The consequence of not publishing a correction and reply text has three layers: a judicial fine, publication as an advertisement, and — contrary to the general rule of the Press Law — convertibility into a custodial sentence.
First layer: the judicial fine
Article 18(1) of Law No. 5187: “The responsible editor and the official to whom the responsible editor reports who fail to comply with final judicial decisions concerning the publication of a correction and reply” are punished with a heavy fine; the Law sets a higher floor for regional periodicals and for widely circulating periodicals.
Who pays
Article 18(2): “The owner of the publication shall be jointly and severally liable, together with the responsible editor and the official to whom the responsible editor reports, for payment of the heavy fine imposed on them.”
| Who | Liability |
|---|---|
| The responsible editor | The addressee of the penalty |
| The official to whom the responsible editor reports | The addressee of the penalty |
| The owner of the publication | Jointly and severally liable for payment |
Second layer: publication as an advertisement
Article 18(3): “Where the correction and reply text is not published, or is published without compliance with the conditions specified in the first paragraph of Article 14, the judge shall additionally order that the text be published as an advertisement in two online news sites and in two newspapers with a circulation of more than one hundred thousand, the costs being borne by the owner of the publication.”
That provision was updated by Law No. 7418 of 13 October 2022, adding online news sites to the media in which the advertisement must appear.
Third layer: convertibility into custody
Article 28 of Law No. 5187: “Save for the offences in Articles 18 and 22, fines imposed for offences provided for in this Law may not be converted into custodial sentences.”
That marks Article 18 out from the other offences in the Press Law. A fine for breaching the identity ban (Article 21) or for an encouraging publication (Article 20) cannot be converted into custody; a fine for failing to comply with a correction and reply order can.
| Press Law offence | Convertible into custody? |
|---|---|
| Art. 18 — failure to comply with a correction and reply order | Yes |
| Art. 22 — obstructing, damaging or destroying printed works | Yes |
| Art. 20 — encouraging sexual assault, homicide or suicide | No |
| Art. 21 — breach of the prohibition on disclosing identity | No |
| Arts. 15, 17 and other offences | No |
When does the penalty arise?
The Article 18 penalty arises not from the failure to publish itself but from failure to comply with a final judicial decision. The chain runs as follows:
- The person harmed sends the text within two months of publication (Art. 14(1)).
- The responsible editor does not publish it in time (three days in a daily periodical, one day on an online news site).
- The person applies to the criminal judge of peace within fifteen days of expiry of that period (Art. 14(5)).
- The judge decides within three days, without a hearing.
- On expedited objection the competent authority decides finally within three days (Art. 14(6)).
- The decision becomes final and the periods start again (Art. 14(7)).
- If the decision is still not complied with, Article 18 applies.
The broadcasting equivalent
Law No. 6112 contains no criminal provision that is the exact counterpart of Article 18; a breach of the correction and reply duty gives rise to an administrative fine under Article 32/2 of that Law: one to three per cent of the gross commercial communication revenue for the month preceding the month in which the breach was established. Article 8/1(o) further provides that broadcasting services “must respect the right of reply and correction of persons or institutions”.
The refusal procedure is covered in the refusal guide and the television regime in the television guide.