Press and Freedom of Expression: Critical Reading of the CPT's Draft Decree (Part 1)

By Jean Venel Casséus

The Transitional Presidential Council and the Haitian government are preparing to publish in the official gazette Le Moniteur what they call a « decree framing the exercise of freedom of expression and concerning the prevention and repression of defamation and press offenses ». The need for such regulation is evident and urgent, but if the document is published as I have been able to consult it, it will be a matter of scandal. Its analysis requires rigor, method, and a sense of principles. Above all, it calls for a progressive reading. Let's start with the beginning: Chapter 1, entitled « Object and definitions ».

From the very first article, the draft decree introduces an ambiguity with serious consequences. It claims to frame the exercise of freedom of expression while organizing the prevention and repression of press offenses. This wording places a fundamental right and the mechanisms intended to sanction its abuses on the same level. However, in any constitutional democracy, freedom of expression constitutes a structuring principle, not an administrative tolerance. Presenting it from the outset as an area to be framed reflects a philosophy of distrust that permeates the entire text and silently guides its general economy.

It is, however, in the definition of the journalist that this orientation appears most clearly. By subordinating the exercise of journalism to a remunerated, continuous activity carried out on the basis of an administrative license, the draft decree confuses two distinct realities: the profession of journalist and the status of professional journalist. This confusion is not trivial. It shifts the source of journalism's legitimacy, making it dependent not on competence and professional ethics, but on prior administrative recognition.

The profession of journalist is comparable, in its nature, to that of a doctor or a lawyer. It is a professional activity based on skills, recognized training or experience, and its own code of ethics. Journalism constitutes an intellectual and social profession whose purpose lies in the research, verification, analysis, and dissemination of information of public interest. Its legitimacy does not stem from an appointment or an administrative license, but from the qualification, intellectual independence, and responsibility of the person who practices it. The State can recognize this profession and set its general principles, but it cannot condition the existence of the profession on administrative authorization without infringing on the constitutional freedom of the press.

The status of professional journalist, on the other hand, refers to a particular modality of practicing the profession. It designates someone who practices journalism as their main remunerated activity, in terms of tax declarations and obligations, either within an established press organization or independently, particularly as a freelancer, according to established legal and ethical standards. This status may grant specific protections or particular guarantees, notably a regulated press card.