5/ Information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which took place, occurred or
happened more than twenty-five years before the date on which any request is made under
Article 14 shall be provided to any person making a request under that article, provided that
this sub-article shall not apply to the exceptions in articles 16, 17, 18 and 23.
6/ It is prohibited to make any document confidential in order to cover corruption,
contravention of laws, organizational or personal incompetence, inefficiency or scandals.
PART FOUR
Rights and Responsibilities of the Media
40. Right of Reply or correction
1/ Where any factual information or matter injurious to the honor or reputation of any person
is reported in a mass media, such person shall have the right to have his reply inserted, free
of charge in publication in which the report appeared;
a) The editor or his deputy shall have a duty to publish free of charge and with out
correction any reply addressed to him, incase of a daily news paper within three days of
receipt or, incase of a weekly news paper within nine days of receipt and in other
publications in the next issue appearing after receipt;
b) Where the statement which has given rise the reply is made in broadcasted radio or
television program, the responsible program editor shall, free of charge and with out
correction, insert the reply in the next part of the program or other similar program within
fourteen days of receipt;
c) Any reply shall be proportional, relevant to the report that has given rise to it and shall
have a lawful content.
d) if the report or information is disseminated during the election process, the time limit
referred to in sub-article (1)/a/ and /b/ shall be educed ,in the case of the three days limit to
twenty four hours, in the case of fourteen days limit to forty eight hours;
e) the provisions of sub-article (1)/d/ shall only apply when the reply is submitted to the
mass media six hours before the publication goes to print or the program on which it is to
appear is on air .
2/ Any person whose right of reply is refused may apply to the court to compel the chief
editor of the periodical or program to insert the reply in the press.