Malaysian laws do not offer any protection for journalists and their sources, a senior constitutional lawyer said today.

"The peril for the journalist in common law is that if they do not reveal their sources [in court] they run the risk of contempt which could mean a fine or a prison sentence," said lawyer Cyrus V Das, one of nine panelists who spoke at the one-day forum on 'Journalists, Press Freedom and the Law'.

Common law is a legal system based on precedents of previous judgements rather than rules and statues.

"The common law has never been friendly towards journalists nor given them any special recognition as a profession. Although it is their daily task to write and have their stuff published, the common law has not accorded them any protection for the consequences of their vocation," said Das.

The forum, jointly organised by the Bar Council and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), was held in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day which falls on May 3 yearly.

Cyrus, a former chairperson of the Bar Council, in his speech on protection for journalists and their sources, also lamented the lack of awareness among the profession on the issue.

"All who believe in a free press would agree that a free flow of information is vital in a democratic society and that protection of sources is fundamental to its attainment."

Law overrides ethics

He cited the examples of journalists' unions in United Kingdom and Australia which adopt a code of ethics that vow to protect sources of information though the scope of such codes in the courts was limited.

"It is hard to reconcile this [journalists' code of ethics] with the law when the journalist is asked to reveal the information in court," said Cyrus, who is also president of Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

He said that in court, the non-disclosure clause is only provided for in the instances of husband and wife communication, lawyer-client privilege, and in the protection of state secrets.

He cited a number of cases in Australia and United Kingdom where journalists were sent to prison for not disclosing their sources.

"We need to enact shield laws in Malaysia that protects the journalists and their sources," Cyrus lamented.