Special draft legislation to deal with media activities has been approved by the Lajnah Al-Khubra (Experts Committee), a source at the committee told Saudi Gazette recently. The legislation, which refers all disputes and claims to a specialized branch of courts under the existing Shariah court system, awaits its first reading by the Council of Ministers, the source said. The legislation was drafted in response to a Shoura (Consultative) recommendation made a year and a half ago. The Shoura Council had first suggested establishment of specialized Shariah courts to deal with compensation for the maligned or injured parties in areas such as public rights in traffic violations, sports contracts, violation of building codes, and the import of substandard material and products. “The growing role of new media has given rise to the violation of the rights of innocent parties. Reporting is an honorable profession that is no less important than the work of a skilled surgeon, professional pilot, faithful teacher or lecturer and the like,” the source said. “Every profession has global standards that need to be respected and held high. Practitioners must adhere to these agreed-upon standards. In media, information can be manipulated, thus affecting people's perceptions of what is real and what is false, and thereby affecting perhaps their livelihood,” he said. “Character defamation is as bad as fabricated news. A recipient (consumer) is an honest party who assumes that what he or she reads is true. This trust ought to be guarded and protected for the benefit of all parties concerned,” the source added. Asked where the legal responsibility resides in case of a dispute, the source said, “Media courts are a specialized branch of adjudication. What goes on inside such a court is not and should not be different from other courts. Shariah is the balance of justice to all parties.” “Naturally, a judge would hear both sides, and with the judge resides the final judgment,” he added. Asked if this option would diminish the role of reconciliation, the source said, “On the contrary, our courts encourage intermediation and reconciliation, as they do on equally important issues like marriage disputes, where divorce is the last option; cases of child custody, where priority is given to children's welfare; blood money, where forgiveness is stressed by reminding people of Allah's reward and inheritance disputes, where it is made sure that each heir gets his or her rights.” “Media disputes will be dealt with in the same spirit. Guarding people's rights, privacy and welfare is our ultimate goal,” the source added. __
