The IPI global network today expresses concern regarding proposed changes to Ukraine’s civil code, which would greatly broaden the scope of the country’s legislation on defamation, and seriously restrict the work of independent journalists.
On September 21, a draft bill was published on the parliament’s website, attracting the criticism of investigative outlet Bihus.Info and of Ukrainian press freedom organizations.
According to the text of the bill, significant new injunctions would be added to the regulatory framework of defamation:
- All statements which “violate the presumption of innocence” of an individual would be considered as constituting defamation until this information is confirmed by an appropriate court ruling.
- Courts would be able to issue damages for expressing “personal opinions” considered as defamatory.
- Individuals would gain the right to demand in court the deletion of any published information that they consider defamatory, if this information is “outdated or no longer presents public interest”. While this regulation would not apply to individuals holding public office, such persons would be able to invoke their “right to be forgotten” after departing their public post.
Critics of the proposed regulations point to the numerous restrictions that these would create for the work of journalists. For example, it may have a chilling effect on investigative journalists who would fear drawing conclusions from their investigations before a court ruling.
The threat of facing damages for expressing “personal opinions” risks having an equally chilling effect on political commentary and the exchange of political ideas and opinions.
Lastly, if journalists are required to delete content considered “outdated or no longer in the public interest”, this would restrict public access to important public content. Moreover it would empower judges to decide on what lies in the public interest, creating a risk of this power being abused to cover up vital information.
In reaction to civil society criticism of the bill, Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, who heads the parliament’s committee on free speech, explained that the prime goal of the text was to bring Ukrainian legislation in line with international human rights standards. Efforts would be made to take into account the specific needs of journalists, who were not the main topic of the text, Yurchyshyn claimed.
“IPI calls on the Ukrainian parliament to refrain from adopting new regulations which would greatly compromise the exercise of independent journalism,” said IPI Eastern Europe Advocacy Lead Karol Łuczka. “In its current form, this bill would especially limit the activities of investigative journalists, whose job is to uncover abuses of power not detected by the judicial system. We call upon Ukrainian lawmakers to consult with civil society and representatives of the country’s independent media over the proposed legal changes, to avoid adopting a legal text which restricts journalists from doing their job.”
In July 2025, Ukraine’s parliament had already adopted a bill banning journalists from “identifying attorneys with their clients”, despite strong objections from the country’s media community. In August, the parliament also passed a law which introduced restrictions on access to some data stored in online public registers. In this case, MPs agreed to significantly limit restrictions which were foreseen by a first draft presented in March, largely thanks to objections voiced by Ukrainian civil society.