Limpitlaw Participates in Ethiopia's Media Law Reform

LINK Honorary Adjunct Prof. Justine Limpitlaw, was one of the international consultants on democratic principles in media regulation.

From the report on International Media Support (IMS)'s website:

The major part of reforming the media laws in Ethiopia included amending the hitherto applicable Freedom of Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation and the Broadcasting Service Proclamation.

“The media law reform initiative in general, and the process of drafting the new media laws, was very open and participatory,” says Solomon Goshu, former head of the Media Law Reform Working Group (MLRWG). “The new law was prepared in line with international human rights instruments, the 1995 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Constitution and the democratic principles in media regulation. It is worth mentioning that international partner by acquiring the services of two renowned international consultants, Toby Mendel and Justine Limpitlaw, and their contribution was very useful in terms of international standard.”

“Overall, the new law introduces major changes in relation to the independence of the media regulatory body; the media self-regulatory mechanism; media ownership rules, registration and licensing requirements and procedures; the rights and obligations of the media; and administrative and legal measures for violations of the law and content standards in particular. Mainly, it introduces institutional restructuring; takes technological development and changes into account; and tries to strike a balance between the freedom and autonomy of the media on the one hand and their obligations and responsibilities on the other hand. Among other things, the new Media Proclamation has provided for the decriminalisation of defamation.”