Obowiązek opublikowania sprostowania a wolność prasy

Abstract

This article deals with the matter of corrections which is one of the most prominent problems in the domain of media law as it concerns both the newspaper office and the society at large and it influences the pattern of their mutual relations. The right to correction becomes an indispensable condition and equivalence of the free press and somehow necessary counterbalance of its force. This right provides every entitled person with the ability to immediately (without the unnecessary formalities) act in self-defense or at least to attempt to render the sharp attack blunt and to mitigate the results of abuse of power on the part of the press. It does not simply correct the error made by a journalist but it also has an impact on keeping the balance between the power of the press and rights of the individual. Publishing corrections by the press satisfies both the needs of the victim and the society whose right to honest press information is exercised by the fact that the other party has the opportunity to voice their opinions in the same forum. In this case, the limitation of freedom of the press voice is aimed at the protection of a certain type of public debate but it also gives the reader an opportunity to read and think through the author’s opinion before viewing the journalist’s comment. In this sense, the notion of correction is not only a legal obligation but also (and maybe above all) it is the moral duty of the press.