How to complain if you believe that you have been a victim of defamation?
If you believe that defamatory statements have been made public about you, there are several ways that you can use to protect your rights:
Complaint to the media
If the facts or opinions that you believe are defamatory are published in the press or through electronic media, TV or radio, you have a right to submit to the media your rebuttal of the untrue statements with the request to publish it free of charge. In your request you should indicate which facts or information you consider defamatory, as well as the date and place of publication. Within two weeks from the date of receipt, the media must either publish your rebuttal, or notify you in writing of the decision not to publish, detailing the reasons and motives.
If the editor of the media decides to publish the rebuttal, it should be done in the same way that the information was published.
example If the information was initially printed on the first page of a newspaper in bold capital letters, the rebuttal should be published in the same typestyle and on the same page as it was originally printed.
Inspector of Journalist Ethics
Inspector and the Office headed by him aims to ensure that public information is respectful of human rights and freedoms.
Inspector of Journalist Ethics examines complaints about violations of honour and dignity, the right to the protection of privacy and hate speech in the media.
Inspector of Journalist Ethics can warn the author and disseminator about violations, order to retract untrue statements and in certain cases apply administrative liability.
In some cases before going to court it is useful to complain to the Inspector of Journalist Ethics first as the Office headed by him can help you collect needed evidence.
Read more about how to complain to the Inspector of Journalist Ethics.
Civil claim
You may bring a civil claim to the court against the author and disseminator of the defamatory expressions. You can also bring this claim if you have already asked the relevant media to publish the rebuttal of the information that you believe is defamatory, but the editor has refused to do so.
It is also possible to file a civil claim where the defamatory expressions were not published in the media, but expressed in front of a considerable audience or otherwise distributed.
The civil remedies which you can claim in a court may include one, or a combination, of the following measures:
- request for an apology for the defamatory opinions
- request for the retraction of the untrue statements
- a claim for monetary compensation
If you are asking for compensation, you should indicate to the court why you are asking for that amount specifically.
Criminal proceedings
In exceptional cases, you can request the police to initiate criminal proceedings for libel against the author or disseminator of defamatory expressions. The police can only open a criminal case for defamatory expressions that are:
- made deliberately
- contain false statements of fact
- might demean or ridicule you or undermine trust in you
- expressed in public or made public through the press or other media
Appeal
If the police reject your request to initiate criminal proceedings and you consider that this decision was not well-reasoned, you can appeal it to the supervising prosecutor in your case. You must submit the appeal within 10 days of the date you received the decision. The procedure and time-limits for the appeal must be indicated in the decision.
Additional civil claim
If the police initiate a criminal case and indict the accused, you may claim the monetary compensation from the accused during the criminal proceedings. However, if your claim for monetary compensation is not fully satisfied within the criminal proceedings, you may bring a separate civil claim.