Legal Support

Too often journalists and media workers are threatened with legal action, solely for doing their job. This is a distinct threat to press and media freedom and so the MFRR offers paid support for legal representation, opinion writing and advice. As well as that, the MFRR offers support for legal reform movements to challenge laws that targets press and media freedom.

Legal support delivered by the MFRR consists of:

  • General guidance
  • Access to legal advice on relevant law and strategy
  • External assistance (for example in submitting a case to court, watching briefs, oral advocacy)
  • Access to expertise in policy and law making
  • Engagement in national or international litigation (directly or indirectly).

The MFRR does not offer legal support for:

  • Labour disputes
  • Legal actions where the journalist initiated proceedings (exceptions apply)

Please note, our funds are under increased demand and not every request for support can be covered. The LAC oversees the legal support fund and interrogates each case on its merits.

How to apply

Before you apply, please consult our criteria.

You can find the rules of procedure of the legal affairs committee here.

The MFRR legal support program is led by ECPMF’s legal advisor, Flutura Kusari.

Contact: legal@ecpmf.eu for more information

APPLY

Here are overviews of the legal support offered through the MFRR in a range of languages from EU Member States and Candidate Countries.

ČESKÝ
СРПСКИ
ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΆ
ENGLISH
ESPAÑOL
FRANÇAIS
HRVATSKI
ITALIANO
MAGYAR
POLSKI
РУССКИЙ
SLOVENSKÝ
TÜRK

Legal Affairs Committee (LAC)

The legal support offered as part of the MFRR is overseen by ECPMF’s Legal Affairs Committee (LAC), which will review each application for support to decide the appropriate response. The LAC is entrusted by the supervisory and executive boards of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom in accordance with article 13 of the ECPMF statute. The principal role of the LAC is to offer non-binding advice and guidance on any requests for legal support referring to the criteria catalogue of the LAC and Rules of Procedure. The final decision on whether to support any particular case lies with the ECPMF office, not LAC.

For more details about the LAC visit the ECPMF website – https://www.ecpmf.eu/support/legal-support/