Legal Resources for Journalists

Criminal prosecutions of journalists on defamation and insult (desacato) charges are widespread throughout the Americas, but the laws are being challenged increasingly before international bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

As part of CPJ's campaign against criminal defamation laws, this section of the Web site serves as a resource for journalists at risk of prosecution. It provides cases documented by CPJ, national and international precedents, relevant national and international laws, and other resources.

On August 3, 2004, in an important step forward, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights announced that it was overturning a criminal defamation conviction for the first time. The court ruled that the 1999 conviction of a Costa Rican journalist violated the right to free expression as defined in Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights.

The ruling effectively voided the sentence imposed by a Costa Rican penal court against Mauricio Herrera Ulloa and the San José-based daily newspaper La Nación. He and the newspaper had been ordered to pay damages, and Herrera Ulloa's name was officially inscribed on a list of convicted criminals. The conviction followed a series of articles in 1995 that cited European press reports alleging corruption by former Costa Rican diplomat Félix Przedborski.

But the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found that "expressions concerning public officials or other persons exercising functions of a public nature must enjoy ... leeway in order for an ample debate to take place on matters of public interest." Such free expression, the court added, is essential to democracy. A concurring opinion by the president of the court strongly criticized criminal libel prosecutions in general. The concurrence is perhaps the strongest such statement to date by a judge of an international tribunal.

The effort to decriminalize speech-related offenses was launched at a June 2000 Buenos Aires conference that brought together journalists and legal experts from throughout the Americas. In October 2001, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ratified a Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression explicitly stating that criminal defamation laws violate fundamental rights to free expression.



	Criminal prosecutions of journalists on defamation and insult (desacato) charges are widespread throughout the Americas, but the laws are being challenged increasingly before international bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. As part of CPJ's campaign against criminal defamation laws, this section of the Web site serves as a resource for journalists at risk of prosecution. It provides cases documented by CPJ, national and international precedents, relevant national and international laws, and other resources. On August 3, 2004, in an important step forward, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights announced that it was overturning a criminal defamation conviction for the first time. The court ruled that the 1999 conviction of a Costa Rican journalist violated the right to free expression as defined in Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights. The ruling effectively voided the sentence imposed by a Costa Rican penal court against Mauricio Herrera Ulloa and the San José-based daily newspaper La Nación. He and the newspaper had been ordered to pay damages, and Herrera Ulloa's name was officially inscribed on a list of convicted criminals. The conviction followed a series of articles in 1995 that cited European press reports alleging corruption by former Costa Rican diplomat Félix Przedborski. But the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found that "expressions concerning public officials or other persons exercising functions of a public nature must enjoy ... leeway in order for an ample debate to take place on matters of public interest." Such free expression, the court added, is essential to democracy. A concurring opinion by the president of the court strongly criticized criminal libel prosecutions in general. The concurrence is perhaps the strongest such statement to date by a judge of an international tribunal. The effort to decriminalize speech-related offenses was launched at a June 2000 Buenos Aires conference that brought together journalists and legal experts from throughout the Americas. In October 2001, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ratified a Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression explicitly stating that criminal defamation laws violate fundamental rights to free expression.

PDF documents can be read, downloaded, and printed with a FREE copy of Acrobat Reader. To suggest a Latin American link for this page, email Americas@cpj.org. For other links or suggestions, email Webmaster@cpj.org.