The Ministry is not entitled to change the law

14 february 2019

The Ministry of Information and Communication intends to change the rules for accrediting journalists.

02/14/2019

The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) intends to change the rules for accrediting journalists. In the draft ministerial order it is proposed to oblige journalists to provide a written consent to comply with the internal regulations of the accrediting organization and the rules established by the moderator; copies of documents confirming contract relationship between the journalist and the media.

Paragraph 8 of the Rules is amended as follows: “8. The following are the grounds for refusal in accreditation of a journalist: 1) failure to submit the documents specified in paragraph 6 of these rules; 2) inconsistencies in the content of the application with the requirements of these rules; (...); 4) the inability to accommodate journalists in the premises where meetings and other events are held, in case other journalists are accredited and provided space in the premises. ”MIC proposes to expand the grounds for depriving journalists of their accreditation:

- in the cases established by paragraph 4 of Article 22 of the law on mass media.

- for violation of the internal regulations of the accrediting body and moderator regulations. The current Rules stipulate that an accredited journalist can be deprived of accreditation by a statement of the owner or editor of the media, as well as by a court ruling that has entered into legal force.

ADIL SOZ comments:

The Ministry is not entitled to change the law. And this is exactly was is happening.The proposed amendments contradict to Art. 22 of the Law "On Mass Media". The law provides only two grounds for depriving a journalist or media of an accreditation : violation of the Rules of Accreditation and the dissemination by a journalist of information that does not correspond to reality and discredits the honor and dignity of a state body.The ministry plans to increase the number of grounds for deprivation of accreditations and the number of grounds for refusal of accreditation, in particular, due to "the inability to accommodate journalists on the premises." The requirement to provide a copy of contracts confirming contract relationship between a journalist and the media is discriminatory to bloggers. In accordance with paragraph 4 of Art. 1 of the Law “On Mass Media” Internet resources are classified as mass media, therefore, bloggers have the right for accreditation.The draft order contains rules that will lead to a sharp decrease in the number of journalists and media accredited to state bodies events, and as the result the citizens of Kazakhstan will lack complete information about the work of government bodies.