SECTOR 1 meetings of state or parastatal institutions or corporations. Under the pretext of the duty of confidentiality, senior officials may not publicly express their opinions on certain issues of public interest. The other members of such organisations are sometimes required to sign a confidentiality charter binding them to the same duties as their pairs in the public service. Against this background, a panellist summed up the situation as follows: “one may say anything, at the risk of suffering retaliation”. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 3.0 (2010:3.1; 2008:2.3; 2006:2.6) 1.3 There are no laws or parts of laws restricting freedom of expression such as excessive official secrets or libel acts, or laws that unreasonably interfere with the responsibilities of media. In the words of one of the panellists, Law 96-04 of 22 February 1996 governing the professions of journalist and media technician in Senegal is so vague in its wording “that a peanut vendor can become a journalist”. But this is to be deplored. Indeed, neither Law 96-04 nor any other law restricts access to the profession of journalist. However, recalls another panellist, who had participated – in the 1990s – in drawing up the legal and regulatory framework for the media at the time, the legislation in question was, albeit to a minimal extent, aimed at organising access to the profession. That is why Article 23 of Law 96-04 provides that “a journalist, under this law, is any person qualified by a school of journalism and who exercises his/her profession in the area of communication, any person whose main activity and regular exercise of his/her profession takes place in an organ of social communication, a school of journalism, a company or a news service, and derives the major part of his/her income therefrom”. The panel agrees however that this describes a framework rather than a restriction. 76 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SENEGAL 2013