“Law on media” does not comply with the Constitution of Azerbaijan - expert

Baku/01.05.23/Turan: The Azerbaijani Commissioner for Human Rights refused to send a request to the Constitutional Court to check the media law for its compliance with the Constitution of the country. Some time ago, the head of the 24saat.org website, Vugar Alekperov (Gurdganly), asked the Ombudswoman to send a request to the Constitutional Court regarding the compliance of the Media Law with the Constitution.

Previously, the Media Development Agency refused to include 24saat.org in the media registry under the pretext that the site does not publish 20 unique news items daily, as required by law.

“Our appeal to the Ombudswoman received a negative response. She rejected the request and no request will be sent to the Constitutional Court, recommending to aoppeal to court. If the complaint is not satisfied, then apply to the Constitutional Court,” Alekperov said.

The website 24saat.org has already filed a lawsuit against the decision of the Media Development Agency, but the decision is being delayed.

 The Media Law has created an uncertain atmosphere,  Khalid Agaliyev, head of the Media Rights Group, noted. “No one knows who was included in the media register and who was not. The register itself, contrary to the requirements of the law, is closed for access.

The Media Development Agency reports that about 40 media entities have been denied entry into the register,” Agaliyev said. According to him, the law does not comply with the Constitution of Azerbaijan.

“The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe gave a negative opinion on the law, indicating that it does not comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Article 151 of the Constitution of Azerbaijan states that in case of conflict between the normative-legal acts of the Azerbaijani legislation and interstate agreements signed by Azerbaijan, international agreements should be applied, H. Agaliyev said.

The indifferent attitude of the Ombudsman to this issue is wrong. “The legislation gave the Ombudsman the right to send a request to the Constitutional Court so that he could intervene in such situations. There is no need for victims to apply to the Ombudsman. The Commissioner for Human Rights should take the initiative in matters related to the media law and contribute to the resolution of conflicts,” the expert emphasized. ---06B---