Justice and media: what a balance between the presumption of innocence and the right to information?

Authors

Hatim Anouar

 

Abstract

The last decade has marked a remarkable increase in the role and authority of the media. Thus, their types have multiplied, and their capacity for influence has been strengthened, making them a leading source of information on law and justice, through which the individual forms his or her own opinion and perception of crime and criminal trials. Given this importance, justice has always been at the heart of the media’s concerns and a particularly attractive subject for media coverage. In this article, the author attempts to highlight the relationship between justice and the media, examining the principles and objectives that guide both fields and determining the extent to which the principle of secrecy regulating the pre-trial phase of criminal proceedings helps to regulate the complex relationship between them. The aim is to build a relationship between the two institutions based on partnership and integration while respecting the guarantees of a fair trial and the public’s right to information. To this end, the author has adopted an analytical approach, based mainly on the analysis of numerous studies and legal provisions governing the relationship between the media and justice, as well as on observation of the practical reality of media coverage of criminal cases, in an attempt to understand their impact, both on the course of the trial and on the public. The research produced several results, the most important of which is the divergence of principles and objectives governing justice and the media, in addition to the inability of the principle of secrecy applicable to the pre-trial phase to control media coverage, which in many cases remains contrary to the guarantees of a fair trial. The researcher recommends widening the circle of judicial actors bound by secrecy and sanctioning any violation of this principle, as well as obliging the media to respect the principle of proportionality and judicial guarantees when publishing information.

DOI: 10.51958/AAUJBL2024V8I2P1