The prevailing overall notion is that there has been an impressive improvement in
the area of freedom of expression, in particular since the presidential elections in
2001.

SCORES
Individual scores

5, 5, 5, 3, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Average score:

4.8

1.3 There are no laws restricting freedom of expression such as excessive
official secret or libel acts, or laws that unreasonably interfere with the
responsibilities of media.

ANALYSIS:

In general, there are no laws that place undue restrictions on freedom of
expression, in particular no law criminalising defamation.
There is, however, an Official Secrets Act which designates certain categories of
public life as generally confidential and on which officials cannot be compelled to
disclose information. In addition, the Armed Forces Act, the Ghana Police Act
and some decrees issued by former military regimes are in place, in fact turning
the security agencies into a “no-go area” for the media.
From a legal perspective, there are no restrictions in regard to reporting on
cultural matters or “taboos”. There are, however, inherent customary practices,
which indirectly put moral or other limitations on freedom of expression. For
instance, the death of a chief is not expected to be in the public domain until after
a certain period. While it would be in accordance with the law for such
information to get into the public domain early, there could be sometimes
prohibitive cultural implications and repercussions. In such cases, journalists may
therefore exercise more caution than required by any law.

SCORES:
Individual scores:

4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4

Average score:

4.2

3

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