B r a z i l

2. SPECIFIC PRESS LAWS

Press Law Nē 5,250 of 1967 states in Article 1 the following: Expression of thought and the collection, receipt and dissemination of information and ideas, by any means, are free and not subject to censorship, each being liable, under terms of the law, for any abuse that is committed.

§ 1. War propaganda, acts of subversion of public and social order, and racial or class prejudice shall not be tolerated.

§ 2. What is set forth in this article shall not apply to public performances and entertainment, which shall be subject to censorship as stipulated by law, nor during a state of emergency, when the government may impose censorship on publications and newspapers as well as broadcast stations and news agencies regarding those matters that led to the declaration of the state of emergency and in connection with those who ordered it.

Article 2: The publication and circulation in the nation of books, newspapers and other publications of a periodical nature is free, unless they are clandestine (Article 11) or when they offend morality and good customs.

§1. The exploitation of broadcast services requires a federal permit or concession, in accordance with the law.

§2. The operation of companies whose object is to obtain news is free, so long as they are registered in accordance with the terms of Article 8.

Article 7: In the exercise of freedom of expression of thought and of information, anonymity is not permitted. However, the confidentiality of sources or the origin of news received or gathered by journalists, radio reporters or commentators is assured.

§1. All newspapers or periodical publications are required to print on their masthead the name of the editor or managing editor, who should enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as indicate the address of the management and the plant where it is printed, under pain of a daily fine of a maximum of the equivalent of the local minimum salary, under terms of Article 10.

§2. Any printed matter, in any medium, that circulates or is exhibited in public without carrying the name of the author or editor, as well as an indication of the office where it has been printed, the address and the date of printing shall be subject to seizure by the police.

§3. Broadcast news and current affairs programs, commentaries, debates and interviews must announce at the beginning and end of each the name of the respective director or producer.

§4. The editor or other person principally responsible for the newspaper, magazine, radio or television shall keep a book, which he will open and initial on each page, to be produced in court when required, containing a list of the pen-names of the people whose works have been published, followed by their signatures.

Article 27: The following shall not be considered as abuse of the exercise of freedom of expression of thought and of information:

I.   unfavorable opinion in literary, artistic, scientific of sports criticism, so long as there is no unequivocal intent to slander or defame;

II.   the reproduction, in full or part, so long as it not be classified or confidential material, of reports, opinions, decisions or acts emanating from the competent bodies of the Legislatures;

III.  to publish or comment on, in part or full, on bills and acts of the Legislature, as well as corresponding debates and criticism;

IV. the full, partial or abbreviated reproduction, or news report, feature or review of written or oral proceedings in court, as well as the dissemination of rulings and sentences and anything else the judicial authorities may order or communicate;

V.  the dissemination of allegations and citations of the parties or their representatives during a trial;

VI. the dissemination, discussion and criticism of acts and decisions of the Executive Branch and its agents, so long as classified or confidential material is not involved;

VII.            criticizing laws and indicating that they are not appropriate or timely;

VIII.            criticism stemming from the public interest;

IX.  expression of doctrines or ideas.

Article 28: Publication of written matter in newspapers or periodicals without a byline shall be considered to have been written:

I.   by the copy editor of the section in which it is published, if the newspaper or periodical has different sections under the responsibility of certain specific editors, whose names appear in them permanently;

II.   by the editor or managing editor, if it published on the editorial pages;

III.  by the manager or owner of the publishing company, if it is published on other pages;

§1. In broadcasts, if there is no indication of the author of the spoken words or of the images, their author will be taken to be:

a) the program director or producer, if he is named in the broadcast;

b) the editor or copy editor registered under terms of Article 9, paragraph III-b, in the case of news and current affairs programs, commentaries, debates or interviews.

Article 49: Anyone who in the exercise of freedom of expression of thought and of information willfully violates this right or causes harm to another shall be required pay:

I.   punitive and compensatory damages in those cases set forth in Article 16, numbers II and IV, in Article 18 and in the cases of libel, slander or defamation;

II.   compensatory damages in all other cases.

§1. In the cases of libel and defamation, proof of truth, provided that it is admissible under the terms set forth in Articles 20 and 21, excluding the deadline for response, shall incur no civil liability, so long as the alleged offense, even if true, does not refer to the private life of the offended party and the dissemination was not motivated by reasons of public interest.

§2. If the violation of the right or the harm results from the publication or broadcast in a newspaper, periodical or in a radio or television or news agency service, the person or company operating the news outlet shall be liable for payment of damages (Article 50).

