The Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, in collaboration with the International Research and Exchanges Board “IREX”, organized on Saturday the 3rd of November 2007 a seminar hosting Judge Pierre Leval of the Court of Appeals of the United States of America and Professor Peter Croug, lecturer of legal sciences and comparative law at Oklahoma University in the United States of America. The goal of this seminar was for these men to exchange experiences with members of Media Legal Aid Unit for Journalists concerning the legal applications in both Jordan and the United States of America in terms of vilification, defamation, and libel crimes.
To enrich the discussions the center also received a number of Jordanian lawyers specializing in media lawsuits as guests to this seminar.
The seminar's program consisted of two major points through the course of three sessions. In the first two sessions, Judge Leval and Prof. Croug discussed the constitutional considerations for vilification, defamation, and libel crimes in the United States of America, bringing up a few examples of lawsuits in American courts of justice specializing in the law previously mentioned and lawsuits pertained to freedom of expression issues. The third session included lawyer Mohammed Qutaishat, the president of the Media Legal Aid Unit for Journalists, who presented publications lawsuits brought against several members of the media in Jordanian courts of justice.
