Proposed amendments to media regulations 'illegal and must be canceled': NCHR

Jordan

Published: 2021-08-26 14:44

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 19:21


Proposed amendments to media regulations 'illegal and must be canceled': NCHR
Proposed amendments to media regulations 'illegal and must be canceled': NCHR

The National Center for Human Rights (NCHR) confirmed Thursday that the proposed amendments to the system related to fees and licensing fees for printing presses, publishing houses, distribution houses, studies and research, public opinion measurement houses, translation houses, advertising offices and periodical publications, and the broadcasting licensing system and radio and television rebroadcasting, were not made within a consultative framework to come up with a formula that is in line with the national legislations and international standards regulating human rights, especially those related to press and media freedoms.

The NCHR added in a press statement that the aforementioned amendments also included a number of violations and restrictions, calling on the government to cancel them.

Here is the full text of the statement:

The National Center for Human Rights followed up on the amendments proposed to the amended system for fees and allowances for licensing printing presses, publishing houses, distribution houses, studies and research, public opinion measurement houses, translation houses, publicity and advertising offices and periodical publications, and the amended system for broadcasting licenses and radio and television rebroadcasting.

1) The proposed amendments to the aforementioned regulations were not carried out in a consultative and participatory framework that includes all relevant parties, which aim to determine the reasons for amending these regulations, and to come up with amendments that comply with the Jordanian constitution and international human rights standards related to freedom of expression in general, and freedom of the press and media in particular, and also in line with relevant national legislation.

2) The draft regulations have sparked controversy about the existence of violations related to the need to respect the rule of the legislative hierarchy, especially with regard to the introduction of provisions that were not included in the Press and Publications Law and the Audio-Visual Media Law; most notably: the issue of renewing the license for publications.

The proposed amendments also included numerous violations of international human rights standards related to freedom of expression and freedom of the internet, most notably is the expansion of the definition of broadcasting on the internet, which might include live broadcasting, with the mandatory licensing imposed by the system in such a case, in addition to amending the fees for licensing electronic publications to reach JD 500, up from JD 50.

The NCHR finds that the provisions added under these draft regulations constitute a violation of the original legislative authority.

In the same context, the NCHR calls for the need for any proposed amendments to legislation related to freedom of expression, freedom of the press and media, and freedom of the internet to be consistent with international human rights standards, and not to impose additional restrictions on these freedoms, which comes in accordance with Article 128 of the Jordanian Constitution, which emphasized that the laws issued to regulate rights and freedoms should not affect their essence or basics.

The NCHR also calls for the cancelation of these draft regulations and to subject them to a participatory dialogue that includes all concerned pirates to come up with a formula that is compatible with the Jordanian constitution and international human rights standards.

The center emphasized at the same time that legislation related to freedom of expression and freedom of the press and the media is an essential and crucial component to move forward in the reform process, support its progress and enhance the democratic and pluralistic approach in the country.

The Center warns against restricting public rights and freedoms, in particular reducing the space for freedom of expression under arbitrary requirements, especially in light of the Jordanian state's tendency to release more public rights and freedoms, coupled with introducing political reforms.

As for the general legislative policy in Jordan, the NCHR finds that the time has come to institutionalize an effective national system for the sake of legislation, which aims to achieve communication between legislation and society, and is based on the following:

- Partnership between social organizations, the government and parliament in the legislative process.

- Analyzing the social, economic, cultural and political phenomena in society through feasibility studies for the proposed legislation.

- Dealing with human rights legislation in accordance with a legislative policy that adopts a review of the matrix of relevant legislation as a single unit, and within an integrated framework to avoid the flaws of legislative drafting, in order to avoid the inclusion of restrictions that do not comply with the Jordanian constitution and international human rights standards.