Media Law

The International Media Law Summer School is an intensive three-week training program for lawyers on freedom of speech and freedom of information, protection of honor, dignity and business reputation, media activities, regulation of broadcasting, and other media issues.
The 16th Summer School is planned to take place from July 27 to August 7, 2020.

The School is organized by the Center for Democracy and Rule of Law.
15 summer schools on media law have been held since 2005. The School has trained over 300 graduates: from 11 countries: Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Poland.

For three weeks, the participants of the School study the issues of television and radio broadcasting regulations, protection of privacy and freedom of expression, access to information, defamation litigation, regulation of information dissemination on the Internet, regulation of election campaigning, protection of public morality, copyright, and many more.

Apply for participation in the School

Special focus in the curriculum is laid on European standards in the field of media law, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

The training course covers the following topics:
– freedom of expression: American and European approaches;
– European Convention on Human Rights;
– procedure for applying to the European Court of Human Rights;
– procedure for applying to the UN Human Rights Committee;
– right to information, access to information;
– claims for protection of honor, dignity and business reputation (defamation);
– exemption from liability for defamation;
– protection of personal life and protection of personal data;
– the right to protect journalistic sources;
– peculiarities of regulation of print and electronic media;
– licensing of broadcasting;
– European standards of public broadcasting;
– professional unions and self-regulation of journalists;
– peculiarities of regulation on the Internet;
– legislation on the protection of public morality;
– peculiarities of media activities in the pre-election period, etc.

Throughout years, the non-profit organisation International Summer School has been supported by NGO “International Media Support”, Internews Network, International Renaissance Foundation, Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, SIDA and IREX Europe.