On February 23, 2022, the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation and the Center for Judicial Research (CEPRIS)presented the analysis “Freedom of Expression in Court: The Second Regular Report on the Protection of Freedom of Expression in the Serbian Judicial System.”
This report analyzes litigation against the media, which, according to the Press Council, rarely violates the Journalists’ Code. In this part, data on the length of proceedings and drafting of verdicts, properties of prosecutors and defendants, position of parties in the procedure, decisions made in the appellate procedure and the procedure of deciding on extraordinary legal remedies, as well as the amount of awarded damages were measured.
In the part dealing with criminal proceedings, the analysis includes a comparison of case law in cases of endangering safety of journalists and those related to endangering safety of other persons specially protected by Article 138 of the Criminal Code. The practice of the prosecution when it comes to rejecting criminal charges for attacks on journalists, as well as agreements on postponing criminal prosecution (opportunity), was also analyzed.
The analysis from 2022 relies on the already published findings from 2021, when outcomes of litigation before the High Court in Belgrade against the media, which, according to the Press Council, frequently violated the Code of Journalists of Serbia, as well as proceedings before prosecutors’ offices and criminal courts in cases of threats and attacks on journalists. This year’s analysis also compares the course and outcome of proceedings for two different groups of media – those that generally adhere to and those that do not adhere to professional standards. Likewise, in 2021, a significant change and the appearance of lawsuits are noticed, for which there is a suspicion that they represent the so-called SLAPP lawsuits – strategic lawsuits against public participation. The analysis also presents some of the legal and practical possibilities for resolving the problem of SLAPP lawsuits against the media in the domestic judicial system.
The authors of the report are Kruna Savović, Živković and Samardžić Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Partner and the Head of Media Litigation, Nataša Jovanović (SĆF) and Vida Petrović Škero, former president of the Supreme Court of Serbia, who will speak on behalf of CEPRIS.
The Second Regular Report on the Protection of Freedom of Expression in the Serbian Judicial System can be found here.
Kruna is with Živković Samardžić since 2008. She specializes in Media Law and Intellectual Property. From the very beginning of her professional career, Kruna Savović has actively contributed to the initiatives advocating the struggle for a better society through participation in various humanitarian, cultural, philanthropic and socially-responsible campaigns and projects. Kruna is a trusted advisor to a number of national broadcast, print and on-line media and their associations. She is also an experienced media and intellectual property litigator. During her career, as Head Živković Samardžić Media Litigation practice, she led and participates in media strategy projects and was responsible for the implementation of the cases connected to Technology, Media and Telecommunications.
Kruna Savović jedna je od prezentera ovogodišnje Analize Slobode Izražavanja u pravosudnom sistemu Republike Srbije
Fondacija Slavko Ćuruvija i Centar za pravosudna istraživanja (CEPRIS) predstavili su 23. Februar 2022. godine analizu „Sloboda izražavanja pred sudom: drugi redovni izveštaj o zaštiti slobode izražavanja u pravosudnom sistemu Srbije.“
U ovom izveštaju analizirani su parnični postupci protiv medija koji, prema podacima Saveta za štampu, retko krše Kodeks novinara. U ovom delu, merili su se podaci o dužini trajanja postupaka i izrade presuda, svojstvima tužilaca i tuženih, položaju stranaka u postupku, odlukama donetim u žalbenom postupku i postupku odlučivanja o vanrednim pravnim lekovima, kao i visini dosuđene naknade štete.
U delu koji posmatra krivično-pravne postupke, analiza obuhvata poređenje sudske prakse u slučajevima ugrožavanja bezbednosti novinara i onima koji se odnose na ugrožavanje bezbednosti ostalih lica posebno zaštićenih članom 138. Krivičnog zakonika. Analizirala se i praksa tužilaštva kada je reč o odbačajima krivičnih prijava za napade na novinare, kao i sporazume o odlaganju krivičnog gonjenja (oportunitet).
Analiza iz 2022. godine se oslanja na već objavljene nalaze iz 2021. godine, kada su posmatrani ishodi parničnih postupaka pred Višim sudom u Beogradu protiv medija koji, prema zaključcima Saveta za štampu, učestalo kršili Kodeks novinara Srbije, kao i postupaka koji su vođeni pred tužilaštvima i krivičnim sudovima u slučajevima pretnji i napada na novinare. Ovogodišnja analiza donosi i poređenje toka i ishoda postupaka za dve različite grupe medija – onih koji se uglavnom drže i onih koji se ne drže profesionalnih standarda. Takođe, 2021. godine uočava seznačajna promena i pojava tužbi za koje postoji sumnja da predstavljaju tzv. SLAPP tužbe – strateške tužbe protiv učešća javnosti. Analiza predočava i neke od pravnih i praktičnih mogućnosti rešavanja problema SLAPP tužbi protiv medija u domaćem pravosudnom sistemu.
Autorke izveštaja su Kruna Savović, advokatica iz Kancelarije Živković i Samardžić, Nataša Jovanović (SĆF) i Vida Petrović Škero, nekadašnja predsednica Vrhovnog suda Srbije, koja će govoriti u ime CEPRIS-a.
Drugi redovan izveštaj Slobode izražavanja pred sudom možete pronaći ovde.
Kruna je sa Živković Samardžić od 2008. godine. Specijalizovana je za medijsko pravo i intelektualnu svojinu. Od samog početaka profesionalne karijere, Kruna Savović je aktivno učestvovala u inicijativama zagovarajući borbu za bolje društvo kroz učešće u raznim humanitarnim, kulturnim, filantropskim i društveno odgovornim kampanjama i projektima. Kruna je pouzdani savetnik za brojne nacionalne radio-difuzne, štampane i on-line medije i njihova udruženja. Takođe ima iskustva u parnicama za medije i intelektualnu svojinu. Tokom svoje karijere, kao rukovodilac odeljenja za medijske sporova, vodila je i učestvuje u projektima vezanim za donošenje i implementaciju medijske strategije i bila odgovorna za vođenje slučajeva iz oblasti tehnologije, medija i telekomunikacija.