Freedom of Press in Political Regimes: the Case of Thailand
Abstract: Article updates the research on the development of media in political regimes. Freedom of the media, one of the basic civil liberties, is understood to belong to everyone, without restrictions on the right to freedom of expression (ie. The freedom of speech), the right to appoint media operators and the right to be informed. Applicable in Thailand limit media freedom in part are located in the directory of commonly accepted in democratic regimes. Thus, for example, restrict freedom of speech similar arrangements for the good of the legal, ie. Dobrom common law, such as public safety, legal order and security of the state and the individual’s personal property occurring, their interpretation and strict enforcement go far beyond the practice of democratic regimes. There is present therein in Thailand closure and suspension of the operation of media entities without a court order, to influence the structure of the business media, widespread censorship, criminalization of defamation, and especially imposing draconian penalties for committing this crime. The aim of this article is to determine the scope of the effect of restricting media freedom in the Thai media market.

Women at the theatre in the modern era

At the dawn of the modern era, aristocratic women, whether at court or in the academy, shed a noble aura on the new classic theatre and were often the privileged recipients of dedicated plays and poetry essays. They were totally different from the theatre-going women that bought tickets in 16th- and 17th-century Europe. Women in the theatre, whether on the stage or in the audience, were a problem and a source of scandal for Catholic and Protestant authorities, who wanted to ban them from attendance. However, their presence kept growing and finally established itself in the 18th century, when women became the main heralds of good taste and sentiment. This essay discusses the two aspects of this story.

The article is dedicated to the writer Bogdan Hamera (1911–1974) and his three works from the socialist realism period. The first, “Na przykład Plewa”, was a model example of a new type of literature that was promoted by the communists. Due to this success, he remained a significant figure in Polish literature in the first half of the 1950s. The article presents the significant moments in Hamera’s life. The most important elements of the books were presented, as well as their reception by the communist censorship. Attempts were made to answer the question of the author experiences’ influence on the shape of the works, their content and the importance of his role in the literature of socialist realism.

Among the laws regulating the press activity, the main one is the obligation to register a daily newspaper or a magazine (Article 20 of the Press Law). The registration application should include the data listed in that Article. Giving the role of a registrating body to the courts and not an administrative body, due to their independent nature, fosters the implementation of the free press rule formulated in Article 14 of the Constitution and developed in Article 1 of the Press Law. The ban on preventive censorship and press licensing is included directly in Article 54 Section 2 of the Constitution (this regulation, however, allows introducing by an Act of Parliament an obligation to obtain a license to run a radio or TV station). The registration mode is a kind of broadly understood application system and it is not included in the press licensing model. Nor does it have anything to do with preventive censorship. Regulations of the Code of Civil Procedure on non-litigious proceedings apply for registration procedure, together with alterations resulting from the Press Law. Magazine registration has two main functions: 1) protecting the name of no longer existing press titles (at the same time protecting the publisher’s right for the press title); 2) protecting the interests of potential readers. The latter case concerns preventing the reader from being misled about the true identity of a given newspaper. The Constitutional Tribunal noticed that the regulation concerning the registration mode is a limitation of the freedom of speech. However, the Tribunal did not find such a limitation that would breach Article 54 Section 1 or Article 31 Section 3 of the Constitution. Publishing a newspaper or a magazine may be suspended if in a given newspaper or magazine the law has been broken at least three times in a year, which has been confirmed by a valid criminal judgment. The regulations do not stipulate the option of cancelling the registration. It is, however, possibile that its validity may expire. According to Article 45 of the Press Law, in force since 19 July 2013, a person publishing a newspaper or a magazine without a license or suspended is subject to a fine. Currently such actions consitute a misdemeanour, and not an offence.

Censorship is a special case of media control. In the authoritarian system it is preventive censorship as well as press licensing that constitute a characteristic symptom of this control. In law, the notion of censorship has not been defined: therefore one has to refer to doctrines and jurisdiction. In the Polish law, a clear ban on preventive censorship, understood as making publishing or broadcasting a certain message dependent on the prior consent of a public authority, was included in Article 54 Section 2 of the Constitution. This regulation constitutes, in the area that it regulates, a development and confirmation of the freedom of the press and other media rule expressed in Article 14 of the Constitution. Additional provisions of the press’s freedom of speech in the context discussed here are formulated in Article 3 of the Press Law. Although it does not refer directly to preventive censorship, the ban it expresses is supposed to prevent the actual infringement on the freedom of the press by preventing its print and distribution. As for the issues discussed here, what may be controversial is the approach limiting the introduction of preventive censorship only to public administration institutions. The Constitutional Tribunal in its verdict from 20 July 2011, referring to the use of publication ban within proceedings to secure claims in claims against mass media concerning the protection of personal rights (Article 755 Paragraph 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure) stated that the judicial power is not the administrative power. Therefore, the courts’ activity cannot be considered as using censorship, but rather as monitoring the law being obeyed in the preventive meaning. And as for the regulations included in the European Convention on Human Rights, its Article 10 (as well as its other regulations) does not directly refer to the issue of controlling or obstructing publications, especially press releases. This question, however, has been the subject of many rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.

The article found that the Ukrainian diaspora was an integral component of Ukrainian ethnic integrity. Numerous public, cultural and educational institutions created by emigrants in their places of residence stood guard over Ukrainian national interests and, despite all obstacles, conducted fruitful cooperation with Ukrainians in the Motherland. In order to preserve and develop the Ukrainian language, representatives of the diaspora paid great attention to the release of the Ukrainian printed word into the world. Due to total censorship in the Ukrainian SSR, Ukrainians abroad contributed to the publication abroad of many Ukrainian works that were banned in Ukraine. By means of international tourism, international student exchange, and world radio broadcasting, contacts between Ukrainian and foreign youth were gradually established, and the spheres of communication expanded. The main task of the Ukrainian diaspora was to preserve the ethnic and cultural identities of the Ukrainian nation, and consolidate the scattered emigration forces for the sole purpose of preparing a political and professional basis for the acquisition of an independent, cathedral Ukrainian state.