Free legal assistance for journalists: legal security in wartime

The legal hotline for journalists and the media service, launched by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) within the framework of the network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers (JSC), has become a significant legal support for media workers. The service is especially important for local media that cannot afford to have a lawyer on staff and they have enough legal issues. So they can seek advice and assistance from the legal hotline.

“The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine launched such an initiative of the network of JSCs back in 2022. Let me remind you that we have six Centers in the cities of Ukraine, including three in cities close to the combat zone – Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia, as well as Centers in Kyiv, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. All of them provide more than 12 types of different services for journalists. One of them is free legal assistance for journalists. We have various forms of work with assistance to journalists and newsrooms. For media workers, the service is free and available from any region or country where journalists are located,” notes the First Secretary of NUJU, Lina Kushch.

Press officer Olha Vilkhova: after the end of hostilities, the information war will only intensify, and journalists will have even more work

“The state must support not only national, but also local media, which have great trust in their audience,” Carpathian media workers during a TV discussion on the RAI TV and radio company.

The importance of this service is due not only to the fact that during the full-scale invasion of the russian federation into Ukraine, the media are faced with challenges that are not inherent in peacetime and require additional clarifications on certain legal issues but also to the fact that at this time, the assistance of lawyers has become an essential component of the legal security of the media, which have to restructure their work in view of the circumstances of wartime. In addition, during changes in legislation, in particular, the adoption of the Law On Media and changes to tax regulations, media workers have many questions that require additional clarifications, etc.

The service is gaining popularity

NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko notes that the key priorities of the NUJU are the safety of journalists and the protection of freedom of speech. In many cases, the help of lawyers to media professionals is invaluable.

After all, the legislation changes so rapidly and is overgrown with such nuances that it is difficult to navigate without the help of specialists.

Areas of activity of the legal hotline for journalists and the media:

• consultations on specific requests from newsrooms and journalists;
• educational webinars on current issues;
• publication on the NUJU resources of explanations on legislative innovations;
• (if necessary) individual work with media professionals or heads of newsrooms on issues that concern them.

During its activity, the service has gained popularity among journalists. More than 300 requests from media professionals for various legal assistance have been received. The journalists were advised by specialists from the law firm IBC Legal Services, Doctor of Laws, attorney Mykhailo Kocherov, and lawyer Danil Serbin. They are highly qualified specialists who sincerely care about their case in general and each client in particular. The journalists used various channels to ask questions to the lawyers: the Google form of the NUJU legal hotline, e-mail, instant messengers, or inquiries during meetings and events organized by the NUJU.

“The state constantly adopts certain resolutions on deregulation of activities. And so, today, some resolutions on deregulation are adopted, and tomorrow others. For example, take the same Tax Code; you will see that during that year, there were, if I am not mistaken, ten amendments to it. That is, something was introduced, something was changed every month. What stability of regulation is this? It is also difficult to calculate how many changes are made to the Civil Code. So, there is much dynamism in the legislation. Dynamism, in general, is a positive feature because it means that our legislation is trying to somehow help society in regulation; something new is emerging. So, we have no shortage of reasons for consultations and explanations. And we strive to help media workers,” says Mykhailo Kocherov.

Requests concern various issues

Each region has its own peculiarities for media activities, so journalists’ requests are diverse. Since many of them are such that would come in handy for many media workers, consultations are also published on NUJU resources.

In particular, journalists are interested in what information cannot be placed in the media during martial law and what document regulates this, about the legal features of business trips to a combat zone, about the nuances of media workers’ movement through the streets during curfew, etc.

Media managers are also concerned that as a result of the mobilization of editorial staff, especially local media, they are left without specialists who can be replaced by anyone. So, questions about booking media people are also sent to the legal hotline. In particular, editors ask whether it is possible to include district media in critical infrastructure and how the booking of editorial staff takes place during martial law.

Editors are also interested in issues once clear and understandable in peacetime, but in martial law conditions have their own peculiarities. In particular, how to dismiss an employee who is abroad at their initiative. Many media workers are interested in the nuances of state legal guarantees of journalistic activity. And also – how to arrange maternity leave for a full-time journalist when the media is “on hold” during martial law, etc.

A separate topic is relations with Ukrposhta [Ukraine’s state-run postal service], which, as a result of its reorganization, media managers note, has worsened the delivery of printed media to subscribers. Therefore, they were asked to provide legal advice on the proposed agreement of Ukrposhta for the sale and delivery of printed media. However, the newsrooms continue to subscribe and have asked readers to tell them how they can subscribe to the periodical using the funds within the Winter eSupport project.

