Section IV.-Prohibited Publications.

Art. 39. A fine of from 200 to 1,800 dinars, or twenty days' to six months' imprisonment will be inflicted on anyone who prints or publishes the following :

(1.) An indictment or any document pertaining to a criminal trial, before it has been read at the inquiry.

(2.) Information regarding an indictment for libel, when evidence is disallowed.

(Vide Article 34 of this law.)

(3.) Incomplete documents relating to civil actions, without the express permission of the Court.

(4.) The proceedings of assizes and other Courts.

(5.) Private letters and telegrams, without previous authorisation of the author, should their contents not be of a public character.

Anyone printing or publishing the following:

:

(1.) Official confidential correspondence, if in the opinion of the Court the public interest thereby suffers;

(2.) News or statements regarding the movements of troops in time of war, danger of war, or general mobilisation, and regarding military preparations, fortifications, and other means of defence in time of peace;

(3.) Matters referred to in Clauses (a) and (b) of Article 86 of the Criminal Code;

(4.) Reports on secret sessions or any kind of statement purporting to emanate from secret sessions of the National Assembly;

will be punished by a term of imprisonment of from three months to three years.

CHAPTER V.-Trial and Sentence.

Section I.-Responsibility for Offences committed by the Press, or against the Provisions of the present Law.

Art. 40. For infringements of the provisions of the present law on the part of the Press, the following are responsible :

(1.) The author, the editor, the proprietor, the printer, the artist, and the vendor or distributor.

(2.) The editor is held responsible for everything which appears in his paper without full signature and also when the person signing is a person outside the jurisdiction of the Serbian authorities.

(3.) When the responsible editor is some person unknown, the printer, and when the printer is unknown, the person who circulates, sells, distributes or exposes for sale, is responsible.

In the case of the proprietor, the provisions of Article 1 of the present law apply.

(According to Clause (2) of Article 40 of the Press Law, the responsible editor of a paper is responsible for all writings in the paper, which have been printed without full signature of the writer. When the incriminating article appears only with the initials and not with the full signature of the person who is indicated as the author of it, then the Court, in accordance with the above-mentioned provision of the Press Law, cannot hold that he is the person responsible before the law for the incriminating article, and summon him before the Court regardless of whether he admits or not that he wrote the article, seeing that particular provisions regarding criminal responsibility are laid down in the special Press Law.)

(Decision of the 24th February, 1910, No. 1917.)

(The Court cannot absolve the accused person from being summoned before the Court by accepting at once as correct and without any further investigation a statement in his defence to the effect that he did not sign the article in question, and that, if it was printed with his signature, the signature was false; the Court is bound to make known to the plaintiff such a defence on the part of the accused, and to enquire from the former whether, in view of the affirmation of the latter that he did not sign the article, he desires to extend his accusation to some other person who might in that case be responsible, under Article 40 of the Press Law. According to Clause (2) of Article 40 of the Press Law, the responsibility for all that appears in the paper, not only if unsigned, but also if signed by an invented person, falls upon the editor, who has to show proof to the contrary (if the author whose signature has been abused defends by maintaining that the signature is not that author's, but that of an invented person.)

(Decision of the 27th January, 1911, No. 118.)

(In the case of offences committed in the Press under Clause (3) of Article 40 of the Press Law, the responsibility falls on the printer if the paper bears the name neither of the author nor of the responsible editor. And if the paper does not bear the name of the author, he cannot be accused as such, notwithstanding an admission on his part that he is the author, since particular regulations for criminal responsibility are laid down in the special Press Law.) (Decision of the 6th January, 1911, No. 8654.)

(Vide Article 6 of the Press Law.)

Art. 41. The proprietor is responsible for all taxes, costs and damages provided for by Article 30 of the present law if the author or editor cannot pay or is in flight.

The proprietor may not be a party organisation or a society, but must be a Serbian subject.

If the proprietor is absent for more than two months he must have a deputy.

(Vide Articles 30 and 40 of the Press Law.)

Art. 42. If a case arises under the first paragraph of Article 41 and the proprietor does not pay the tax, costs or damages within three days after having been called upon to do so by the authorities, he loses the right to continue to own the paper or other publication from the day of the expiration of the period stated, which will be always designated in writing. If even after this he publishes these or other newspapers or publications, he will be considered as proprietor without legal right and will be sentenced to from one to six months' imprisonment for each number or volume.

(Vide Article 22 of the Constitution and Article 2 of the Press Law.)

[The remaining Articles of this law (Articles 43-59) deal with procedure, and are therefore omitted.-Editor's note.]

Extracts from a Law dated August 2, 1921, on the Protection of Good Order and Public Security in the State (Articles 1 (1), 16, 17 and 20).

Article 1". Seront considérés comme crimes au sens du Code pénal les délits suivants :

1. La rédaction, la publication, l'impression, la diffusion des livres, journaux, affiches ou avis qui ont pour but de provoquer à la violence contre les autorités de l'Etat prévues par la Constitution, ou, d'une façon générale, menacent la paix publique ou mettent l'ordre en danger. Cette disposition s'applique à toute propagande communiste ou anarchiste, par écrit ou par parole, et à toute action tendant à convaincre autrui qu'il faut changer l'ordre politique ou économique dans l'État par le crime, la violence ou n'importe quelle autre forme du terrorisme.

