Defining a clear boundary between freedom of expression and situations in which it is necessary to limit it represents a special challenge for today's society in which hate speech is increasingly present, was assessed at the second panel of the discussion forum "Democracy in focus - the relationship between government and civil society", organized by Center for Civic Education (CGO).
The state prosecutor in the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office (VDT), Maja Jovanović, said that freedom of expression does not mean only information that is favorably received and viewed with indifference.
"Freedom of expression also includes information that shocks or disturbs, because, as international standards indicate, it tests tolerance and free-thinking, without which there is no democratic society," Jovanović emphasized at the panel "Through spaces of freedom of expression - challenges and responsibilities". .
She assessed that it is very important to point out that freedom of expression is not absolute and that it has its own limitations that can be applied in situations where the interest of national security, the prevention of disorder or crime, the protection of the health, reputation or rights of others is at stake, as well as for the sake of preserving and impartiality of the judiciary.
"Precisely defining a clear boundary between freedom of expression and situations in which it is necessary to limit it represents a special challenge for today's society, in which hate speech is increasingly present," said Jovanović.
She reminded that hate speech is defined not only as hate speech that results in acts of violence, intimidation, hostility or discrimination, but also that which can reasonably be expected to have that effect.
Jovanović pointed out that there is room for a clearer definition of legal regulations in Montenegro, which refer to the issue of hate speech.
Jovanović stated that she is aware of the fact that certain decisions of the prosecution in specific cases have been criticized by the public.
"But that does not mean that we in the state prosecutor's office run away from criticism, but that we believe that state prosecutors should explain their decision, whatever it may be, in front of the court, and the court is the one that makes the final decision," she explained.
According to her, the expansion of social networks has led to various forms of misuse of technology.
"We are witnessing an ever-present cyber harassment, endangerment or attack on the rights of others, and that is why I return again to the necessity of establishing a balance between freedom of expression, on the one hand, and protection of privacy and public interest, i.e. other values of a democratic society, on the other hand, and how the rule of law would be ensured," Jovanović pointed out.
When asked what mechanisms the VDT can implement in order to clearly distinguish between freedom of expression and hate speech, Jovanović replied that it is the education and specialization of prosecutors, with the aim of applying international standards and better understanding the complexity of the issue.
Jovanović, answering the question of whether the prosecution will continue to insist on proceedings against the historian Boban Batrićević, stated that the prosecutor rejected the criminal charges, but made a motion to initiate misdemeanor proceedings, which the court accepted and the trial is ongoing.
"I personally cannot express my views regarding the ongoing case, because that would be a violation of ethical norms, but I can say that the Supreme State Prosecutor is currently analyzing a specific case," said Jovanović.
The executive director of Action for Human Rights, Tea Gorjanc Prelevic, speaking about the appeal of 22 non-governmental organizations to the prosecutor's office to suspend the misdemeanor proceedings against Batrićević, stated that it was unclear to them why the proceedings were being conducted against him, as well as that the request to initiate such proceedings was unjustified, but and that he appreciates that this is a problem that the state prosecutor's office would have to solve.
"I think that we rightly could have been scared and intimidated and experienced such a request to initiate a misdemeanor procedure as a targeted intimidation of the right to criticize in Montenegro," emphasized Gorjanc Prelevic.
She added that they believe that there was, nevertheless, an inappropriate demonstration of the power of the prosecution, inadequate to the rule of law systems.
"Criminal proceedings are already a type of mechanism of social repression, it is not pleasant to find yourself in criminal proceedings. At the same time, not every intolerant statement deserves criminal proceedings. It is an extreme that is put into operation in distinct cases of hate speech, which really require this form repressive response. We have to bear the level of provocation, we have to get used to it, we have to establish those democratic muscles for that," said Gorjanc Prelevic.
She also pointed out the necessity of professionalization and specialization of prosecutors dealing with these issues.
"Hate speech and freedom of expression are complex topics and the prosecutor's office must have a sense of it, because the powers it has obligates specialization and adequate knowledge of international and European standards", Gorjanc Prelevic pointed out.
