A journalist’s professional secrecy in the light of the Polish law Part 1. The right to anonymity

Lech Jaworski

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The author of press material has the right to keep his/her name in secret (Article 15 section 1 of the press law). The so-called right to anonymity is the right to publish press materials without revealing one’s name or under a nickname. It refers to every author of the mentioned material. This right is also reflected in the copyright law (Article 16 point 2). The press law considers exceptions to the obligation to keep secrecy of the data identifying the author of the press material (Article 16 section 1: when the press material refers to a crime described in Article 240 § 1 of the penal code, or when the author of the press material agrees to revealing his/her name). Moreover, the specific situations and the extent of being released from the obligation to keep a journalist’s secrecy by the court are defined by the code of penal proceedings (Article 180 § 2–4).

KEYWORDS

journalist, anonymity, secrecy, release, exceptions, The Constitution, press law