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SALEM UNIVERSITY NIGERIA
LECTURE NOTE ON MEDIA AND THE COURTS
LECTURER: ISIAKA HARUNA
1. INTRODUCTION
The concept of law suggests the idea of rules regulating the lives and activities of individuals and institutions in any society. In any group or community of people therefore, man-made rules are usually developed to control the relationships between members both in their private, group or corporate capacities. These rules are essential if the society is to work and are found in all forms of activity such as games, academics, business, media practice, tenancy, etc. The rules come into existence in various ways, although in most cases there must have been an agreement between at least some of the members of the community or their representatives that the rules are desirable. Even in primitive societies, traditions and customs shape conduct. Such customary rules tend to be too vague and imprecise at that stage although they may provide the basis of law later. As the society develops and becomes more complex, rules of a more definite nature emerge and a body of law comes into existence. At the same time, some machinery for its enforcement must be established. The mass media generally refers to all non-personal channels of broadcasting information to the public such as radio, television, newspapers, movies, and recently the internet. Such communication may be written, spoken, or broadcast and may even include books provided the target is to effect communication that will reach and influence a large number of people. Instances of mass media may then include Google news, Face book, Tweeter, and all such channels. Media activities are usually regulated by governments and other bodies through control and guidance of their activities. This regulation, via laws, rules, or procedures can have various goals such as intervention to protect a stated public interest, or encouraging healthy competition, and an effective media market. The aim also is to ensure that the fundamental rights of citizens are not violated by the media under the guise of freedom of expression. This is in recognition of the fact that an excessive practice of the freedom of expression if unregulated usually leads to a violation of the rights of citizens leading sometimes to instances of Defamation, copyright abuse and plagiarism.
For our purpose, the press as one of the aims of the media will be focused on mostly in the course of this study. What is defamation? Defamation is a statement: spoken or written that tends to disparage a person’s reputation or display a person in a ridiculous light or make others shun or avoid him or her (Butler and Roddick, 2011, 2009; Armstrong et al, 1998) (Week 3 MLE Lecture Notes). It is the law that is supposed to offer some solace to those who have had their reputations damaged (Pearson & Polden, 2011). It can be in many forms and intention is irrelevant (Pearson & Polden, 2011). There are two types of defamation; libel and slander. Libel is written in permanent form (newspapers, magazines, Internet) and the plaintiff does not have to prove damages. Slander is spoken and the plaintiff must prove loss; of income or other (Week 3 MLE Lecture Notes). Ignorance is no defense to defamation but truth is the best defense for defamation. DEFINITION OF MEDIA LAW AND ETHICS Media law can be defined as laws that regulate the acclivities of the Media. In Nigeria, Media Laws are legislations made by the government in power at the Federal, State, and Local Government levels, to control or regulate the activities of the press in a part or all parts of Nigeria. There is no country in the world where there are no media or press laws or where the press is not expected to operate within the ambit of the law. However, given the fact that freedom of the press is an essential requirement for democracy, the laws governing the press in the genuinely democratic countries are those which only seek to protect the fundamental rights of individuals and ensure the maintenance of peace and tranquility. Such laws are the laws of defamation, sedition, copyright, plagiarism, privacy, etc. In the history of Nigeria from the colonial era to the end of military rule in 1999, the following laws were promulgated or established as listed below: A: As at independence in 1960, 1). The Newspaper Act, 1917. 2). Printing presses, Registration Act, 1933 3). The Criminal Code Act and Schedules thereto insofar at it deals with: Sedition: Sections 50 and 51 (secs 416 & 417 of penal code) Injurious Falsehood: Section 59 (sec 418 PC) Power to Prohibit Importation of Publications: Sec. 58 Seditious Publication against Foreign Head of State: Sec. 60.
Sec 25, 1963 constitution Sec 21 & 36, 1979 constitution Sec 22 & 38, 1989 constitution Sec 23 & 40, 1995 Draft constitution Sec 22 & 39, 1999 constitution F: Ethical Base of the Press:
- NUJ Code
- Code of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, 1962
- Code of NPO, 1979 adopted officially in Dec., 1992.
- Ilorin Code, 1998
- Nigeria Broadcasting Code, 2002
- Chapter TWO of 1999 Constitution. Based on the above listed laws our concern here is only the laws which are universally imposed in civilized societies that laws of defamation, sedition, copyright, plagiarism, etc. (b) Definition of Ethics Ethics is the branch judgment as to the rightness or wrongness, desirability or undesirability, approval or disapproval of our actions. It is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. (c) Definition of Media Ethics Media ethics means Code of conduct prescribed by the press to guard and protect professionals and of course the profession entirely. Media practitioners had to establish their own code of conduct in order to safeguard themselves from committing any offence against the society and in situations where such offence is committed what are the defenses available to them under the law? Media ethics helps the media professionals to set standards of moral context, what is avertable and unacceptable in the performance of their duties of gathering, processing, and dissemination of a wide varieties of message designed for enlightenment and entertainments. (c). Distinction between law and ethics. Law can be regarded as a social control unlike ethics which deals with ideas which are considered to be good by a particular society and ought to be followed. Breach of law results to sanction, sentence and conviction, imprisonment, fine, etc, while ethics is a moral contact which results to warning, suspension, etc.
Law is imposed by the outer society while ethics is self imposed and self-enforced (e.g. by a professional body for its members). Law can expire or be repealed, but ethics is continuous. Law has more foray institutions, such as the legislature, police, judiciary (the courts tribunals, Court –martial, prison, reformatory, etc), but ethics has less formal institutions for its formulation and enforcement. Indeed the chief enforcer of ethics is the conscience. What are Libel and Slander in Defamation? Defamation is the act of harming the reputation of another by making a false statement (written or oral) to another person. As with every charge, there are defenses that can be made to counter the charge. Defamation works on the premise that a person's good name has value and if that good name is destroyed, the person who destroys it should be made to pay. In the U.S. the burden of proof (the amount of evidence necessary to prove the case) is usually on the plaintiff. Libel and slander are both acts of defamation. Libel is defaming someone in writing, while slander is defaming them orally. How Can I Defend Myself Against a Libel or Slander Lawsuit? The Statement is True If the statement is true, there is no defamation. In criminal cases, the truth about someone's past is only true if the person was convicted of a crime; if someone is just accused of killing someone, that doesn't necessarily make it true. If someone is a convicted rapist, you can't defame that person by telling people that fact. After all, it's a matter of public record. In civil (private) cases, the truth must be shown by the written evidence. For example, if you want to show that someone has plagiarized a book, you must be able to show written evidence of the plagiarism to prove the truth of the statement. There Must be Harm The plaintiff must prove that his or her good name has been harmed, for a charge of defamation to stand up. If you say someone is a "deadbeat" and no one believes it, there is no harm. On the other hand, if you say someone is a deadbeat, and a bank declines to give that person a loan, he or she has a case against you for defamation. By the way, this is why some defamation lawsuits are settled with the penalty of $1. It's saying that the person was harmed, but not much.
production. An author may grant or sell those rights to others, including publishers or re cordingcompanies. Violation of a copyright is called infringement. Revision questions:
- What is Defamation and what are the defences and remedies to a charge of Defamation.
- What are the exceptions to the constitutional guarantee of freedom of Expression?
- Describe the relationship between the Media and the Courts.
- Rationlize the existence of the law on contempt of court in the face of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of Expression?
- The attempt by parliament to punish media practitioners for contempt of parliament is perceived by some as an infringement on the freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution. Do you agree? You are accused of saying something or writing something bad about someone that has harmed that person. How can you defend yourself?
