The New Patriotic Party (NPP), have decided to expunge finally the Criminal Libel Law from the statute books of the country as part of its efforts to honour its electioneering promise. This was disclosed to the Chronicle by the Attorney-General (AG) and Minister of Justice, Hon. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-addo, in an interview at Parliament House on Thursday.
According to the AG, though the Bill has already been gazetted last Friday, June 8, 2001 it will take two weeks for it to mature since it is not under a certificate for urgency.
The Bill is scheduled to be laid for the First Reading on Tuesday June 26, 2001.
Asked what could be done to make the National Media Commission (NMC) effective in the discharge of their duties, the AG said: The Seditious Libel Law (Section 185) also goes off. "These are all matters under discussion. In fact until decisions are taken I am unwilling to say what should be or should not be." He said discussions are going on between himself and the Chairman of the NMC and as soon as it is over the public will be informed accordingly.