Of course, there is a surplus of other general questions. For example, journalists are interested in what to do when another resource has used already published material or photos without indicating the source, violating copyright, what should be the duration of a own correspondent’s vacation, how to properly dismiss journalists in connection with the reduction of the staff of a subject in the media sector, etc.

Working ahead of time

In addition to answering the requests of journalists and editors, the specialists of the legal hotline keep a close eye on all legislative innovations in the media sector and publish on NUJU resources current explanations on regulatory issues, so to speak, ahead of time, understanding that they will raise questions from media professionals.

Webinars on legal topics gather many media professionals

In particular, at one time, a timely explanation was published on how to register entities in the field of print media in accordance with the new law On Media, how the changes to tax legislation will affect newsrooms, how it is more expedient to register a journalist for work – under an employment or civil law contract, etc.

Journalists learned about the pros and cons of individual entrepreneurs for media professionals during the webinar called Features Of Activities Of Journalists As Individual Entrepreneurs, which, at the request of journalists, was held on the digital platform of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.

And recently, a webinar called Fundamentals Of Contract Law On Media. Learning To Correctly Conclude Contracts Necessary For Work was held, in which more than 85 media professionals participated.

“The ability to read advice from lawyers on the website is another important point that we can mention. Thus, journalists can get answers not only to questions that concern them but also to those that interest their colleagues operating in the Center, emphasizes the coordinator of the Unified Western Ukrainian JSC of the NUJU, Nataliya Voitovych.

The answers are always useful and comprehensive

The JSCs help in providing legal advice and explanations. Although every media person can contact the hotline with their request by filling out the form, many journalists go to the JSC for advice, and their employees have taken it upon themselves to help communicate with lawyers. Thus, last year, the Unified Western Ukrainian JSC was particularly active.

“The legal line is an extremely useful service. I would like to note that journalists who contacted the Lviv JSC have responded extremely positively to this service. After all, the answers they received were always useful and comprehensive. And most importantly, the answers to their questions came promptly. Media workers who contacted the legal hotline are extremely grateful for the useful service,” notes Nataliya Voitovych.

In addition, the Centers also involve regional lawyers in providing legal assistance to journalists – conducting seminars and meetings and promoting professional communication between media workers and lawyers. Moreover, many of the issues raised at such events are of interest to a wide range of media workers from all over Ukraine. For example, the Dnipro JSC held an event titled Damage To Housing Or Property Due To Air Attacks: Action Protocol, where lawyers explained how to act in case of damage to housing or property due to attacks and how to receive compensation for damaged or destroyed things.

The Legal Insight section has been introduced

The NUJU has launched a useful Legal Insight section – a series of video consultations from legal hotline experts. In each issue, lawyers analyze in detail current cases from the practice of journalists’ appeals and provide step-by-step instructions for resolving typical legal issues – from preparing documents for work in front-line zones to protecting their professional rights. Thanks to a simple and understandable presentation, even complex legal aspects of the work of media workers become more accessible to understanding. The videos published are posted on the NUJU YouTube channel and duplicated on the Union’s Telegram channel, which makes legal assistance even more accessible to journalists at any time.

We remind you that there is a free NUJU legal assistance hotline for journalists. Ukrainian media professionals can get advice from highly qualified specialists of the law firm IBC LEGAL SERVICES – lawyers and lawyers with extensive experience.

We guarantee:

• complete confidentiality;
• professional, qualified assistance;
• high-quality and quick response to the question posed.

To apply, you must fill out a special form: http://surl.li/evrmg. The service is completely free and available from any region or country.

The legal hotline operates under the auspices of the NUJU network of JSCs with the support of UNESCO and the International and European Federations of Journalists.

The network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, implemented in collaboration with the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO and with the support of the People of Japan. Our primary goal is to assist media professionals working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers are active in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. The project is part of UNESCO’s broader efforts to support the Safety of Journalists and Freedom of Expression in Ukraine.

About IBC Legal Services

IBC Legal Services is a company with many years of experience of a strong team of professionals: lawyers, attorneys, auditors, accountants, appraisers, forensic and economic experts. Broad specialization and many years of partnership with specialists from various industries and directions allow the company to provide comprehensive support to clients in any difficult situation.

NUJU Information Service