Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) - Support Centres

Media Defence (also known as MLDI) provides legal defence to independent media, journalists and bloggers around the world who are under threat for their reporting. MLDI does this by administering an emergency defence fund, helping journalists, bloggers and independent media pay legal fees, and provides legal expertise to the lawyer(s) defending a case. 

MLDI also engages in strategic litigation to challenge repressive laws and expand the space for media freedom. Through this, it seeks to advance respect for international law and norms on the right to freedom of expression. MLDI submits cases to domestic courts and international tribunals and intervenes in cases already under way, as well as supporting national lawyers to do the same.

In countries where the threat of legal action is high and constant, MLDI provides financial support and legal expertise to national organisations that provide legal defence services to journalists.

MLDI also runs training and networking programmes for lawyers in the fields of media law and human rights. 

E-mail: info@mediadefence.org

Observatory of Media Freedom (Poland) - Support Centres

'The Observatory of Media Freedom in Poland' is a legal program founded by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) in 2008 and operates in Poland. Its focus is on the protection related to freedom of expression in traditional media as well as on the Internet. 

The program provides legal aid concerning inter alia issues such as criminal defamation, press law offences, protection of journalistic sources of information, the liability of the Internet service providers etc. During court proceedings, the ‘Observatory’ can as well arrange pro bono legal assistance for journalists who cannot afford to pay for regular legal aid.

Internet Ownership Project - Monitoring tool

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Rise Project and EurActiv Romania have launched this monitoring platform focusing on internet ownership transparency in Eastern Europe

Understanding the EU Rule of Law mechanisms - Reports

This briefing by the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) conveys fundamental information about the “Rule of Law Framework”, the EU assessment mechanism applied for the first time in Poland with regard to the management of state TV and radio broadcasters

Community Journalism: Digital and Social Media - Training

This free online course by the Cardiff University's Centre for Community Journalism is designed to provide insights and practical skills to approach the rise of Community Journalism

ECJ: Commission has to enable access to written submissions - Legal Resources

The European Commission refused a German Pirate Party deputy access to Austria-related written submissions. After the party deputy filed a lawsuit, the European Court of Justice decided in his favor, in accordance with a decree overseeing access to EU government documents

German Press Council deals with coverage of refugee crisis and footage of murder - Legal Resources

Dealing with complaints about the coverage of the refugee crisis, the German Press Council legitimizes the use of emotional pictures if they serve the public interest by showing the result of war and the risky business with smuggling gangs

Promoting Media and Information Literacy in Libraries - Reports

The report is an in-depth analysis of librarians’ and public libraries’ role in promoting information and media literacy, written for the CULT Committee of the European Parliament

Discourse in danger. Attacks on free expression in Putin's Russia - Reports

The report “Discourse in danger. Attacks on free expression in Putin's Russia” illustrates the increasing effort by the Russian government to shape the information space, from the Internet, to children’s literature, to any independent cultural spaces, including theater and academia

The Trust Factor: EJN Review of Journalism and Self-regulation - Reports

How to build trust with the audience in modern journalism