Media legislation

Malian media legislation has its source in the Constitution of 1992 and in other legal regulation frameworks, guaranteeing freedom of expression and freedom of the press. In Part I, Article 4, titled The Rights and Duties of the Human Person, the Constitution states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, worship, opinion, of expression and creation in accordance with the law.” Freedom of the press is mentioned in Article 7: “The freedom of the press is recognised and guaranteed. It is exercised under the conditions set by law. Equal access for all to the state media is provided by an independent body; this body will have to define the laws that will ensure this access.”

Mali has also signed various regional and international conventions that appear in national legislation such as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of 1981.

There are a number of legislative and regulatory mechanisms related to media:

  • Law No 018 of 2015 amending and ratifying Ordinance 006 of 2014 establishing the High Authority for Communication;
  • Law No 2015-009 of 5 March 2015 on the establishment of the Higher School of Journalism and Communication Sciences;
  • Decree No 2016-0713/P-RM of 14 September, 2016 setting the specifications for private commercial television broadcasting services;
  • Decree No 2016-0626/P-RM of 25 August, 2016 determining the conditions for the implementation of non-criminal sanctions pronounced by the High Authority of Communication;
  • Decree No 2016-0586/PM-RM of 12 August, 2016 setting the specifications for the private services of Commercial Sound Broadcasting;
  • Order No 2017-3038/MESRS-SG of 14 September, 2017 setting the conditions of access and the study regime of the Ecole supérieure de journalisme et des sciences de la communication (School of Journalism and Communication Sciences - ESJSC);
  • Decree No 2017-0767/P-RM of 7 September, 2017 determining the products subject to the TV radio license and the methods of indexing and recovery;
  • Decree No 2017-0554/P-RM of 29 June, 2017 establishing the Press Card;
  • Interministerial Order No 2017-1274/MEF-MENUC of 9 May, 2017 amending the Interministerial Order No 0442/MENC-MEF-SG of 1 March, 2017 setting the amount and terms of payment of the annual fee for the operation of private audio-visual communication services;
  • Decree No 2016-0713/P-RM of 14 September, 2016 setting the specifications for private commercial television broadcasting services;
  • Decree No 2016-0626/P-RM of 25 August, 2016 determining the conditions for the implementation of non-criminal sanctions pronounced by the HAC;
  • Decree No 2017-0767/P-RM of 7 September, 2017 determining the products subject to the TV radio license and the methods of indexing and recovery;
  • Law No 00-46/AN-RM of July 2000 which regulates offenses related to freedom of expression and the press. This law limits freedom of expression when the media incites racial, national, religious and murder hatred.

Before the approval of these bills the Malian framework lacked key legislation in crucial aspects of democracy. For instance, there was no legislation frame for the creation and establishment of media outlets in the country. Their implementation has changed the media landscape, innovating it in many aspects, by allowing the establishment of a media control organ which is responsible for all matters, thus reducing the proliferation of illegal radios and televisions. This legal corpus has provided the framework to protect media actors and provide guidelines to be followed by media.