During the VII National Conference on Access to Information, Albania’s Prime Minister stated that the government intends to decriminalise defamation for journalists, while maintaining criminal liability for elected officials in cases where they defame others. The proposal was framed as a measure to protect journalism while ensuring accountability for those exercising public power.While the intention to move toward decriminalisation is welcomed, European freedom of expression standards support general decriminalisation of defamation, rather than sector- or status-based exemptions. Criminal defamation laws create a chilling effect on public-interest speech as a whole and raise risks of unequal treatment and legal uncertainty when applied selectively. Safeguards for freedom of expression should protect all participants in public debate, including journalists, freelancers, civil society actors, watchdog organisations, and citizens.
Maintaining criminal defamation specifically for elected officials is not required by European standards and sits uneasily with established European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence, which holds that politicians and public office-holders must tolerate a higher degree of criticism than private individuals. While accountability for defamatory statements is legitimate, European practice favours civil, ethical, and political accountability mechanisms, rather than criminal sanctions, to regulate political speech.
The debate on decriminalisation of defamation reflects a long-standing position advocated by civil society and media freedom actors and forms part of Albania’s commitments in the EU accession process. Penal Code reform alone, however, cannot address the broader structural challenges affecting media freedom and freedom of expression and must be accompanied by safeguards against abusive litigation, including SLAPP-type lawsuits, as well as wider reforms to strengthen the enabling environment for free and independent journalism.
Read more: SCiDEV Statement on Sector-Specific Decriminalisation of Defamation