Abstract
Media law is more global than ever. This is hardly surprising because we are living in a globalized society. An increasing number of media law books focus on international and foreign law. Some books are wide-ranging. Media, Advertising & Entertainment Law Throughout the World (2015) is a case in point covering media law and related topics in 45 jurisdictions. International Libel & Privacy Handbook (2013) is less inclusive, but it still addresses libel and privacy law in nearly 30 countries.
Probably most significant is the International Encyclopaedia for Media Law, a subset of the International Encyclopaedia of Laws (IEL) project of Kluwer Law International in the Netherlands. A series of IEL monographs about foreign media law concentrates on an emerging area of interest to journalists, academics, and free speech advocates. It is a country-by-country survey of media law, with 20 titles published thus far.
One of the recent IEL media law monographs is Media Law in the United Arab Emirates by Professor Matt J. Duffy at Berry College, who taught media law and ethics at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates in 2010 to 2012. Like those on Australia, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, the U.A.E. volume examines freedom of speech and media law and regulations. But it is far less voluminous, which might have to do with the limited media law jurisprudence of the United Arab Emirates.
The slim (104 pages) book comprises the “General Introduction,” and chapters on “Freedom of Speech” and “Regulation of Print, Broadcast, and Digital Media.” The “General Introduction” section offers a concise background on the political and legal system and the sociocultural values of the United Arab Emirates. In addition, the U.A.E. media landscape and various sources of the U.A.E. media law are noted. This contextual information places the author’s examination of the U.A.E. media law in perspective.
Duffy’s analytical framework is drawn from international, foreign and comparative law. More often than not, he refers to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and U.S. and other foreign laws on press freedom.
The U.A.E. Constitution makes no textual mention of “freedom of the press” as such. But freedom of the press is read into freedom of expression as guaranteed as a constitutional right. In the United Arab Emirates, however, the constitutional protection of a free press carries little practical relevance. According to Duffy, no U.A.E. court has relied on the Constitution in weighing freedom of the press against its conflicting sociopolitical and individual interests. Citing the absence of judicial independence in the United Arab Emirates, he finds that few judges rule against the prosecutorial authorities and in favor of the news media.
Three major media statutes—Penal Code of 1987, Press and Publications Act of 1980, and Cybercrime Law of 2012—are given due attention.
Prior censorship is not part of the formal U.A.E. media law, but it is accepted by the U.A.E. media informally. Furthermore, licensing is required of print and electronic media, which distinguishes the United Arab Emirates from other countries where newspapers, in contrast with broadcasting media, do not need licensing from the government.
Duffy takes issue with the licensing of journalists under the Press and Publications Act. “In countries with more robust press freedoms,” he asserts, “the governments do not license journalists. . . . Some courts have ruled that licensing journalists would create undue pressure on the profession that may lead to self-censorship when covering issues related to government officials.”
In highlighting the lack of source protection in the United Arab Emirates, Duffy turns to comparisons with foreign law. He points out the constitutional, statutory, and decisional law that accepts the journalistic right to shield confidential news sources in Argentina and other countries. The author’s comparative comments would be more comprehensive if they extended to the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on the journalist’s privilege.
A substantial portion of the book centers on what makes U.A.E. journalists liable for publishing information. The liability issues examined are defamation, privacy, public order and national security, blasphemy, “false news,” insults, lèse-majesté, right of reply and correction, and naming the accused in news reporting. The Penal Code, the Press and Publications Act, or the Cybercrime Law can be invoked against media professionals. If necessary, they are all applicable together.
To flesh out the real-life impact of the chilling media laws on freedom of the press in the United Arab Emirates, Duffy discusses several defamation cases. Although his case discussions are based on secondary sources, the cases are revealing. All the more so, as media law and regulations tend to be vague, overly broad, and general in the United Arab Emirates. Duffy’s analysis shows that the U.A.E. defamation law is used as an “effective” weapon against the news media. U.A.E. courts fine or close media entities, and they rarely accept libel defenses such as truth when ruling on defamation claims.
The regulatory authorities that oversee the U.A.E. media are the topic of the final chapters. The National Media Council (NMC), a federal government agency, enforces the Press and Publications Act, which does not differentiate print media from broadcasting and digital media. Hence, there is no such thing in the United Arab Emirates as the Federal Communications Commission in the United States. Advertising is also under the NMC jurisdiction.
Overall, Media Law in the United Arab Emirates is a notable contribution to the literature on foreign media law. It helps mitigate the chronic dearth of information on media law developments in the Middle East and especially in the United Arab Emirates. The solidly informative book is equally noteworthy for its readability and its detailed source documentation. If the author had appended excerpts of the key U.A.E. media statutes referred to in the text, meanwhile, it would have an added value as a resource. Indeed, he could have dispensed with the U.A.E. Journalists Code of Ethics in the appendix, for the ethical code’s relevance to the book’s main thrust is not compellingly obvious.