فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
The Economic, Social, and Environmental Council called for achieving the necessary balance in the legislative framework of the draft law on reorganizing the National Press Council. This should be done especially by developing content related to the council’s competencies and structures in promoting press freedom, safeguarding professional ethics, and enhancing press enterprises, while simplifying and reducing provisions concerning the methods for selecting council members.
In its opinion on the draft, received from the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the council emphasized that the draft law should enable the National Press Council to have the necessary tools and means of success, making it a national project and a societal mechanism to build positive consensus between professionals (journalists and publishers) and the active components of Moroccan society.
The council added that this requires broad and constructive consultation on the draft law to guarantee the balanced interests of the council’s constituent groups on one hand and the rights of society as a whole on the other.
In this context, the council recommended refining the draft law’s title to better align with its contents, considering it a new legal framework that goes beyond merely amending provisions related to the council’s organization. This includes incorporating the definitions of “professional journalist” and “journalists’ union” within Article One dedicated to definitions, aiming to improve the legal structure, strengthen its standards, and facilitate its readability.
The council also recommended adding a fourth category to the composition of the National Press Council called the “Wise” category, which would include two wise publishers and two wise journalists, with objective criteria defined for their selection.
Regarding the method of selecting council members, the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council called for adopting a list-based election system with proportional representation for journalists’ representatives. This would ensure representation consistent with pluralism, taking into account the diversity of the journalistic body.
For publishers’ representatives, the council recommended using a similar list-based election system with proportional representation based on the largest remainder method. Nomination criteria should be based on inclusive standards that do not solely depend on the economic size of the enterprise, with particular attention to pluralism and guaranteeing representation for small publishers.
The council stressed the necessity of enhancing the effective participation of women at all levels of the National Press Council’s bodies, with a clear commitment to applying the principle of gender parity in choosing representatives of the various categories. This aligns with constitutional provisions and Morocco’s international human rights commitments.
Lastly, the council urged strengthening mediation and arbitration mechanisms in the draft law to minimize resorting to disciplinary sanctions against journalists and press institutions. It also emphasized the importance of precisely defining professional misconduct to protect both rights and professional duties.The Economic Council issues its opinion on the draft law of the National Press Council and proposes the introduction of a “class of wise men.”
