Supreme Court Judgment No. 976/2567 (Publication of the Defamation Judgment via an Online News Website)

Abstract

In a defamation case where the court has ruled that the defendant is guilty, Section 332 (2) of the Criminal Code grants the court discretion to order the defendant to publish the judgment in a “newspaper,” as deemed appropriate to the circumstances of the case. In Supreme Court Judgment No. 976/2567, the Court interpreted the term “newspaper” as evolving with time, not limited only to printed publications on paper. The Court held that the term also encompasses written news content accessible and understandable to the public via computer systems. Therefore, the Court ordered the defendant to publish the judgment through an “online news website” as well. This article analyzes the Supreme Court judgment using the legality principle in criminal law as the analytical framework, with particular focus on the doctrines of lex stricta (criminal law must be interpreted strictly) and lex scripta (criminal law must be codified in written form). Finally, this article suggests that the provision should be amended to align with the times and explicitly allow the court to order the defendant to publicize the judgment via online news websites.