The newspaper has already lost several cases with this university. He already had two rulings on the publication of the Amendments, one first-instance ruling on the Second Amendment, and a lost case regarding the publication of 11 announcements on his websites and Facebook profiles for security purposes.
Collegium Humanum filed a private indictment against a Newsweek journalist for defamation. It is about how he conducted an interview about the university. The Warsaw Mokotów District Court initially wanted to dismiss the case, but on January 4 the district court overturned that decision and ordered a substantive trial with full evidentiary proceedings. Konrad Sadurski, who interviewed the deceased lawyer Andrzej S. a year and a half ago, has the status of the accused in this trial. Nartovsky.
“Actions aimed at portraying the university only negatively”
Portal DoRzeczy.pl read the justification of the court's decision. This is very unfavorable for a journalist. The court states that a journalist, in principle, cannot completely avoid responsibility for the tone of the material, even if it is an interview. According to the court, during the conversation, the journalist is obliged to critically approach the theses expressed by the interlocutor – especially intense ones. “The district court, like the lawyer, emphasized the form of the article at issue in this case, arguing that since the press material was an interview containing questions and answers from Andrzej Nartowski, the defendant, as a journalist, could not intervene. By the content of the interlocutor's views, they question their validity or reliability. The district court does not share such an opinion, because the publication of a press article, which is the result of a particular composition and structure, the choice of text layout and the title used, can create a false image of a person or an institution and damage their good name”, – we read in the justification.
Moreover, the court found that the journalist could intend to portray the university negatively during the interview. “At the same time, the opinion of the lawyer should be shared that the title of the article, the type of questions asked, the content of the answers received and the personality of the interlocutor may indicate a biased and deliberate action of the accused, aimed at presenting personal information. Prosecutors only in a negative light. The district court did not find, as claimed by the appellant or the accused, because of the special diligence required of him, that he undertook such actions to establish that they were credible, objective or socially justifiable. In this case, the interviewer's personal involvement and presentation of only negative information on the specific content of the question raised doubts in the district court regarding the real intentions of the journalist, which – as we should understand – did. does not undertake to verify the information provided by Andrzej Nartowski. Therefore, it should be remembered that the crime of defamation can occur in different forms, by making inappropriate statements, giving false or unreliable accusations, intentionally formulating the content of statements in such a way that it is impossible to draw a line between factual and factual. Evaluation elements and, finally, actions aimed at devaluing in the eyes of public opinion the person affected by the commented facts, or making statements to damage his good name,” we read further.
The panel wins lawsuits all the time. Newsweek does not enforce penalties
The decision regarding editor Sadursky is not Newsweek's first loss to Collegium Humanum. In June of this year, the Court of Appeal in Warsaw issued a final decision regarding a Newsweek article about studies at the Faculty of Psychology at Collegium Humanum. In it, he ordered Newsweek to publish a very extensive, 24-point amendment.
On August 22, another verdict was issued regarding the text of Renata Kim and Jakub Korus, with the title: “Doda in a very short dress and Rector Czarnecki in spring shoes.” Collegium Humanum doesn't care about the accusations and organizes a graduation gala. The verdict is final. The judgment is not only final but also enforceable. According to him, “Newsweek” should publish a five-point amendment. The Weekly has yet to do so. In this situation, the representatives of the university enforce the publication with the help of the bailiff.
The last decision was made on April 27 and is not final. This time it concerns the article of Renata Kim and Jakub Korus: “CBA entered the Collegium Humanum. It is about illegal trade in diplomas.” Contrary to the headline, the office never prosecuted the Warsaw school's illegal awarding of diplomas, with officers only interested in one graduate. Their visit was aimed at verifying the details of his biography in university documents. Therefore, the Warsaw District Court ordered “Newsweek” to publish the correction. Even the newspaper has not done this to date.
The goal: discredit in the eyes of public opinion
The latest case won by Collegium Humanum concerns security, according to which RASP has to publish a total of 11 statements on its websites and Facebook profiles with the following content: “Ringier Axel Springer Polska sp. z o. o. reports that alleged actions Collegium Humanum – Warsaw. School of Management and Prof. Dr. Paweł Czarnecki in this publication, as well as the photographs used in it, form the basis of a lawsuit against Collegium Humanum – Warsaw School of Management and Prof. Dr. Paweł Czarnecki, respectively, recognized by the Warsaw District Court against Ringier Axel Springer Polska sp. z o. o. To protect rights and copyrights.
At first glance, the court's decision may not seem particularly damaging to Newsweek. In fact, the court dismissed the weekly journalists Renata Kim and Jakub Korus in its reasoning, accusing them of violating journalistic standards. “The materials published by the defendant are prepared in a tendentious, biased manner, based on a preconceived thesis, which imposes the only correct assessment,” the court said.
The court also stated that by publishing their materials, Renata Kim and Jakub Korus aimed to “discredit (the university and its rector – ed.) in the eyes of public opinion”: “The mentioned publications are characterized by a clearly negative connotation. And the formation of a categorical decision has a direct impact on the plaintiff's unreliable personal image (…) and, as a result, on his discredit in the eyes of public opinion (…) Meanwhile, there is no criminal prosecution. against the plaintiff, especially since he was found not guilty of the actions accused against him by the defendant. The laconic statements of (often anonymous) informants, especially those perceived as experts and authorities, are intended to make all the above-mentioned theses of the defendant credible in the eyes of the reader, and from a legal point of view they clearly have no value – on the contrary, they only directly confirm that no authority has evaluated the presented by the defendant Plaintiffs' alleged actions. In connection with the above, the court found that the defendants exceeded the limits of freedom of expression, which was determined by the right of the plaintiffs to protect their reputation and good name.
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