The sanction sits in Art. 17 of Law No. 5187, and Law No. 7418 made an important addition to it.
The Text
Art. 17: a printer who fails to perform the delivery duty under Art. 10, and the responsible editor of an internet news site who fails to perform the delivery and retention duty, are punished with a heavy fine.
Two Separate Offenders
| Offender | Which duty | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| The printer | Delivering two signed copies to the prosecutor's office on the day of distribution | Art. 10, first paragraph |
| The responsible editor of an internet news site | Retaining content for two years with accuracy and integrity ensured | Art. 10, paragraph added by Law No. 7418 |
The Amount
The amount in Art. 17 sits in a lower band than those in Arts. 15 and 16, and this article has no floor that rises with the publication type.
It Cannot Be Converted into a Custodial Sentence
Art. 28 provides a safeguard: apart from the offences in Arts. 18 and 22, fines imposed for the offences provided for in this Law cannot be converted into custodial sentences. Art. 17 falls within that safeguard.
The Real Risk: The Period Shifts
The penalty is not the only consequence. Art. 26 governs a procedural consequence of non-delivery: where printed works are not delivered to the public prosecutor's office, the start date of the periods for bringing proceedings is the date on which the act constituting the offence became known to the prosecutor's office.
A Judicial Notification Extends the Archive Indefinitely
The third paragraph added to Art. 10 by Law No. 7418 imposes a separate duty: where the judicial authorities notify an internet news site in writing that a publication is the subject of an investigation or prosecution, the record of that publication must be retained until notification that those proceedings have concluded.
Summary
- A printer who fails the delivery duty, and the responsible editor of an internet news site who fails the delivery and retention duty, are punished with a heavy fine under Art. 17.
- The real consequence beyond the penalty is that, without delivery, the limitation period runs from the prosecutor's knowledge rather than from delivery.