Take media's help to draft press law

The new press law, currently under study in the Cabinet, is of course looking better than the existing one. The draft law, which has already been passed by the ministerial legislative committee, for example scrapped the controversial jail terms for press violations.

This move actually was prompted by last year's instructions of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, that no journalist should be punished by jail for "crimes" related to his or her work.

An original draft was presented to the National Media Council and representatives of journalists and newspapers to make their amendments to the proposed law.

It was a good move. It gave us hope that we might finally get a progressive law in line with rapid development in both the national media and the country in general.

But the latest version of the planned code, which got the ministerial committee's green light, is being presented to the Cabinet without bothering to consult with the journalists' representatives or newspapers' editors on it.

We were hoping that the UAE, considered a beacon of modernity and a pioneer of efficient governance in the region, would get a law that boosts press freedom and encourages investigative and critical newspaper reporting.

We were also looking forward for a new law that reduces the level of censorship and increases the freedom to acquire and publish information vital to the public opinion.

However, some say the new law is actually not very different from the existing 1980 law (except for few points including the abolition of the jail term).

We believe we are within our right to ask the authorities to give us the chance to review the final draft of a law which will be applied on us.

We are confident that the UAE media, which has proved over the decades its keenness in upholding the country's interests and values, can be trusted to help draft a law that will make the UAE proud and enhance its reputation as a hub of innovation and new ideas.