It is not enough to do justice. It must also be seen how it is implemented," said the famous English judge, Lord Gordon Hewart, back in 1923. And in order for the administration of justice to become visible, the main role is played by the media, because they are the mediator between the judiciary and the prosecution, on the one hand, and the public, on the other. This is why we need greater and more fruitful cooperation between the media and the judiciary, as well as mutual trust and understanding. This is the conclusion of the panel discussion "Judiciary and the media", which, as part of the project "Citizens in judicial reform", was realized by the Center for Political Education (CPE) and the Defendology Center from Nikšić, with the support of the Monitoring Center (CEMI), the Center for Democracy and human rights (Cedem), the Network for the Affirmation of European Integration and the European Union (EU) through the IPA program. The panelists were representatives of the judiciary and the media.
"Courts should timely inform the public about their work and make information available to all citizens under equal conditions, and the information published should be such as to satisfy the public's interest." I am sure that we should solve problems in an open conversation because we are both called to improve society", said the president of the Basic Court of Nikšić, Vukota Vujačić, and emphasized the good cooperation with the media.
Basic State Prosecutor Vjera Mićunović also praised the cooperation of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office with the media, but also emphasized that care must be taken to inform the public to the extent that the legality of the proceedings will not be violated. A novelty in the Prosecutor's Office that should contribute to better information for citizens, as well as cooperation with the media, is the establishment of the website of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office. So far, all information has been published
through the website of the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office, and now all Basic State Prosecutor's Offices will have their own website.
"Confirmed indictments will be published on the website, press releases will be made, and the novena is that plea agreements will be published on the website," said Vujačić.
Journalists believe that there is a lot of room for improving cooperation and they hope that such and similar discussions will lead to greater openness of the judiciary to the media, and therefore to citizens who are very interested in the work and results of the judiciary and prosecution.
According to TV CG journalist Darko Bulatović, communication with the judiciary is generally short, and it is not rare that journalists have to wait several hours, sometimes even a whole day, for adequate information from the prosecution. It also happened that in the end that information was missing. That is why, as he said, journalists are forced to get information through insiders. He also pointed out that the court process should be made visible to people through a video report.
Svetlana Mandić, a journalist from the daily newspaper "Vijesti", pointed out that the judicial authorities must know that the media are reporting on a procedure on the same day and that if they do not receive specific information from the authorities, the journalists remain "alternative sources". As she said, cooperation should not be reduced only to personal acquaintances and good relations.
"It would be good if there was much greater understanding and trust on both sides, so that you understand our work and we understand yours," she said.
Slavko Milić, in front of the Defendology Center, emphasized the good cooperation with both the media and the judicial authorities, while the lawyer Vera Lalatović, from the citizen's point of view, pointed out that the judicial authorities should not wait for the media to request information and thus provide them with the opportunity to (not) to report professionally, but to offer that information themselves, through a spokesperson.
Bonus video:
