Public Freedoms, Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly, and Protection of Journalism Bill

Article (1) — Definitions

For the purposes of this Law, the following expressions have the meanings set out below:

First — Freedom of opinion: Every person's right to form, hold and change opinions and beliefs without coercion or accountability merely for a belief or mental position.

Second — Freedom of expression: Every person's right to seek, receive, communicate and publish information and ideas through speech, writing, images, art, digital or other media, regardless of frontiers, subject only to restrictions exclusively provided under this Law.

Third — Peaceful assembly: An intentional, temporary gathering in a public or private place, open or enclosed, for collective expression, protest, advocacy, celebration or other lawful purposes, including marches, sit-ins, vigils and demonstrations.

Fourth — Notification: An organisational notice to the competent body enabling safety, traffic and protection arrangements; it does not create the right and is not a permit application.

Fifth — Journalist: Anyone professionally, regularly or independently gathering, verifying, editing, analysing, photographing, producing or publishing information for the public, full-time or otherwise, affiliated with an institution or union or independent.

Sixth — Media worker: Anyone professionally contributing to the production or transmission of journalistic or media content, including photographers, producers, editors, technicians, translators and field correspondents.

Seventh — Journalistic source: The person, document, record, data or means from which a journalist or media organisation obtains information for journalism, including information capable of directly or indirectly revealing a source's identity.

Eighth — Media organisation: Any legal person or organised undertaking producing or publishing journalistic or media content for the public through print, broadcasting, digital platforms or other means.

Ninth — Public interest: Any matter concerning State administration, public funds, rights and freedoms, health, safety, the environment, elections, justice, corruption, offences, violations or other issues about which public knowledge is necessary for accountability and informed participation.

Tenth — Abusive litigation against public participation: A lawsuit, application or judicial proceeding whose circumstances predominantly indicate that its aim or disproportionate effect is to silence lawful participation in public affairs or burden participants through litigation costs or threats, rather than proportionately protect a genuine right.

Article (2) — Objectives of the Law

This Law aims to ensure effective exercise of constitutional public freedoms, define authorities' facilitation and protection duties, establish clear restrictions standards, protect journalism, media work and civic monitoring, regulate peaceful assembly and provide swift, effective remedies against violations.

Article (3) — Scope and Federal and Regional Competence

First — This Law applies to federal authorities, governorates not incorporated into a region, and natural and legal persons to the extent prescribed herein.

Second — It applies to federal authorities and bodies wherever they exercise powers within the Republic of Iraq.

Third — The Kurdistan Region's constitutional powers shall be respected. Regional demonstration and media legislation shall be aligned to ensure equal or broader protection of constitutional rights. This Law shall not diminish a more favourable regional safeguard.

Article (4) — Freedom as the Default

First — Exercise of covered rights and freedoms shall presumptively be permitted and facilitated; restriction is exceptional.

Second — Doubt about a restriction, permit or sanction shall be resolved in favour of exercising the right. Restrictive provisions shall not be extended by analogy.

Third — No proof of need or special interest shall be required to exercise expression or peaceful assembly.

Article (5) — Lawfulness Test for Restrictions

No restriction on expression, journalism or peaceful assembly shall be imposed unless all the following conditions are met:

First — It is prescribed by clear, accessible and foreseeably applicable law.

Second — It exclusively protects others' rights or reputations, national security, public order, public health or public morals as constitutionally understood in a pluralistic society.

Third — It is necessary against a real, specific danger, not general assumptions or remote possibilities.

Fourth — It is proportionate to the harm prevented and the least restrictive effective alternative.

Fifth — Its duration, scope and affected persons or places are limited to need, without impairing the right's essence.

Sixth — It is subject to independent review and effective judicial appeal.

Article (6) — Non-Discrimination

All persons shall enjoy these rights and protections without discrimination. Political, ethnic, religious or sectarian affiliation, sex, language, opinion, profession or residence status shall not justify restricting a right or refusing protection.

Article (7) — The State's Positive Duty

Authorities shall take reasonable measures to protect rights-holders from attacks and threats by officials or private actors, investigate violations and prevent impunity; their duty is not limited to refraining from interference.

Article (8) — Exceptional Circumstances

Emergency, crisis or conflict shall not suspend freedom of opinion. General or undefined measures against expression, journalism or assembly are permissible only under the Constitution and emergency law, to the strictly necessary extent and for a defined period, with continuing judicial oversight and remedies.

Article (9) — Freedom of Opinion

Freedom of opinion is absolute. No person shall be criminalised, punished or discriminated against merely for an opinion, belief or silence, or coerced to adopt, renounce or declare an unwanted position.

Article (10) — Freedom of Expression and Its Means

Everyone may express themselves and seek, receive, communicate and publish information and ideas through chosen means, including political, social, religious, scientific, artistic, satirical and commercial speech and internet or digital-platform communication. Traditional and digital means receive equal protection.

Article (11) — Prohibition of Prior Censorship

First — Expression, publication, artistic presentation and journalistic content shall not require prior content approval.

Second — Particular material may be restrained before publication only by a reasoned judicial order exceptionally establishing imminent, serious harm that less restrictive means cannot avert. Potential reputational harm alone is insufficient.

Third — Content-neutral age classification or regulation of time and place in commercial activities remains permissible if consistent with Article (5).

Article (12) — Criticism of Authorities and Public Figures

First — Freedom to criticise the President, Council of Representatives, government, judiciary, armed forces, security agencies, independent bodies, local authorities and all public institutions, their performance and policies is guaranteed.

Second — A public authority or official institution has no reputational right equivalent to a natural person's that justifies criminalising criticism.

Third — Public officeholders and influential public figures shall tolerate broader criticism of their public performance while retaining personal reputation and privacy rights under this Law's civil standards.

Article (13) — Political and Electoral Expression

Expression concerning politics, elections, corruption, protest and public accountability receives the highest protection. Public-employment, publicity, security or morality laws shall restrict it only as required by the Constitution and electoral laws and consistently with Article (5).

Article (14) — Research, Art and Satire

Research, literary and artistic criticism, satire, caricature, imitation and fiction are protected. Satirical or figurative works shall not be treated as factual allegations unless an ordinary audience would reasonably understand them as asserting a specific fact.

Article (15) — Recording and Documentation in Public Places

Anyone may photograph or record events and public-service officials performing duties in public places, unless recording itself directly and materially obstructs a lawful task or reveals legally classified information at a protected site. Mere documentation shall not justify device seizure or deletion of content.

Article (16) — Digital Expression and Network Shutdowns

First — Online communication and expression receive the same protection as offline expression.

Second — Internet shutdowns, throttling or general disruption of platforms or services to prevent information circulation or limit protest or criticism are prohibited.

Third — A specific electronic resource may be blocked only under law by a reasoned judicial order, for a defined period and scope, after less restrictive measures are found insufficient.

Article (17) — Offence or Shock Is Insufficient

Expression being shocking, disturbing, harsh or contrary to custom or majority views is not an independent justification for restriction. Invoking public order or morals requires identifying the tangible harm to be prevented and applying Article (5).

Article (18) — Incitement to Discrimination, Hostility or Violence

First — Expression shall not be prohibited as incitement unless it intentionally advocates national, racial, religious or sectarian hatred, violence or crime and reaches a sufficiently serious and direct threshold in severity and likely effects to require legal intervention.

Second — Assessment shall consider social and political context, the speaker's standing and influence, intent, content and form, dissemination, and the proximity and seriousness of likely harm.

Third — Religious, political or historical criticism, discussion of beliefs or ideas, or expressing dissatisfaction with a public position is insufficient to establish incitement.

Fourth — Non-criminal measures such as rebuttal, reply, education and awareness shall be preferred where sufficient. Penal Code offences and penalties remain subject to this Article's standards.

Article (19) — Reputation and the Distinction between Fact and Opinion

First — No liability arises for an opinion or assessment not capable of being proved true or false as a fact.

Second — In reputation claims concerning public affairs, claimants shall identify the specific factual statement, serious harm and falsity, with regard to each party's access to evidence.

Third — Truth, accurate reporting of a public document or sitting, and reasonable good-faith publication on a matter of public interest shall exclude or mitigate liability as appropriate.

Fourth — Courts shall favour correction, reply, declaratory judgment and proportionate compensation over measures suppressing speech beyond the harm remedied.

Article (20) — Abusive Litigation against Public Participation

First — A defendant in proceedings arising from expression, publication or protest on public affairs may seek early dismissal on substantial indications of an aim to silence participation or costs disproportionate to the legal basis.

Second — The court shall then require the claimant to show a plausible factual and legal basis and may suspend disclosure and enforcement pending determination.

Third — On dismissal as abusive, the court shall award costs and reasonable legal fees and may award compensation for abuse of the right to litigate upon proof of harm.

Fourth — This procedure shall not obstruct genuine claims concerning threats, extortion, incitement to violence or unlawful disclosure of highly sensitive private data.

Article (21) — Freedom of the Press and Media

The press, printing, publication, media and digital broadcasting are free. A media organisation shall not be closed, suspended or have its publications confiscated because of journalistic content except by final judgment or interim judicial order satisfying necessity, proportionality and a specified duration.

Article (22) — No Professional Licence Required for Journalists

First — Journalism and its protections shall not require union membership, a professional card or government accreditation.

Second — Organisers may issue accreditation to facilitate access to specified places or limited-capacity events under objective, transparent criteria. Lack of a card shall not remove journalist status or prevent coverage from publicly accessible places.

Article (23) — Establishing Media Outlets

First — Newspapers, websites and journalistic platforms not using scarce public resources shall not require content licensing; ordinary administrative or commercial registration suffices where applicable.

Second — Broadcasting using radio spectrum may be licensed under communications and media law because of technical scarcity, with objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria that do not amount to approval of editorial policy.

Article (24) — Equal Access to Information and Events

Authorities shall apply equal criteria to media and journalists at conferences, briefings, visits and in providing official information. Editorial positions or criticism shall not justify preference or exclusion, subject to objective spatial and security constraints.

Article (25) — Confidential Journalistic Sources

First — Journalists and media organisations may refuse to reveal a source's identity or identifying information.

Second — This privilege may be lifted only by reasoned judicial order establishing that the information is directly and decisively relevant to investigating a serious offence threatening life or physical safety, cannot reasonably be obtained otherwise, and that disclosure's interest clearly outweighs the harm of exposing the source.

Third — Journalists shall not be compelled to reveal sources merely to establish a publication offence or reputation claim.

Article (26) — Unpublished Materials

Notes, drafts, unpublished footage, source databases and professional correspondence shall receive protection necessary for journalism and shall not be subject to blanket or exploratory demands.

Article (27) — Searches and Seizures in Journalism

First — Media premises, journalists' homes or devices shall not be searched for journalistic materials or sources without a judicial order specifying the items sought and explaining necessity and proportionality.

Second — Execution shall separate covered data from other material, preventing access to or copying of unrelated content.

Third — Affected persons may seek urgent review and judicial sealing of disputed materials pending a lawfulness ruling where investigative needs permit.

Article (28) — No Equipment Confiscation or Material Deletion

Cameras, phones, computers or memory cards shall not be seized, nor recordings or photographs deleted, because of coverage content. Seizure requires law and judicial order or a flagrante delicto situation requiring preservation of evidence of a separate offence, with items documented and returned once retention is no longer justified.

Article (29) — Journalism-Related Questioning and Detention

First — Journalists shall not be held in pretrial detention merely for publication or reporting involving no violence, threat or separate offence legally warranting detention.

Second — Journalists summoned over published material or professional activity shall be informed of the reason, their legal status and right to counsel, observing Criminal Procedure Code safeguards.

Article (30) — Field Reporting and Assemblies

Journalists, media workers and human-rights observers may photograph and document assemblies and policing from locations not actually obstructing security operations. Continuing coverage after a lawful dispersal order shall not remove protection where their presence is safe and does not obstruct implementation.

Article (31) — Protection against Attacks and Threats

Security agencies shall immediately respond to credible serious threats against journalists or media workers arising from their work, assess risk and provide proportionate protection. Protection shall not be conditional on stopping work or deleting journalistic material.

Article (32) — Investigation of Crimes against Journalists

First — Investigators shall examine from the outset whether assault, threats, abduction or sabotage are connected with journalism.

Second — Competent investigators and Public Prosecution shall pursue these cases urgently, maintaining a unified register of reports, investigative stages and outcomes without compromising confidentiality.

Third — Administrative or tribal settlement shall not replace investigation of offences not legally dependent on a victim's complaint.

Article (33) — National Mechanism for Journalists' Safety

The State shall use the existing national mechanism for journalists' safety and combating impunity to coordinate the Ministries of Interior and Justice, Supreme Judicial Council, Communications and Media Commission, High Commission for Human Rights and relevant professional bodies, without parallel enforcement or investigative machinery. Instructions shall define coordination, referral, monitoring, communication and emergency-response tasks.

Article (34) — Protection of Women Journalists and Higher-Risk Workers

Protection shall address different threat patterns, including harassment, sexual threats, gender-based defamation, digital extortion and exposure of personal data, through privacy-preserving reporting channels that do not require public identification of affected persons.

Article (35) — Professional Independence and Journalistic Conscience

Employers shall not require journalists to attach their names to material substantively changed against their professional position or prepare content directly contrary to their conscience. Employment contracts and professional rules shall govern consequences of refusal consistently with labour law.

Article (36) — Reply and Correction

First — Anyone to whom a media outlet attributes false material facts affecting their rights may seek correction or publication of a proportionate reply within a reasonable period.

Second — Replies involving an offence, incitement or content clearly exceeding the subject or reasonable length need not be published.

Third — Correction does not preclude compensation for established independent harm; prompt correction shall inform liability and compensation assessments.

Article (37) — Independence of Public Media

Publicly funded media shall uphold editorial independence, pluralism and fairness in public-affairs coverage and shall not serve party propaganda or punish staff for legitimate professional opinions, under the Iraqi Media Network Law and relevant legislation.

Article (38) — Media and Digital-Content Regulations

First — The Communications and Media Commission shall comply with Article (5) and viewpoint neutrality when issuing or applying content regulations.

Second — Regulations shall not create offences, custodial penalties or obligations for blanket platform blocking.

Third — Draft regulations and their legal basis shall be published for reasonable public consultation, followed before adoption by a summary explaining the treatment of substantive comments.

Fourth — Enforceable individual decisions concerning content or media outlets shall be reasoned and appealable to an independent body and the courts.

Article (39) — Journalism in Crises and Conflicts

Professional protection continues during unrest or conflict. International humanitarian law shall be observed where applicable; journalistic equipment or presence at an event shall not justify presumed participation in hostilities. Security restrictions on operational-site access shall reflect actual necessity and be non-discriminatory.

Article (40) — Right to Peaceful Assembly

Everyone, individually or with others, may organise, join or decline peaceful assemblies. The right does not depend on citizenship, organisational membership or a sponsoring body.

Article (41) — Presumption of Peacefulness

Assemblies shall be presumed peaceful absent clear evidence of organisers' or participants' intent to use serious violence. Isolated violence, acts of troublemakers or violence directed against the gathering shall not deprive other participants of peaceful status.

Article (42) — No Permit Requirement

Peaceful assembly in public places shall not require licensing or prior approval. Advance arrangements are confined to notification under the following Articles where necessary for traffic, protection and public-service facilitation.

Article (43) — Notification of Planned Assemblies

First — Organisers shall notify local administration and police forty-eight hours before a planned public assembly expected to require public-road use or special traffic or security arrangements.

Second — Notification may be paper or electronic, with immediate acknowledgement free of charge.

Third — Failure to notify shall not itself prevent assembly or justify dispersal or participant detention. Its consequences are confined to proportionate administrative liability for organisers who intentionally cause substantial avoidable organisational harm.

Article (44) — Notification Particulars

Notification shall be limited to a name and contact method for one or more organisers, the date, location or approximate route, expected duration and approximate size if available. Participants' names, identity numbers, slogans or speech contents shall not be required to approve an assembly.

Article (45) — Spontaneous Assemblies

No notification is required for spontaneous assemblies directly responding to an event not reasonably foreseeable or whose purpose would be lost through delay. Authorities shall facilitate them as circumstances permit.

Article (46) — Private and Indoor Meetings

Meetings in private places or indoor halls require no notification under this Law unless involving exceptional road use or public arrangements outside the venue. General safety and capacity laws apply without content-based discrimination.

Article (47) — Simultaneous and Counter-Assemblies

First — Earlier notification shall not confer exclusive public-space rights where several gatherings can practicably be accommodated.

Second — Authorities shall protect assemblies and counter-assemblies and prevent violence between them. Possible hostile third-party reactions shall not justify prohibiting the original expression if the risk can be controlled otherwise.

Article (48) — Place, Time and the Message's Reach

Assemblies shall generally be permitted within sight or hearing of the intended public or institution. Relocation to a distant place or ineffective time requires demonstrated necessity, consultation with organisers and the closest alternative achieving the purpose.

