, the EU Delegation and the US Embassy in Sarajevo said in their comments on the recently presented law changes by which the authorities in Bosnia's Republika Srpska (RS) entity announced introducing of defamation as a criminal act.

“The EU's office in Bosnia and Herzegovina finds that the criminalisation of defamation would mean a step backwards in terms of guaranteeing the freedom of expression as a fundamental human right. Namely, qualifying defamation as a criminal act is considered an outdated approach, and decriminalising the defamation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002 meant a significant achievement for this country,” spokesperson Ferdinand Koenig told Buka news portal.

Koenig also said that recently published report by European Commission for BiH emphasised the tendency of politicians and public officials to persistently use lawsuits to intimidate journalists and to force them to self-censorship, “which can be further aggravated by the criminalisation of defamation.”

The step was also commented by the US Embassy's Press Office, which emphasised that criminalising of defamation would jeopardise the freedom of expression as a fundamental human right and would directly impact the ability of media workers to report truthfully.

“We believe it is important that the authorities are open to criticism, even when it is not pleasant. Steps must be taken to counter disinformation but we must always be on our guard when it comes to measures that give the authorities too broad powers to criminalise, censor, or abolish freedom of expression,” the embassy said, as quoted by the Buka news portal, adding that defamation laws are just among the means that “repressive authorities” use to twist the meanings of laws “to the detriment of journalists, persecuting them with lawsuits against which journalists cannot afford to defend themselves.”

Instead of criminal defamation laws, government institutions must take measures to create a safe and supportive environment for free and independent media, the embassy underlined.

The RS Government presented on Thursday the Draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of RS, introducing new criminal offences against honour and reputation, i.e. the criminal offence of insult and defamation. Entity Minister of Justice Milos Bukejlovic announced that fines for the aforementioned crimes will range from 5,000 to 50,000 BAM.

Entity lawmakers will have the law proposal on agenda within ten days.