SARAJEVO, August 21 (FENA) - Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Damir Arnaut, has submitted an Initiative asking the competent bodies of the entities and Brčko District of BiH to incorporate different standards of admissibility, tolerance and evidence in defamation laws regarding alleged defamation against public figures in relation to private individuals, in accordance with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
Arnaut explains in the Initiative that, in democratic countries, it is common practice that public figures, especially politicians and public officials, are subject to a higher standard of defamation lawsuits than private individuals, which has been the practice of the European Court of Human Rights since 1986.
Although the existing laws require to be interpreted in a manner that ensures the principle of freedom of expression in accordance with the European Convention, Arnaut states that these general provisions are not sufficient because domestic courts rarely and sporadically apply the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
Arnaut, therefore, proposes that these laws explicitly regulate a higher level of tolerance when it comes to criticizing public figures, especially politicians, by comparison with private individuals.
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