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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) praised the High Court of Malawi’s unanimous decision on Monday, which decriminalized the former crime of defamation.
CPJ spokesperson, Muthoki Mumo, said:
The High Court, which acts as the state constitutional court, ruled that section 200 of the Malawi penal code imposed a “disproportionate and unjustifiable limitation on constitutional freedom,” and was ruled unconstitutional. The court emphasized that defamation is already adequately covered under civil law and that the harm is greatly outweighed by the benefit which public discourse plays in creating a healthy democracy.
The case had garnered significant public attention, which followed influencer and activist Joshua Chisa Mbele, who was charged with defamation in 2022 following his comments about a military official. He argued that defamation as a criminal offence infringed on his section 35, freedom of expression, rights under the Malawi constitution. Although the case does not mention section 36, freedom of the press, the decision was nonetheless hailed as a win by regional press agencies, namely the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), who urged the government of Malawi not to appeal the decision.
Having been declared unconstitutional, no one can be charged with the offence of criminal defamation effective immediately.
The post Malawi court praised for decision declaring crime of defamation unconstitutional appeared first on JURIST - News.
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CPJ spokesperson, Muthoki Mumo, said:
CPJ notes that section 60 of the Malawi criminal code, which criminalizes the publication of “false news,” and the 2016 Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act, which criminalizes the unauthorized transmission of data and information, both remain significant barriers to press freedom in Malawi.
The High Court, which acts as the state constitutional court, ruled that section 200 of the Malawi penal code imposed a “disproportionate and unjustifiable limitation on constitutional freedom,” and was ruled unconstitutional. The court emphasized that defamation is already adequately covered under civil law and that the harm is greatly outweighed by the benefit which public discourse plays in creating a healthy democracy.
The case had garnered significant public attention, which followed influencer and activist Joshua Chisa Mbele, who was charged with defamation in 2022 following his comments about a military official. He argued that defamation as a criminal offence infringed on his section 35, freedom of expression, rights under the Malawi constitution. Although the case does not mention section 36, freedom of the press, the decision was nonetheless hailed as a win by regional press agencies, namely the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), who urged the government of Malawi not to appeal the decision.
Having been declared unconstitutional, no one can be charged with the offence of criminal defamation effective immediately.
The post Malawi court praised for decision declaring crime of defamation unconstitutional appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.