A number of media nongovernmental organizations called upon the Supreme Council of Magistrates to modify the new draft regulations concerning the public information and relations with the mass media service. According to them, these regulations limit the mass media’s access to information and the public’s freedom to be informed about matters of public interest, IPN reports.

The regulations were proposed for discussion in courts of law, but weren’t submitted to civil society for consultation. “Regrettably, the new draft regulations contain many faults and will hamper communication between journalists and the courts of law. This inevitably leads to the diminution of general public’s confidence in justice. The courts cannot function in a vacuum, far from the media’s attention, especially in famous cases,” said the NGOs.

According to them, if it is adopted in the form proposed initially, the new regulations will hinder the media outlets’ right to swiftly obtain information of public interest or will favor the selective provision of information based on subjective reasons. “The improvement of public communication in cases that hold interest for the media requires the rethinking of the strategy for communication with the mass media. The press service must provide the public and the mass media with relevant information of public interest as soon as possible and in a non-discriminatory way,” said the organizations.

The call was made by the Independent Journalism Center, the Association of Independent Press, the Electronic Press Association, the Journalistic Investigations Center, the Young Journalist’s Center, and “Acces-Info” Center.