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Journalists Petitioned To the Georgian President with an Open Letter

July 18, 2007

The journalists petitioned to the Georgian President with an open letter requesting to veto legislative amendments prohibiting photo-film-video shooting in courtrooms.

Below view the full text of the open letter published in the newspaper “Rezonance” of July 17. 

Your Excellency, Mr President,

On July 11, 2007 the Georgian Parliament enacted the draft law on amendments to the Georgian Organic Law on Common Courts, under which photo-film-video shooting and broadcasting shall be prohibited in the court building and courtrooms during the trial.

In 1997 when Georgian Parliament enacted the law on Common Courts under which photo-film-video shooting and audio recording was admitted in the courtrooms you were the Chairman of Parliamentary Committee for Constitutional, Legal Issues and Justice; you were one of the initiators of the reform in judiciary system and you often demonstrated the examples of protecting the transparency and public interests to the society.

In 1997 and even later, you had many opponents. Your opponents considered inadmissible the cameras in the courtrooms justifying their position through the same arguments as the parliament majority spokespersons nowadays. But we, journalists, have the same arguments we used to hear from you 10 years ago, stating that the publicity of court hearings is an integral part of the rights to the just court; that the public confidence in the court mostly depends on how many people can have access to the initial sources of information and not only either from the journalists’ stories or politicians’ interpretation; that the society is to be the firsthand witness and indifferent spectator of prosecution.

During 10-year-history of independent court MPs mentioned three trials, when the court turned into the arena of turmoil. It is noteworthy that at none of these trials the judge reached the desirable verdict and the large audience to the trial was attracted not by cameras but great public interest and crucial importance of the problem. You would not be the first supporter of admitting cameras to the trials, if you considered shutting doors to the cameras, with the view of reviving the court reputation, as a right step since you had been totally interested in the revival of the court reputation.

We kindly apply to you to protect once again the achievement, reached with the major participation of yours, together with other democratic powers and veto the legislative amendments to the Georgian Organic Law on Common Courts.  Through this step you will prove your commitment to the democratic principles and protect the most essential value – freedom of expression.

Source: Media.ge

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