Ratification of the Organic Law for Media – Al-Hiwar Al-Jazaeryia

Today, Thursday, members of Parliament approved the organic law related to media, during a public session, with a “reservation” on Article 22.

The members of the Council approved this law with the registration of a “reservation” on Article 22 of this text because it contains – according to what was stated in the supplementary report of the Committee for Culture, Information, Youth and Tourism – a contradiction that contradicts the purpose sought by the provisions of the article. On the one hand, it requires the possession of a journalist working in Algeria for an account On the other hand, this article refers the modalities of applying its provisions or procedures to regulation, in addition to the fact that the committee considers the 30-day deadlines to be insufficient.

This text includes several provisions, including those related to the field of written and electronic press, as it devotes the establishment of the “declaratory system” that is based on the simplified application of establishing media outlets instead of the accreditation system currently in force.

In addition to establishing the authority to control the written and electronic press, which is a public body that enjoys financial independence and undertakes the tasks of controlling the activity of the written and electronic press.

As for the audiovisual field, the same text included amending the basic law of the audiovisual control authority by giving it a special character while expanding its tasks to include controlling and monitoring audiovisual communication services via the Internet.

On the other hand, this law “takes into account the guarantee of a professional media practice, a balance between press freedom and professional responsibility by setting guarantees that enshrine the journalist’s right to freedom of expression and the search for information,” in addition to “giving the journalist legal protection for his work and preserving his right not to publish or broadcast any A piece of news, an article, or a work that has undergone substantial modifications without his consent.

The same text will enhance “the journalist’s right to access information and protect his sources by recognizing his right to professional secrecy and obligating bodies to facilitate his access to information,” in addition to promoting journalistic work by controlling the concepts of journalistic activity and defining the professional journalist while ensuring training.

On the other hand, it stipulated “the criminalization of every form of violence or insult while the journalist is performing his duties,” in addition to “obligating the body used to make a special subscription for every journalist who is sent to areas that may endanger his life, and granting him the right to refuse to work in the absence of that without causing any harm.” His refusal is a breach of his professional duties.”

With regard to addressing irresponsible practices, the law “proposes the creation of a higher council of morals and professional ethics, to which the responsibility for control, intervention and preparation of a charter is to be established to promote responsible media practice and contribute to the promotion of self-regulation.”

The same text aims to “exclude owners of corrupt money from investing in the field of media by obliging the media to declare the source of the funds invested to run institutions, prove the possession of national capital, and prevent direct or indirect financing and material support from any foreign party.”

With regard to the violations committed in the context of practicing media activity, the law stipulates that the competent judicial authorities impose fines “ranging between 100 thousand and two million (2) DA, in addition to the final suspension, according to a judicial decision, of the media activity, the closure of the headquarters, and the confiscation of equipment, according to the gravity of the act committed.” In addition to “preserving the statute of limitations for public lawsuits and civil lawsuits related to misdemeanors committed through the written, electronic and audiovisual press after 6 months from the date of their commission,” and “the legal person has been held responsible for violations committed within the framework of practicing media activity.”

It is worth noting that this text dealt with four references to the organization, and it is related to the basic law of the journalist, the conditions and modalities for granting the professional journalist card, the modalities for accrediting the journalist who works for a media outlet subject to a foreign law, in addition to the formation, organization and functioning of the Supreme Council of Professional Ethics and Ethics.