جرائم السب و القذف في قوانين الصحافة والمطبوعات في دول الخليج العربي

Abstract EN

Throughout history different societies expressed an interest in protecting reputation, both personal and proprietary, in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC) the right to protect reputation is considered important and essential, and for that reason laws were enacted to safeguard reputation and protect individuals and commercial rights.

This study focus on the law of libel/slander and present an account of the various definitions provided by different scholars and court precedents in the English common law and the (GCC) criminal codes and press and publication laws, it also dealt with types and elements of libel and cited judicial decisions for more clarification and application of the law.

The paper contains four parts: Part One consisted of the theoretical framework.

Part Two examines the definitions, types and elements of libel.

Part Three focuses on the laws of libel in the GCC countries.

Part Four considered the defenses against libel.

The results of the study revealed that libel laws existed with very minor differences in all GCC countries, and that both the penal code and press and publication laws, contains articles which provide protection against defamation, and that the laws in some countries like Bahrain and accept truth as a defense against libel, some GCC laws also encourage the media to correct mistakes and practice the right of personal reply.