knowledge on broadcasting laws; need of the hour

In a pioneering endeavour to draw attention to the legal issues concerning the media industry, Chanakya Jayadeva on Thursday launched his book ‘Entertainment and Broadcast Law for Sri Lanka’, the first ever book to be published on the subject in Sri Lanka.

Jayadeva, a well-known attorney and media personality in the country, during his career, has been sensitised to the latent deficiencies and the lack of sophistication prevailing in the nation’s media industry.

Written with both the legal practitioner and the artiste in mind, this text highlights Jayadeva’s 15 years of legal media acumen.

Giving reasons for authoring the book, Jayadeva pointed out that the very limited knowledge and the lack of attention to legal issues concerning the ever-developing media industry has led Sri Lanka to lag behind the rest of the world.

“The reason I authored this book are many but the three main are as follows,” he explained. “Firstly because there is simply no book on this subjects in Sri Lanka. Secondly, it is a fact that the laws relating to these areas are largely international, built upon conventions, theories, customs and international agreements.  Thirdly because the entertainment and broadcasting arena has developed rapidly and vastly and has a growing demand in the Asian region.”

Jayadeva’s work provides information, research, theories and case studies on an array of issues including right to information versus privacy, defamation, freedom of expression, copy rights, intellectual property, censorship and many more. It not only deals with the film, television and music industry but also discusses issues surrounding new media such as the internet and social media.

Speaking at the launch of the book, Attorney General, Palitha Fernando, President’s Counsel, commended the author’s work as “a step in the right direction.”
Mr. Fernando said Sri Lanka has not paid much attention to entertainment and broadcast laws in the past but with the rapid growth of technology and media, it was becoming a pressing need to have a legal framework for the industry.

“This is not something that can be achieved in isolation,” he said. “It is the duty of all citizens to rally around those who have taken the initiative to introduce and update laws concerning media activities.”

Chairman of the Law Commission, Nihal Jayamanna, President’s Counsel echoed the ideas of the Attorney General and said the book was a “bold literary interest.”
Reviewing the book, he remarked that Jayadeva had very aptly based his research on the United States, which is the largest contributor and the most significant influencer of media laws in the world.

Mr. Jayamanna also applauded Jayadeva’s suggestions for change, based on his research and knowledge gained from international conventions.
Meanwhile, the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka Upul Jayasuriya said this book was especially timely and useful to the society, with the media under a great amount of pressure and scrutiny from the public.

He also said there was no existing act for “right to information,” adding it was a gaping hole in Sri Lanka’s legal framework.

PIX by Nisal Baduge