ALERT - UGANDA

28 August 2003

Lawyers barred from appearing in the media

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF has protested the Uganda Law Council's 22 August 2003 ban
on lawyers appearing in the media without its permission and called for the
measure to be dropped.

Law Council Chairman Elijah Wante told the organisation the measure was
aimed at preventing lawyers from "misusing the media" and "misleading the
public" and that the only public stance permissible was that of the council.

"This ban is an arbitrary restriction on media activity, preventing coverage
of news of the judiciary or reporting unauthorised remarks by lawyers," RSF
said in a letter to Attorney General Francis Ayume. "It is normal to want to
protect legal confidentiality and the smooth running of the legal system,
but this more general measure is unreasonable and an act of pure censorship
that obstructs the freedom to inform the public and to be informed," RSF
said.

The ban was contained in a council directive on 22 August, recalling Law
Council regulation 22 (from 1977), which forbids lawyers from writing
articles, speaking to the media or making any other media appearance without
the Law Council's expressed permission.

The Law Council is an official regulatory body that registers all lawyers
and can suspend or deregister its members.

For further information, contact Jean-François Julliard at RSF, rue Geoffroy
Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 84, fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51,
e-mail: [email protected], Internet: http://www.rsf.org

The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of RSF.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit RSF.
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