Article (49) — Specific Assembly Restrictions

Where a specific risk cannot be contained through ordinary facilitation, the competent body may propose a limited route, time or location adjustment. Decisions shall be written, reasoned, based on reviewable information and promptly notified with time for appeal.

Article (50) — Exceptional Prohibition and Urgent Appeal

First — An entire assembly shall be prohibited only where serious, imminent danger cannot be prevented by lesser restrictions.

Second — Prohibition shall be written and reasoned. Organisers may urgently appeal to the Administrative Court or competent court, which shall prioritise a decision before the assembly wherever possible.

Third — The restricting body bears the burden of proving lawfulness.

Article (51) — Duty to Facilitate and Protect

Police shall plan appropriately to facilitate assembly, protect participants, passers-by and property, regulate traffic and ensure ambulance access. Contact with organisers shall coordinate action, not transfer State security duties to them.

Article (52) — Temporary Disruption of Public Life

Temporary traffic disruption, raised voices, crowding or ordinary assembly-related inconvenience is not a public-order breach justifying termination. Authorities shall manage traffic and services before restricting the substance of assembly.

Article (53) — Organisers' Duties

Organisers shall make reasonable efforts to communicate peaceful intentions, coordinate practical matters and refrain from inciting violence. They do not become enforcement officers or guarantee every participant's conduct or prevent unforeseeable or uncontrollable acts.

Article (54) — Individual Responsibility

Criminal or civil responsibility for violence, damage or assault rests personally with perpetrators or participants in the offence under law. Organisers and other attendees shall not bear collective liability for others' acts merely by being present.

Article (55) — Weapons and Dangerous Implements

Firearms, explosives and implements designed to cause serious injury are prohibited at assemblies. Everyday objects, personal protective equipment or signs do not alone establish violent intent unless used to threaten others.

Article (56) — Journalists, Observers and Assistance Personnel

Authorities shall facilitate journalists, independent observers, human-rights defenders, legal-support personnel and medical responders. They shall not prevent observation or filming from safe locations, and shall consider these roles in removal or dispersal decisions.

Article (57) — Identification of Deployed Personnel

Personnel managing assemblies shall carry visible or verifiable individual identifiers. Masks or identity-concealing means require a specific safety necessity and a traceable alternative identifier.

Article (58) — Use of Force

First — Force shall be used only when necessary for a lawful purpose, proportionately to danger, and after a reasonable opportunity to comply where circumstances permit.

Second — Force shall target the person posing danger rather than the gathering generally, preferring less harmful means.

Third — Firearms shall not be used merely to disperse an assembly, but only under general rules protecting life against imminent death or serious injury.

Fourth — Orders, methods, reasons and known injuries shall be documented; serious incidents shall receive independent investigation.

Article (59) — Dispersal

First — Dispersal is a last resort when serious danger cannot be managed by lesser means.

Second — Audible, understandable warnings, time to comply and safe exits shall precede dispersal wherever practicable.

Third — Isolated violence shall not justify dispersing peaceful participants where perpetrators can be isolated.

Article (60) — Arrest, Surveillance and Costs

First — No person shall be arrested merely for attending an unnotified assembly or remaining before receiving a lawful, intelligible order, unless committing a separate offence.

Second — Automated identification, intensive surveillance or collection of participants' data merely for political or protest activity requires a legal basis satisfying necessity and proportionality.

Third — Police, ambulance, traffic-management or ordinary-cleaning charges shall not be imposed on organisers or participants as conditions for exercising the right.

Article (61) — Complaints to the High Commission for Human Rights

Any person or organisation may complain to the High Commission for Human Rights about covered-rights violations. The Commission shall exercise statutory monitoring, preliminary-investigation, referral and recommendation powers without preventing direct judicial recourse.

Article (62) — Urgent Judicial Proceedings

Claims concerning imminent publication restraints, content blocking, assembly prohibitions, withdrawal of press accreditation or measures defeating a right through delay shall be urgent. Courts may temporarily suspend action where the challenge appears serious and irreparable harm threatens.

Article (63) — Duty to Justify Restrictions

Restricting public bodies shall identify the legal provision, legitimate purpose and specific facts establishing necessity and proportionality. General labels such as “public interest”, “security” or “morals” without factual connection are insufficient.