She believes that the key thing that everyone should unite around is the introduction of civic education as a compulsory subject in schools.
Director of the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM), Sunčica Bakić, said that, buried in the sea of disinformation and intensified rhetoric, today we talk more often about how to protect citizens from harmful or prohibited forms of speech.
"Somehow, the public gets the impression that we, as a society, want to have less freedom than we have, which is nonsense," added Bakić.
She pointed out that the amount of hate speech in traditional media and online space is not the same, but that she would not separate the two things. On the other hand, he believes that hate speech on radio and television is very rare, and that it is not something to worry about.
That, as she said, is the truth, but not the whole truth.
"At this moment, in Montenegrin traditional media there is a huge amount of intolerant, offensive speech, which is not prohibited and is not hate speech and is under the protection of freedom of expression, but that does not mean that we should be happy and satisfied that there is such a large amount of such narrative", emphasized Bakić.
She agrees that relativizing and ignoring the existence of such a discourse will not solve the problem.
"He moves to the online space and is present there. In a way, he enters a vicious circle, which does not stop," said Bakić, adding that developed democracies also face the same problem.
Bakić said that the new set of media laws should create a better framework, because it transposes the directive that prescribes standards for audio-visual media services and strengthens the position of AEM.
Advisor for Culture in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, Vučić Ćetković, said that the issue of freedom of expression is crucial for every society and its democracy.
As he said, art not only helps to shape public opinion, but also represents its expression and can lead the public to face important everyday problems.
"It is often precisely artists and cultural workers who point out problems, express necessary truths, say what is unspoken and make visible what is invisible, using artistic and cultural means and creating space for social discussion," Ćetković emphasized.
According to him, the connection between art and freedom of expression is complex and very important.
"Today, culture and art have an extremely important social role and are a kind of indicator, in a broader context, for civil liberties," said Ćetković.
The president of the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN CG), Milka Tadić Mijović, said that it is the duty of the media and civil society to always defend freedom of expression, no matter how much they disagree with someone's opinion.
"One of the important issues is the adoption of a new set of media laws. I hope that some things will be defined in order to improve freedom of expression and freedom of the media," said Tadić Mijović.
Here, as she added, it will be important to pay attention to strengthening the role of the Public Service, which, as she said, should be the main promoter of freedom of expression and a stage where different opinions will be heard.
Tadić Mijović pointed out that it would be very good to regulate issues related to the transparency of media ownership and financing in the new set of laws.
"We live in terribly challenging times, in which it is difficult to contain the effects brought by new technologies, social networks, the Internet, in times in which we have degradation when it comes to the processes of democracy", believes Tadić Mijović.
She said that there will always be individuals and media that will spread hatred, but that the only question is how and with what mechanisms to limit and punish it.
In the end, concluding the discussion forum, the program director of CGE, Petar Đukanović, assessed that the framework for civil society activities in Montenegro is not yet sufficiently encouraging.
"We definitely still have to work on harmonizing the legislative framework, as well as practice," said Đukanović.
He stated that they recognized the chronic lack or lack of trust between civil society organizations and the government, as well as the lack of essential dialogue.
"An important thing that we touched on during the forum is the issue of freedom of expression, and rights and freedoms in that area are crucial for the activities of the civil sector," said Đukanović.
According to him, the key recommendation was the additional strengthening of capacities, primarily of institutions, such as the prosecutor's office, to understand the distinction between freedom of expression and hate speech.
The goal of the discussion forum is to contribute to the strengthening of the dialogue between institutions and civil society, the exchange of opinions and the opening of space for constructive cooperation in order to improve the environment for the operation and development of the civil sector.
The discussion forum is one of the activities of the project "CSOs in Montenegro - from basic services to policy-making-M'BASE", which CGO implements in partnership with the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Center for the Protection and Study of Birds of Montenegro and the Politikon network, in cooperation with the ministries of public administration and for European affairs.
The project is implemented with the financial support of the European Union and co-financing by the Ministry of Public Administration.
Bonus video:
