More than 60 East Timorese journalists, legal professionals, and members of Parliament met recently to discuss how the government's proposed criminal code might affect the media and human rights.

The draft legislation includes criminal penalties for journalists convicted of defamation rather than treating defamation as a civil offense. The code as it stands would allow for unspecified fines and up to three years in prison for journalists convicted of defamation of public officials or public institutions. Many countries are reexamining their criminal laws on defamation in an effort to reduce the "chilling" effect that criminal penalties may have on the media by strengthening the remedies provided for the victim under civil laws.

Some seminar participants supported the inclusion of defamation in East Timor's criminal code, including former Judge Rui Pereira dos Santos. But most participants disagreed, citing the tendency of criminal laws to discourage investigative journalism and weaken the media's roles of information provider and public watchdog.

Criminal sanctions would be "counterproductive," according to Aderito Hugo da Costa, editor of the Timor Post, one of the country's daily newspapers. He felt that the threat of such penalties would inhibit the development of East Timor's young media sector. Da Costa also voiced a broadly held concern that the draft legislation may contravene the freedom of expression and freedom of the media provisions in East Timor's constitution.

During the session, Member of Parliament Manuel Tilman said that he supports the creation of a press council to help the media regulate itself and offer mediation services as a way to keep disputes out of East Timor's overburdened court system.

Many of the participants agreed to work together to develop alternative language for sections of the draft law and lobby members of government before the legislation goes before Parliament for approval.

USAID partners Internews and Judicial System Monitoring Programme hosted the seminar. USAID's partnerships support key foundations of good governance in East Timor, including strengthening the justice sector, encouraging transparency and accountability in the development of government policies and legislation, and expanding citizen participation in civic activities.