COMPLAINTS HANDLING

SUBMISSION OF A COMPLAINT

A complaint (application) submitted to the Inspector of Journalist Ethics shall include the following indications:

1) The name, surname and address of a person (applicant) who submitted the complaint (application);

2) The particular medium and publication or broadcast which disseminated information degrading honor and dignity of the person who submitted the complaint (applicant) and violating the right to the protection of privacy or interests of minors;

3) Which disseminated information is false, how is the right to the protection of privacy violated, how are the interests of minors undermined;

4) The contents of the application addressed to the Inspector;

5) The date of making of a complaint (application) and the signature of a person who submitted the complaint (application).

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A complaint (application), where at least one of the above stated requirements is missing, shall not be considered, unless the Inspector decides otherwise. In this case, when the Inspector refuses to deal with the complaint (application) due to failure to meet the requirements for the content, the person (applicant) shall be notified about this within 5 working days, specifying the deficiencies. After the deficiencies are eliminated, the person’s (applicant’s) complaint shall be accepted for consideration, and its submission date shall be considered the date of receipt of the complaint (application) that complies with the requirements.

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In cases provided for in the Law on Provision of Information to the Public, Article 50, Section 1, Clause 1-3, the Inspector shall examine complaints (applications) of persons whose rights are violated in the media, or their legal representatives, as well as these persons’ authorized representatives. In these cases, anonymous complaints (applications) are not considered.

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In the case provided for in the Law on Provision of Information to the Public, Article 50, Section 1, Clause 4, the Inspector shall deal with complaints (applications) of both the individuals whose rights have been violated in the media, or their legal representatives, and complaints (applications) submitted by other persons (applicants), as well as anonymous complaints (applications). In this case, the Inspector may start the investigation on his own initiative. Other interested persons’ (applicants’) written or verbal appeals, requests and messages that do not include complaints about the public information producers’ and (or) disseminators’ actions, but only ask for explanations, provision of information or the requested documents, expressing opinion or providing a conclusion regarding the enforcement of provisions of the Law on Provision of Information to the Public, shall not be considered as complaints (applications).