By Isabela Fraga
After approving a right of reply law in March 2012, the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) of the Brazilian Senate will debate the issue this Thursday, March 27, said the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI).
According to proposed law 141/2011, the wronged party will have a “free and proportional” right of reply in the medium – that is, the reply will occupy the same space as the offending material – said the site of the Order of Lawyers of Brazil.
The proposal has been amended several times during 2012, says ABRAJI. According to the Senate schedule (in PDF), the commission will debate the approval of nine amendments. One of these takes out the section of the law that deals with so-called “spontaneous retraction or reparation.”
According to the amendment, “the eventual spontaneous retraction or reparation by the media company does not affect the right of the wronged physical or juridical person.” The other amendments deal with editing of the articles of the law in a general manner.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