Article 16. Lorsque l'accusé, au sens de l'Article 46 de la loi serbe sur la Presse, invité à être entendu, se cachera, fuira ou sera introuvable dans son lieu de résidence pendant les trois jours qui suivront l'invitation du tribunal, et qu'un procès-verbal officiel de l'autorité compétente l'aura constaté, le tribunal ne le citera plus par la voie du "Journal officiel" et ne lui adressera plus par cette voie aucune communication; toutes les décisions du tribunal qui doivent lui être remises seront affichées sur le domicile de sa dernière résidence ou de son dernier séjour, ainsi que sur le tableau d'affichage du tribunal et ces communications seront considérées comme ayant pleine validité en ce qui concerne le cours des délais.

Article 17. Eu égard aux prescriptions de l'Article 20 de cette loi, seront considérées comme cessant d'être en vigueur, en tant qu'elles se rapportent aux délits visés par ladite loi, les dispositions de l'Article 58 du Chapitre I de la Loi serbe sur la Presse, ainsi que celles des lois sur la Presse de province.

Article 20. Les prescriptions du Code pénal général et des autres Codes pénaux accessoires, ainsi que celles de la loi sur la

Presse, de la loi sur les associations et réunions et des autres lois ne seront plus appliquées si elles sont contraires à la présente loi, tant que celle-ci restera en vigueur.

SIAM.

THE PROVISIONS OF THE GENERAL LAWS AS AT PRESENT GOVERNING PRESS MATTERS.

1. (PENAL Code, Section 66.) Whenever any offence is committed by means of the publication of any book, periodical work or other writing, the person having caused such publication to be made shall be liable as principal to the punishment provided for such offence.

If the person having caused the publication to be made cannot be brought into Court, the publisher or printer shall be liable as principal to the punishment provided for such offence.

2. (Penal Code, Section 98.) Whoever threatens, insults or defames the King, the Queen, the Crown Prince, or the Regent during the Regency, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding seven years and fine not exceeding 5,000 ticals.

3. (Penal Code, Section 100.) Whoever threatens, insults or defames any member of the Royal Family, being the son or daughter of a Sovereign, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding three years and fine not exceeding 2,000 ticals.

4. (Penal Code, Section 102.) Whoever collects forces or arms, or otherwise makes preparations or conspires for the commission of insurrection or instigates the inhabitants of the country to commit insurrection, or assists in keeping secret any intention of conspiracy to commit such offence, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years and fine of 500 to 5,000 ticals.

5. (Penal Code, Section 103.) Whoever instigates any person serving in His Majesty's Army or Navy to desert, or to commit mutiny, or not to execute his duty, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding five years and fine not exceeding 1,000 ticals.

6. (Penal Code, Section 104.) Whoever publicly commits any act expressly intended

(1) To bring into hatred or contempt the Sovereign, the Government, or the Administration of the State, or

(2) To raise discontent and disaffection amongst the people in a manner likely to cause disturbance, or

(3) To instigate people to transgress the laws of the country, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding three years and fine not exceeding 1,000 ticals.

7. (Penal Code, Section 107.) Whoever wrongfully communicates to any foreign Government or to any person any information, plan or document which it is necessary to keep secret for the security of the country, shall be punished with imprisonment of one to seven years and fine of 200 to 2,000 ticals.

8. (Penal Code, Section 108.) Whoever wilfully does any act likely to endanger the external security of the State shall be punished with imprisonment of one to fifteen years and fine of 100 to 5,000 ticals.

9. (Penal Code, Section 110.) Whoever assists the operation of an enemy against the country shall be punished with imprisonment of five to fifteen years and fine of 500 to 5,000 ticals.

If such assistance be rendered

(1) By destroying, rendering useless or bringing into the power of an enemy any fortified place, means of communication, man-of-war, store of arms, ammunitions, food, or any other property used by the State for the purposes of war; (2) By instigating any person serving in His Majesty's Army or Navy to desert, or to commit mutiny, or not to execute his duty;

(3) By acting as a spy or guide for an enemy, or otherwise by procuring for an enemy any information, plan or document;

the punishment shall be death or imprisonment for life and fine of 500 to 5.000 ticals.

10. (Penal Code, Section 113.) Whoever threatens, insults or defames the Sovereign of a friendly State or his Consort or Heir Apparent, or the President or other Head of a friendly State, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding three years and fine not exceeding 2,000 ticals.

11. (Penal Code, Section 114.) Whoever commits any offence against the representative of a foreign State accredited to the Government shall be liable to the punishment prescribed for the commission of such offence against an official.

12. (Penal Code, Section 116.) Whoever insults any official in the lawful exercise of his functions or by reason of the lawful exercise of his functions shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding six months or fine not exceeding 200 ticals, or both.

13. (Penal Code, Section 143.) Whoever, being an official employed in the Post or Telegraph Department, wrongfully breaks open or destroys or makes away with any letter, telegram or other mail matter, or delivers such letter, telegram or mail matter to any person to whom he knows it not to be addressed, or discloses the contents of such letter, telegram or mail matter, shall be punished with imprisonment of one month to six months and fine of 10 to 100 ticals.

If injury be caused to any person, the punishment shall be imprisonment of three months to five years and fine of 50 to 1,000 ticals.

14. (Penal Code, Section 144.) Whoever, being an official and by reason of his functions possessed of any secret relating to the business of the State, wrongfully discloses such secret, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding one year and fine not exceeding 1,000 ticals.

15. (Penal Code, Section 175.) Whoever, by any instigation or