The daily newspapers "Vijesti" and "Pobjeda" did not violate the honor and reputation and the right to protect the private life of Vladana Vučinić, the former adviser to the director of the Television of Montenegro, when they reported on her earnings.
According to the first-instance decision of the Basic Court in Podgorica, which was passed yesterday, even the deputy president of the Council of Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG), Marijana Camović Veličković, did not violate the personal rights of Vučinić. The court found that her statements, comparing Vučinić's salary with the salary of the president and other public officials, are not malicious, nor do they exceed the limits of acceptable public criticism in a democratic society.
The verdict states that the defendant of the first order, citizen Danojla Raičević, violated the right to the protection of private life by publishing personal data - the citizen's unique identity number (JMBG) within the annex to the employment contract Vučinić, so she is obliged to pay the amount of 300 euros within 15 days from the finality of the judgment. However, Vučinić's claim was rejected as unfounded, in the part where he requested that Raičević undertake to pay her another 300 euros in addition to the awarded amount of 3.700 euros in the name of non-material damages due to violations of the right to honor, reputation and protection of private life.
The court also found that Camović Veličković's statements could not lead to a violation of honor and reputation, because they were uttered in the context of public interest and the functioning of a public service, which is a legitimate topic for discussion, especially when it comes to spending funds in institutions of public importance.
Vučinić initiated court proceedings against Raičević, the publisher of the daily newspapers "Vijesti" and "Pobjeda" and Camović Veličković, claiming that her honor, reputation and right to privacy were violated by the publication of the annex to the contract last November. With the lawsuit, she demanded that Raičević and "Vijesti" pay her 4.000 euros each, and Camović Veličković and "Pobjeda" 3.000 euros each.
The court appreciated that Raičević was obliged to protect, that is, to cover up the registration number of Vučinić, and that carelessness, that is, the lack of intention to violate her right, did not affect the existence of the plaintiff's right to the protection of personal data. In the verdict, it is stated that Raičević herself confirmed the omission in her statement, which confirms the subsequent action when she corrected the publication and covered up the JMBG plaintiffs, but the fact that the publication with her personal data was reviewed in a short period of time and could be distributed further, which led to the violation of personal rights.
Deciding on the claim in the remaining part, which demands compensation from all the defendants for the violation of the right to honor and reputation, the court found that claim to be unfounded as well.
"Namely, the defendant of the first order (Raičević) published the annex in question, the authenticity of which has been undisputedly confirmed, as an attachment to the text on social networks - Facebook and Twitter. Although the publication states that 'There are various speculations with the same essence about the way in which Vladana Vučinić earned this from Raonic. We will have to ask the ministry', the court considers that only a general mention of possible speculations, in the context of general information, is not enough to create an impression on the average reader of what kind of speculations are involved, and therefore not for the court to conclude that it is defamation, as he unfoundedly claims that in the lawsuit," the verdict reads.
The court notes that Vijesti Television also published an annex to the contract with the registration number in the daily, but that Vučinić's claim against the Daily Press, the founder of ND "Vijesti" and the "Vijesti" portal, for violation of the right to privacy is unfounded, because that company he is not the founder of Television Vijesti.
Analyzing one of the articles on the "Vijesti" portal, the court notes that, although an extremely striking style is used in the part that parallels Vučinić's salary with the salary of the president of the state, an elected doctor and a school teacher, and conveying the story of Camović Veličković, such reporting in within the framework of the permitted right to freedom of expression and aims to inform the public about issues of public interest, which the earnings of RTCG employees certainly are.
"This is all the more so since the plaintiff is a public figure, which she herself confirmed in her testimony, which is why she has to accept harsh criticism and provocative statements about herself in a public debate," the verdict states.
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