Venice Commission urges Azerbaijan to bring media law closer to European standards

On June 17-18, at its 131st plenary session, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe discussed and adopted its 22-page opinion prepared by four experts of the commission on the media law now in force in Azerbaijan.

Given the already limited space for independent journalism in Azerbaijan, the new law "On Media" will have a deterrent effect on the media, the Venice Commission has announced its findings and recommended to bring the law closer to European standards.

The Venice Commission concluded that "the law tries to regulate almost everything related to the media sector in Azerbaijan, including online media."

At the same time, as stated in the commission's conclusion, this law is aimed at "restricting the media activities," and not at "creating the necessary conditions for the media to fulfil their role as a 'guardian of public interests'." "Many of its provisions fail to meet the European standards for the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media; therefore, the law should not be applied in its current form," the study states.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 20, 2022 at 08:13 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.