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Communications & Media Law
Freedom of the Press: The need to take precautions which restrict the freedom of the press has become necessary. The Press Council is an event of occupation unity. Complaints about the press organs, newspapers and journalists are inspected by the Press Council’s High Commission. Amongst the principles of the press occupation which were accepted and lined up in sixteen articles these are found; “There will be no place for statements which pass the limits of criticism and humiliate, degrade or slander people or establishments. As long as it does not concern the public’s benefit, people’s personal lives may not be a subject to the press, before verifying that a news is true it may not be published, a person who has not been deemed as a criminal by a court order may not be announced as a criminal by means which will put a shadow over the profession researching a news story will be abstained from, publications which encourage violence and tyranny may not be made.”
When people’s rights based on media and communication law have been violated they have the right to make a complaint and denouncement to the Press Council or to the Radio and Television Supreme Board.
Right to Answer (Response) and correct: In this law, every publication and other items published on certain time periods of newspapers and news agencies are called periodical.
Every periodical has an editor who is responsible for personally managing the procedures in writing (editorial stuff). In every published item the place, year, presser, and publisher’s name and workplace must be shown.
The first thing needed to be looked at for the right of response is the copyright page (tag) of the periodical. According the article 32nd of the Constitution, the correction and response right may be given when the person’s dignity and honour has been violated or when untrue publications about them have been published and it is regulated by law.
If the correction and response is not published, the judge decides in 7 days starting from the time the related people have applied for it, if the correction or response needs to be published or not. The person whose dignity and honour has been violated or when untrue words, actions, and thoughts are openly or by a hidden manner published by others by means of publication by themselves or with their legal representatives they must give it to the editor in charge of the published item in 2 months beginning from the time it was published.
The manager in charge inspects the response and correction letter in 3 days and if they decide to publish it they are obligated to publish it in the first issue following the day the period of inspection ends and they are also obligated to not make any additions or put any type of signs into it and they must also not make any additional comments. In short they must publish it in the exact and complete way in which it was sent to them.
If the response and correction is not published with the related persons request and the decision of the judge is not published according to the procedures and conditions then the related person may apply in 15 days after the correction and response was published to the Magistrate Criminal Court’s judge in order for the correction and response to be published again but this time with all the procedures and conditions present.
The right to make a complaint to the public prosecutor for published items which contain insults and swearing:
An insult crime consists of four components. They are:
1-The perpetrator must allege a specific and special act to the victim 2- The act alleged against the victim must be insulting 3- The act must be directed at the victim 4- Two or more people must be present (including the perpetrator)
A swearing crime consists of these components:
1-The victim is not alleged with a certain act but with a bad characterization 2- This characterization or discrimination must be one which is insulting 3- It must be directed at a certain person 4- Two or more persons must be present
Responsibility for the contents of the publications which are made constantly belongs firstly to the person who has wrote the news which has been complained about with the reason that it contains an insult or swearing crime or the person who has just written it or to the person who has personally drawn the picture or cartoon.
In addition to these persons the editor of the periodical is also responsible. For crimes relating the contents in books and similar items which are not published on specific intervals, published only once, or which will never be published for a second time, firstly the person who has written them is responsible but with these people the publisher who has helped to publish and who has founded it is also responsible as well. For crimes or wrongful acts which are achieved by means of the publications of the Turkish Radio and Television Institution; if the broadcast has been made by detection, the person who has written or detected the sound is liable. Besides that, the person who personally controls this text or detection or the people who manage and control it are also responsible.
Preventing the threat of violation and the right to open a material and moral indemnities suit:
It is important that people who are threatened with having the secrecy of their personal lives violated by means of broadcast (publication) or again by means of publication if their honour and dignity are going to be damaged to be able to obstruct these violations before they happen. Material and moral indemnities suits may be opened against the owners of the publications or the editors of the items which do not have the character of a publication.
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