Article (64) — Compensation and Restoration

Persons harmed by unlawful restrictions, force, confiscation, blocking or attacks connected with exercising a right may seek cessation, annulment, restoration and compensation for material and moral harm under general rules and the court's jurisdiction.

Article (65) — Evidence Preservation

Security bodies shall preserve camera recordings, command reports and force and arrest records concerning assemblies involving death, serious injury or documented allegations of excessive force for the retention-instruction period or until investigation and proceedings end, whichever is longer.

Article (66) — Disciplinary and Criminal Liability

Civil liability or compensation shall not prevent disciplinary or criminal accountability where its elements exist. Unlawful force orders, destruction of journalistic material, evidence concealment or retaliation against complainants are serious violations requiring investigation.

Article (67) — Non-Retaliation

Employment, security or administrative retaliation against anyone supplying a good-faith complaint, testimony, recording or information about a violation is prohibited. Applicable whistleblower and witness protections shall apply.

Article (68) — Annual Transparency

The Ministry of Interior, coordinating with relevant bodies, shall publish aggregate annual data on assembly notifications, restrictions, dispersal orders, force, injuries and assembly-related arrests. Competent bodies shall likewise publish aggregated journalist-attack data and referral stages, protecting personal data and investigative confidentiality.

Article (69) — Repeal of Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. (19) of 2003 within the Law's Scope

Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. (19) of 2003 on assembly shall be repealed within this Law's scope when its notification and peaceful-assembly provisions commence. Repeal shall not revive Penal Code Articles (220) to (222), suspended by that Order insofar as concerning mere peaceful assembly. Their status shall be conclusively addressed in the new Penal Code consistently with this Law.

Article (70) — Relationship with Journalists' Rights Law No. (21) of 2011

First — Journalists' financial and social rights and benefits under Law No. (21) of 2011 remain effective unless amended by law.

Second — For professional rights and freedoms, this Law's broader definitions of journalist and media worker apply, without nationality, full-time work or union-membership restrictions.

Third — Restrictions in that Law conflicting with source confidentiality, equal access or protection independent of professional affiliation are repealed.

Article (71) — Reform of Insult and Defamation Offences

First — The new Penal Code shall address abolition of special criminal protection of public authorities and leaders against mere insult and reorganise natural persons' reputational protection through proportionate civil means.

Second — Until then, insult and defamation provisions shall be narrowly interpreted and applied without criminalising legitimate political or journalistic criticism. Press or media publication shall not itself aggravate treatment compared with other expression.

Third — No person shall be held in pretrial detention merely for an insult or defamation claim arising solely from speech, writing or publication free from threats, extortion, criminal incitement or a separate serious violation of another right.

Article (72) — Communications and Media Commission

The Commission's constitutional and Order No. (65) of 2004 technical and regulatory competences remain effective and shall be exercised consistently with this Law. General regulatory powers do not authorise expression restrictions, offences or penalties absent from legislation.

Article (73) — Relationship with Information-Access Legislation

Access, appeal and exception rules in the Right of Access to Information and Open Government Law apply to journalists' and others' requests without requiring special interest. This Law shall not reduce the disclosure standard established there.

Article (74) — Regional Legislative Alignment

The Federal Government shall approach the Kurdistan Regional Government to coordinate alignment of the Region's Demonstrations Regulation Law No. (11) of 2010 with notification rather than permission, spontaneous-assembly protection, presumed peacefulness and force standards, respecting regional constitutional powers.

Article (75) — Training and Operational Codes

Within one year of commencement, the Ministry of Interior and security bodies shall integrate this Law into assembly-management and journalist-relations training and issue public operational codes on organiser communication, force, identification of journalists and observers, and evidence preservation.

Article (76) — Regulations and Instructions

Within one hundred and eighty days, the Council of Ministers and competent bodies shall each issue necessary implementing regulations and instructions within their powers. Instructions shall neither create restrictions absent from the Law nor broaden prohibition grounds.

Article (77) — Transitional Periods

First — Electronic and paper notification forms shall be adopted within ninety days of publication.

Second — Public bodies shall review media-accreditation, coverage and assembly rules within one hundred and eighty days, repealing or amending conflicts.

Third — Pending instructions, this Law applies directly; missing forms or procedures shall not suspend rights.

Article (78) — Commencement

This Law shall enter into force ninety days after Official Gazette publication, except provisions with specific transitional periods.