§3. If the violation occurs through printed publication in a newspaper, the one responsible for payment of damages shall be:

a) the author of the written matter, if he is identified therein,; or

b) the person or company operating the publishing company, in the event that there is no byline.

Article 50: The company operating the news outlet shall be entitled to recover from the author of the written material, broadcast or news item, or the person responsible for its dissemination, payment made by virtue of the liability under this law.

Article 51: The professional journalist?s civil liability for payment of damages for negligence, inexperience or carelessness is limited in each case:

I.   to the equivalent of 2 local minimum salaries in the case of publication or broadcast of false news or the dissemination of a true but misrepresented or distorted fact (Article 16, Nēs II and IV);

II.   to the equivalent of five local minimum salaries in the case of publication or broadcast of an item that offends someone?s dignity or decorum;

III.  to the equivalent of 10 local minimum salaries in the case of the imputation of a fact offensive to someone?s reputation;

IV. to the equivalent of 20 local minimum salaries in the case of false imputation of a crime or imputation of an actual crime where not truth is inadmissible as a defense (Article 49, §1).

Sole paragraph: Regarded as professional journalists for the purposes of this Article are:

a) journalists who have an employment relationship with the company that operates the news medium or that produces broadcast programs;

b) those who, though with no employment relationship, regularly produce articles or programs that are published or broadcast;

c) the copy editor, editor or managing editor of the newspaper or periodical; the director or producer of the program and the director, mentioned in Article 9, paragraph III-b, of the holder of the broadcast concession or license, and the manager and editor of the news agency.

Article 52: The civil liability of the company that operates the news medium is limited to 10 times the sums mentioned the previous Article if it results from the culpable act of some of those persons mentioned in Article 50.

Article 53: In deciding the level of punitive damages, the judge shall take mainly the following into account:

I.   the severity of the suffering of the offended party, the gravity, nature and repercussions of the offense, and the social and political standing of the offended party;

II.   the severity of misrepresentation or the degree of negligence of the person responsible, his financial situation and his prior criminal or civil record relating to abuse of freedom of expression and of information;

III.  spontaneous and exact retraction prior to the criminal or civil case coming to trial, publication or broadcast of the requested reply or rectification in the time frame required under the law and independently of any court order, and how much the offended party has already obtained in payment of damages.

Article 54: Payment of actual and compensatory damages is designed to restore the injured party to his prior state.

Article 55: The losing party is responsible for the winning party?s legal fees, to be set immediately in the same sentence, as well as court cost.

Article 56: Criminal proceedings to obtain punitive damages may be taken separate to action to obtain payment of compensatory damages so long as they are initiated within three months of the date of publication or broadcast concerned.

Sole paragraph: Taking civil action does not depend on the criminal action. Once the latter is initiated, if truth is offered as a defense and it is a case of its being admitted as absolution from civil liability or on other grounds whose resolution in the criminal case amounts to judgment in the civil case, the judge shall determine up to what point the civil case may proceed, independently of the ruling in the criminal proceedings.

Article 75: The publication of the civil or criminal sentence, the final judgment, shall be ordered by the competent authority, at the request of the injured party, in a major newspaper, periodical or broadcast outlet, at the expense of the losing and/or penalized party.

Decree Nē 83,284 of 1979 on the profession of journalism says in Article 1, the practice of the profession of journalism by those who meet the conditions set out in this Decree shall be free throughout the national territory.

Article 2 states, The profession of journalism exclusively embraces habitual and remunerated engagement in of any of the following activities:

I.   the writing, editing, headlining, interpretation, correction or coordination of material to be disseminated, whether or not it contains comment;

II.   an opinion piece or feature in any communication medium;

III.  interview, inquiry or reporting, in writing or spoken;

IV. the planning, organization, direction and possible provision of technical press services, such as filing, illustration or graphic distribution of the matter to be disseminated;

V.  the planning, organization and technical administration of the services mentioned in item I;

VI. technical press training;

VII.            the gathering of news or information and its preparation for dissemination;

VIII.            the review of original press matter with a view to ensuring correct style and syntax;

IX.  the organization and maintenance of news files and search for respective data in preparing a news item;

X.  graphical distribution of news texts, photographs and illustrations for their dissemination;

XI.  making an artistic or technical design for news to be disseminated.

Back to main

questions or comments? e-mail us

Copyright Š 1999 Inter American Press Association. All rights reserved.

  Argentina