A report commissioned by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has expressed serious concerns over the Government's proposed privacy law.
The legal review of the Defamation and Privacy Bills, which was prepared for the OSCE by the London-based media freedom advocacy group Article 19, was presented to the Government yesterday.
Its authors expressed concern that, while the proposed law brought some clarity to the notoriously difficult realm of breaches of privacy, there were "deficiencies" in the definition of privacy.
"The statutory scheme would greatly benefit from a clear, descriptive definition of privacy, rather than a definition which outlines the limitations to the right," the report states.
"We are particularly concerned by the decision to impose obligations on the media which transcend the working group's recommendations, as well as international standards.
"This is critically important in striking the right balance between the rights of privacy and freedom of expression."
The report also opposed the statutory provision for a Press Council, noting that practice around the world had demonstrated that such bodies "are controversial at best, and are often unreasonably restrictive of the right to freedom of expression".
Article 19 acknowledged that the Defamation Bill would bring major improvements and welcomed its many provisions providing protection for freedom of expression while maintaining respect for the rights and reputation of individuals.
However, it was concerned over a number of provisions that detracted from such positive changes.
"With regard to defences to defamation, our concerns focus on the burden of proof for a defendant and on the associated presumption of the falsity of a defamatory statement."
It also recommended the removal from the Bill of all forms of criminal punishment for defamatory statements, arguing that international standards for freedom of expression increasingly recognised that even the most egregious defamatory actions should be dealt with under civil rather than criminal laws.
The OSCE's representative on freedom of the media, Miklos Haraszti, said it was "worrying" that the draft law introduced a new crime, namely "publication of gravely harmful statements". It would also introduce the possibility of a summary conviction for that offence in "minor" cases.
"The fact that prison sentences are envisaged for the new offences clearly contradicts the guidance of the European Court of Human Rights, which has never approved imprisonment sentences for defamation," Mr Haraszti said.
"Full decriminalisation would make Ireland a positive example for the OSCE area. No remainders of the old way of thinking should be left in place, which could then elsewhere be used to justify laws oppressive to free media," he added.